I have a 2006 MB S-350 which I bought a year back (CPO) from MB dealer with an extended warranty which has another 2 years to go on it. The car currently has almost 50K miles on it and still has not had 2 of the 3 most common problems seen online for this car (i.e air-ride failure and gearshift plastic thingamajig failure); the third one I forget, but it has happened and has been fixed. Anyway, I have 3 options: a. sell it to a private person when one year is left on its warranty, b. trade it into the dealer at the end of warranty, c. keep the car. The car is wonderful to drive and ride, so I would love to keep it, but maintenance costs on these will increase as time goes by; I feel that selling it with one year left on the warranty (which is transferable) would be the right thing to do for the buyer too, but did I mention that I love the car? Caveat: this is my first S-class, so my first brush with “luxury”; so love may be fleeting?
If you love it, keep it. Are the payments too high? Do you want something newer? It is not really clear why you want to get rid of this other than the future possibility of repair costs–which happen no matter what you drive.
What do you want to buy if you sell it?
Regardless of what ever fear we might have of a suspected weak spot in a car’s mechanics, except for a Yugo, it’s almost always worth it to keep the car instead of trade. This is a situation where buyers think that the warranty will negate any problems with a car’s weak mechanics. It never does over time and should have been part of the decision when buying new. Now, keep it, repair if necessary and enjoy until you loose confidence in the car.
The car is already paid off a while back. I was thinking of buying a CPO AMG version (my wife would kill me right after that, though) in a couple of years, if possible. Other than lusting for the newer S class cars on the road, and the repair costs, no reason. So I shall keep it as the wise ones on the forum suggest.
If you like luxury, make sure you try the AMG version first before you buy it. The ride is likely much harsher than your current car which makes for awesome reviews in magazines like “Car and Driver” but a much less pleasant experience in everyday driving. They also burn gas like a Kuwaiti oil field circa 1991.
Why not keep your current luxury sedan and add a small sports car to the garage for when you want to have fun?
These cars are expensive no matter what you do. I can’t see, however, how keeping the car beyond the warranty period would be MORE expensive than replacing it.
Keep it until you no longer enjoy it or want it.
Champaign tastes on a beer budget? Welcome to the club.
Been married long? Want to be? What’s the wife think?
Personally, I’d get rid of it before that firat big repair bill hits. But, then, I never would have bought it on a budget to begin with. Keep it and you’ll inevitably be the recipient of expensive maintenance. But you’re not the only one affected…your wife is too. If you both love the luxury, and can accept the inevitable, than keep it. If she feels otherwise, get rid of it. Only the two of you can make the decision.
If you can afford the car and like it, keep it. If you get rid of it, what will you get? Would you consider a Lexus LS460 or Infinity M56 a suitable replacement? If not, it is likely that whatever you replace it with will have similar M&R costs.
The cheapest way to own a car of the quality you have is to keep the one you have. Selling or trading in a car cost you. Unless you want a different car, keep what you have.
If you want to save some money never ever by an extended warranty (it is not really a warranty, it is an expensive insurance polity that in general cost about twice as much as they pay back).