Lifetime Chrysler Warranty

[mtofell1]

So, when I recently bought my new Ram truck I resisted the finance guy's ridiculous pitch for an aftermarket warranty and am doing some research.

As a quick aside, PLEASE folks buying new cars don't fall for the warranty BS in the finance office. ANYTHING they offer you can be bought for FAR LESS for the EXACT same thing at a later date. In fact, you have up until your factory bumper to bumper warranty expires to buy something (okay... end of rant :))

Anyway, I'm seeing this "lifetime" warranty thing. Unlimited time/mileage. So, am I to believe in 2024 when the engine falls out of my truck they are just going to give me another one? And then another one in 2034? And transmissions, rear ends, power seat motors, key fobs, radios, instrument panels, etc, etc, for life?

There has got to be some fine print here that is hidden until I'm signing on the dotted line.

From poking around on line there are numerous re-sellers of genuine Chrysler/Mopar (Ram Truck I bought) warranties and people are claiming to get them at as much as 25% off the posted prices.

Here's a website for an example:

http://www.chryslerwarrantydirect.com/get_coverage/choose_warranty

I generally shy away from these things since I know the profit margin is good for the people selling them but the whole "lifetime" thing really caught my eye. I'm thinking maybe I've bought my last truck. I'll just need a drum of "Bondo" and some duct tape to hold the sucker together for the next 50 years so I can get my 3 engines, 6 transmissions and all of the other parts I'll go through until I die (can I will it to my kids? :))

[mtofell1]

The cheapest I'm able to find it for from poking around the internet is around $2200. I just know it can be had for cheaper... that $1900 looks pretty good 🙂

I have until 12K miles which should take me about 7 months so I'm going to just wait and see what pops up. I "registered" for a quote with one place and they immediately sent me a $190 off (which brought it down to the 2200 I mentioned). I keep thinking I'll get a better offer if I wait.

I'm not totally sure I'm going for it yet. I need to be sure I'm going to keep the truck for a long time... which so far I think I am. But, I have nothing to lose by waiting a bit. I'll follow up and post here if/when I sniff out the best deal.

[tmoore2]

When I bought my Jeep Wrangler back in January the finance guy offered the lifetime warranty for $2400.00 and Chrysler would give 24 months 0% interest.
The lifetime warranty was supposed to be $3400.00. There was a dealer(in Michigan I believe) was offering the Lifetime warranty for about $1900.00. Read about it on a Jeep forum. There were several forum members who bought theirs from him and they seemed to be quite satisfied. He did say he could not sell it at a discount in Florida due to state regulations governing extended warranties.

I did buy the warranty because I had a 2000 wrangler and in six years I had to replace the radiator, water pump, AC vents, and have the AC repaired. I didn't want to get a new wrangler without an extended warranty.

[NJRVer]

Just remember "lifetime" is the life of how long the manufacturer wants to honor it.

"Lifetime" frequent flier miles.
"Lifetime" free checking.

Right, two or three years later, no more.:)

[rebelopie]

rexlion wrote:
I will absolutely get the Chrysler lifetime maximum care coverage! I'm planning to keep the Jeep for 15-20 years and....buying this contract is a no-brainer this time around.

X2. We bought 2 Chrysler vehicles (08/09) when they were running the lifetime powertrain warranty promo with the plan of keeping them a really long time (15 years or more). At purchase, we also bought the lifetime Maxcare warranty, which covers pretty much everything else the powertrain warranty doesn't.

Our vehicles are now at the age/mileage where things are starting to need to be repaired. The warranty has already more than paid for itself on both vehicles. In the Jeep, for example, I got a tree branch caught in the moonroof rail. The the Maxcare covered what would normally have been a $2000 repair (minus the $100 deductible). The main catch on the warranties is to be sure to get the inspection done every 5 years. We got a reminder on the 300C but didn't receive one on the Commander and nearly missed the deadline.

-TJ

[mtofell1]

bucky wrote:
On a side note somebody mentioned profit on these sales. What do you think pays you? Even if you have a public job of some kind, the rest of us are paying you from taxes paid on profit.

I'm fine paying a business profit and understand that it's a necessary part of the real world. Where I have the problem is this cat and mouse BS that must happen with every aspect of buying a car, including the warranty. The price starts at $4000 and they try to just build it into your purchase (as if you won't notice). When you resist, the price falls instantly to 3000... then 2500.... then 2200. Then the finance guy is acting like a child who dropped his ice cream when you still resist.

The same game is played on a larger scale for the vehicle purchase. It's just such an old routine and I can't believe I still have to play it when I buy a vehicle.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

Oh come on Bucky, haven't you figured out that everyone thinks they, are the ones entitled to make money?

