I purchased an extended warranty, held by American Financial, through Keffer Hyundai of Charlotte, for my Mercedes Benz GL450 when I purchased it in 2010. Up until now, only one thing has ever been deemed worthy of coverage by this warranty company. My suspension, which on a Mercedes, is an 'air suspension' involving airbags, deflated 2 weeks ago. The warranty contract specifically covers suspension components, which is helpful and specifically lists struts. Well, to my surprise, the pump that provides the air to the suspension system, failed this week and the suspension deflated again. American Financial is saying that because 'mercedes part no. Xxx airmatic pump' is not specifically listed in the contract (my apologies for not pulling out my handy Mercedes Benz manual to check the part list against the contract - which wouldn't have been able to state it, since it is not make or model-specific), then they will not cover it.
1. They list struts specifically; because of the nature of the struts on this vehicle, they cannot operate without this component, and therefore, 'struts' and 'suspension components', since they are not brand-specific, should include the pump that MAKES THE AIRBAG AN OPERATIONAL STRUT.
2. The service department at Mercedes has verified that if the airbag had not deflated, the pump would not have failed. It ran continuously when the airbag was deflated, continually trying to fill it (we took it immediately to be serviced, so it was not negligence on our part) and therefore, burned out.
After several conversations with the dealer and the warranty company 9and supervisors), i was even told that I could not have the names of the dealerships that sell their warranties (though i am happy to look them up). I feel the coverage stated is not the coverage I've received and there is no willingness to work with me. The contract states struts (their argument to me is that it is not specifically listed - who knew you had to list every singlel part on every model car to get it covered under warranty?). The airbags are not struts - they're airbags without the pump, which again, only failed because the bags failed, which were covered. Now I'm left with an additional $1000 bill. What was the point of purchasing this warranty???
DO NOT BUY an extended warranty from this company - spend the money with the original maker of the vehicle if you're going to buy one. All of my other warranties have been through the maker of the vehicle and the accountability is there. ASK who the warranty is through when you buy one - and BUYER BEWARE! This company is a rip-off!
0 comments