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Old 09-30-2013, 03:00 PM   #1
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New Interstate Exterior Colors and Extended Warranty

Hi all,
Finally, I have ordered a new Interstate last week. The color is silver(outside). I narrowed my choices to between black and silver, and chose silver. Now I have some second thoughts about the color. I guess I cannot make up my mind between black and silver. I know the color is a very personal choice, but does any one have any thoughts about one color is better than the other? Some says black shows scratches and dings more, and some colors hold more resale value. I think I still have time to change my mind, if I want to go with black.

Also should I get an extended warranty? The dealer offers 5 year 100,000 miles warranty for $5k+. Because of the 3 year factory warranty and 5 year MB chassis warranty, I don't think this is a good deal. Does anyone know if there are any better extended warranties?
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Old 09-30-2013, 03:15 PM   #2
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Having had several black SUV's, I can tell you from experience that if you start at the front cleaning it, by the time you get to the rear, you can start back at the front all over again. They are beautiful when they're clean. Keeping them clean is a career. On the other hand, silver looks clean even when it's slightly dirty.

The 5K for 5 years on the extended warranty is about what I found when I was checking on it. I decided as bad as these things seem to be, I would just go self insured. What was the deductible on your estimate?
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Old 09-30-2013, 03:24 PM   #3
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Can't help you on color. I went with white. Interior color is more important than exterior color, in my opinion. The onyx interior is just too oppressive to me so I went with the light camel interior.

Before you get an extended warranty, find out exactly what it covers. You're actually dealing with a dozen or more warranties. You've got the Sprinter warranty; the Airstream warranty for the interior coachwork; the Cummins/Onan warranty for the generator; the Atwood warranty for the water heater; the SMEV warranty for the cooktop, the Fiamma warranty for the awning, etc. Every single appliance or fitting has its own warranty. They don't all last for the same amount of time, either; the battery warranty is only good for one year if you have the Discover Energy Corp house batteries, for example.

I didn't bother with the extended warranty, figuring that it wouldn't cover enough to be worthwhile, and my chances of needing repairs after the original warranty runs out and before the extended warranty runs out were slim enough to take my chances.
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Old 09-30-2013, 03:42 PM   #4
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Thanks for the information. The deductible was $500.00. I really don't know what covers by the warranty as I have not talked to the dealer about the specifics yet.
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Old 09-30-2013, 04:03 PM   #5
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Re. warranty; in Jan of this year I bought the "official" ELW (from Freightliner since that is how mine is badged) for $1829. It extends my factory warranty for 3 more years or 125K mi. It covers most drivetrain, cooling system and audio system items and has no deductible. Towing is included. You can get the same thing from MB.
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Old 09-30-2013, 04:10 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wayneskid View Post
Re. warranty; in Jan of this year I bought the "official" ELW (from Freightliner since that is how mine is badged) for $1829. It extends my factory warranty for 3 more years or 125K mi. It covers most drivetrain, cooling system and audio system items and has no deductible. Towing is included. You can get the same thing from MB.
Since newer Interstates have an aftermarket Kenwood audio system, chances are the extended warranty wouldn't cover that.
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Old 09-30-2013, 04:38 PM   #7
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wayneskid, so it just cover the chassy(MB equipments)? Not any thing that added by the airstream during the conversion?
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Old 09-30-2013, 06:33 PM   #8
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Since newer Interstates have an aftermarket Kenwood audio system, chances are the extended warranty wouldn't cover that.
I assume that would be true.
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Old 09-30-2013, 06:34 PM   #9
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wayneskid, so it just cover the chassy(MB equipments)? Not any thing that added by the airstream during the conversion?
Correct; the ELW covers Sprinter components only.
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Old 09-30-2013, 06:40 PM   #10
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If that's the case, why is it so much more expensive than for a full size SUV like a Nissan Armada? I purchased a 6 year extended warranty with 0 deductible for a 2009 used Armada for way less than $2000. The Armada is 4WD where as the Sprinter is not.
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Old 09-30-2013, 06:56 PM   #11
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Look at black vs white or silver autos on the road. The black ones seem to age(look old) much faster as well as being a nightmare to keep clean.