Don

[bucky]

In the business 40 plus years, never ever ever buy a warranty that is not sold by the manufacturer. Can you say snake oil? I can only speak for GM, Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota but these 4 stand behind their products with their extended warranties. On a side note somebody mentioned profit on these sales. What do you think pays you? Even if you have a public job of some kind, the rest of us are paying you from taxes paid on profit.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

We had the lifetime max on our Jeep Liberty was part of the deal. When we traded it in for the 200, Chrysler sent me a check for $1,800 and change!

You can't beat that with a stick! Most people don't know that if you sell/trade the vehicle before the 3/36 coverage is up you get almost all of the purchase price refunded. After 3/36 coverage is up, it is refunded at a percentage. Have to say I have almost always come out on top with any extended coverage I have bought.

Don

[Hannibal]

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

Hannibal wrote:
The thing you need to read word for word is what's not covered such as belts and hoses. And the stipulation that if a non covered part such as a belt or hose causes the damage to a covered part, the covered part is also not covered. It's easy to make a very long list of things that hardly ever break and call that the covered parts. The gamble is in their favor or they'd go out of business pretty quick. There are instances when it pays off but there are also many loopholes in those warranties. I prefer to pay as I go. So far, I've saved a lot of money.

Nope not true, at least not with Chrysler's maximum coverage. Hoses and about every thing else is covered. Brake pads are the only thing I could find not listed, even the clutch assembly is covered. You can get a life time policy if you want. But as Dodgeguy said, it's non transferable (the life time coverage) and you have to have records and inspections done (at no cost).

Don

That sounds good!

[rexlion]

Last time I bought an extended warranty was in 1986, a 3rd party warranty that the company refused to honor when the vehicle got "beyond its expected life" (in their opinion) at around 150k miles. Since then I've always turned down such contract offers.

But this spring I intend to order a Jeep Grand Cherokee just the way I want it, and I will absolutely get the Chrysler lifetime maximum care coverage! I'm planning to keep the Jeep for 15-20 years and there is no way imaginable that it could be so trouble-free as to never cost me at least $5k-$10k in unexpected repairs during that time. Why, just in the past 9 months I've spent $3000 sealing up 7 fluid leaks on my '08 Highlander (160k miles on it, mostly towing miles BTW). Chrysler's contract covers gaskets and seals. And like someone else posted, if at some point the repair estimate exceeds the vehicle's value they will pay me the value... there's a few thousand bucks right there, most likely. To me, buying this contract is a no-brainer this time around.

[goducks10]

Not sure if it's required for the life time warranty but I've seen a few where all maintenance needs to be done at the dealer. That alone would eat up a lot of money.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

Hannibal wrote:
The thing you need to read word for word is what's not covered such as belts and hoses. And the stipulation that if a non covered part such as a belt or hose causes the damage to a covered part, the covered part is also not covered. It's easy to make a very long list of things that hardly ever break and call that the covered parts. The gamble is in their favor or they'd go out of business pretty quick. There are instances when it pays off but there are also many loopholes in those warranties. I prefer to pay as I go. So far, I've saved a lot of money.

Nope not true, at least not with Chrysler's maximum coverage. Hoses and about every thing else is covered. Brake pads are the only thing I could find not listed, even the clutch assembly is covered. You can get a life time policy if you want. But as Dodgeguy said, it's non transferable (the life time coverage) and you have to have records and inspections done (at no cost).

Don

[Hannibal]

The thing you need to read word for word is what's not covered such as belts and hoses. And the stipulation that if a non covered part such as a belt or hose causes the damage to a covered part, the covered part is also not covered. It's easy to make a very long list of things that hardly ever break and call that the covered parts. The gamble is in their favor or they'd go out of business pretty quick. There are instances when it pays off but there are also many loopholes in those warranties. I prefer to pay as I go. So far, I've saved a lot of money.

[mtofell1]

A couple things - I'm not talking aftermarket warranties as some of you are referring to. I'm talking a warranty that is backed by Chrysler/Mopar so you just go into their dealerships for repairs. The 3rd party warranties are super risky as the companies can just quietly go under, keeping your money and leaving you high and dry.

Also, if not the lifetime warranty, even extending the factory bumper to bumper up to 100K is appealing. I agree with what people are pointing out that repairs these days are expensive. Cars are becoming almost as much computer as mechanical and repairs can be complex and expensive. I use to work on all my own cars are replace clutches, starters, transmissions, etc. but I wouldn't know where to even start these days.

And another thing worth mentioning is at the time of purchase it doesn't make sense to buy the extended warranty at the dealership. Even if you want to, go back and buy it at the end of the bumper to bumper. Otherwise, you're effectively giving the dealership an interest free loan for 3 years (and likely paying more than you should for the warranty, too). I'm going to shop around and see how I feel over the next couple years, and possibly buy an extended near the end of my 36K.

On Edit: In doing some research you may have to buy within 1yr/12K miles of original purchase. In any case you're still better off waiting as you'll likely find a better deal and don't have to give them your money for a year