I just put a deposit on a 2001 E320 4matic with 12,618 miles on it (I checked the warranty history and carfax report - clean) and am considering either a 2 year mercedes extended warranty or going to AAA (American Automobile Association) for a 4 year warranty. From what I can gather AAA offers a warranty that is exclusionary which is to say it lists which parts it does not cover and from looking at the list they are mostly normal wear and tear items with a few exceptions. They offer 4yr 100,000 miles for $3500 whereas Mercedes offers a 2 year 100,000 (in addition to the 1 year "Starmark warranty) which is a "Stated Warranty" i.e they will cover only certain parts for $2500. With AAA the car can be serviced anywhere by any licensed service station or MB dealer and with the MB warranty only Mercedes can cover it.
My intention is to have Mercedes servcice the car if I were to go the AAA route but what I don't know is if anyone has had experience with the Starmark warranty and what was it like. Were there "gotcha" exclusions, does Mercedes try to fix other things that are not covered, do they provide a loaner car...
Which warranty I go with is important - gotta be rock solid and from what I have heard you do not want to own a mercedes without a good warranty as a backup. Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
Jeff