I just traded in a Mercedes GL that I had extended the warranty from 3 years to 6 years. For what Mercedes charges I would never own one out of warranty. The extended was identical to the factory warranty and I bought it thru Mercedes when the GL was 35 months old and it was about $2,100 three years ago.
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Old 09-30-2013, 07:01 PM   #12
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If you do decide to buy an extended warranty, you might check with a few places that do Sprinter repair to see what their opinion of the company is.
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Old 09-30-2013, 07:26 PM   #13
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Re: color. Stay with the silver. My Airstream is primarily silver and my car is black. The car is garaged, the Airstream is not, the Airstream always looks cleaner! Besides, it may be psychological but black cars feel hotter in the sushine.
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Old 09-30-2013, 08:14 PM   #14
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If you do decide to buy an extended warranty, you might check with a few places that do Sprinter repair to see what their opinion of the company is.
The ELW (Extended Limited Warranty) that I bought and (I think) kmaggard bought is purchased from either MB or Freightliner, depending on the badging of your Sprinter. Warranty repairs are done by Sprinter certified dealers, either MB or Freightliner.
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Old 10-01-2013, 04:55 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wayneskid View Post
The ELW (Extended Limited Warranty) that I bought and (I think) kmaggard bought is purchased from either MB or Freightliner, depending on the badging of your Sprinter. Warranty repairs are done by Sprinter certified dealers, either MB or Freightliner.
And a reminder…

In some states, you cannot have cross-brand warranty work performed, meaning that you can't get MB warranty work performed at Freightliner, and vice versa, even though they're the same vehicle except for the grille and name badges.
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Old 10-01-2013, 05:19 AM   #16
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More appropriately....an "extended service plan"

" the dealer offers a warranty"....unless it's a plan offered by the manufacturer I would pass, especially for $5k with a $500 ded.

38 yrs in auto dealer service, I've found very few after-market service plans that are worth the investment. None are "bumper to bumper."

FWIW...I do have GMPP Major Guard coverage on our Burb. (re-couped the initial cost with two AC repairs.)

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Old 10-01-2013, 07:13 AM   #17
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I just purchased an extended warranty from wholesalewarranty for 2795.00. 100 dollar deductible, 7 years, 75,000 mi. My dealer offered me the same exact policy for 5k plus. I believe the policy is from cornerstone. It is an exclusionary policy.
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Old 10-01-2013, 07:52 AM   #18
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Another warranty related reminder

Quote:
Originally Posted by Protagonist View Post
And a reminder…
In some states, you cannot have cross-brand warranty work performed, meaning that you can't get MB warranty work performed at Freightliner, and vice versa, even though they're the same vehicle except for the grille and name badges.
Protag is correct; the last I heard the 12 states that prohibit cross-brand warranty work are AR, CO, DE, FL, LA, NH, NJ, NY, OK, TX, UT, VT.

Also, if you purchase your Interstate new from an Airstream dealer make sure the dealer has submitted the paperwork to have the MB warranty start date "reset" to the date of your purchase. And then verify it is correct by having an MB or Freightliner dealer run your VIN. If they don't get this process right, your Sprinter warranty will start on the date Airstream took possession of the Sprinter. This can result in the loss of several months of warranty coverage. In my case, this paperwork didn't get processed correctly and I would have lost some 18 months of coverage if I hadn't have caught the error.
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Old 10-01-2013, 08:12 AM   #19
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I just purchased an extended warranty from wholesalewarranty for 2795.00. 100 dollar deductible, 7 years, 75,000 mi. My dealer offered me the same exact policy for 5k plus. I believe the policy is from cornerstone. It is an exclusionary policy.
Be very careful here....wholesalewarranty.net is NOT the administrator of the "warrantee", they are the wholesaler. It's much better to deal directly with the folks who actually sell and handle the claim process.

Do you know the actual source company for your plan? I would check their CS history and contact them directly with any questions.

From an on-line complaint forum....

"To begin, I would like to clarify my company's position in the warranty sale and claims process. WholesaleWarranties.net is a Wholesaler of vehicle service contracts. We offer several different contracts through several different administrators. We are not, however, the administrator of these contracts. We do not hold these contracts, nor are we responsible for claim authorization, approval or denial, or payment. As a customer service benefit for our clients we offer our services as liaison between the customer and vehicle service contract administrator in the event that they have a contract or claims question or issue."

Bob
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Old 10-01-2013, 08:44 AM   #20
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In other words, caveat emptor.
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