Edited: I cancelled my Mopar extended warranty but reactivated it after some good advice on here!

[Bluesurf]

I have owned many cars. Always have 3 at a time. Only one SUV was not worth the "Warranty"; That was the most reliable rides ever designed, Lexus vehicles. My Jeep products all needed Maxicare. I still have my Grand Cherokee Summit like new, 60K (back and forth from Houston to Lake Austin) I've banged out that warranty plenty. I would never recommend against a factory warranty with FCA.

 

[Mtsabo]

Theres only one reason not to get one. They make boat loads of money selling them. Therefor odds are greatly in your favor.

 

[Wsmith]

Yep. Only bought it 2 days ago, as noted on an earlier warranty thread. Got a good deal too... $1430 for 8/85 with $100 deductible. But after sleeping on it for a couple days, I came to the realization that I feel I’m just throwing money away. Here are my reasons and what my latest research has revealed. Take it FWIW and this is me only:

1) My truck only has 11,700 miles so I still have 2 years/23000 miles before the expiration of the factory warranty. Not counting the 5 year/60000 powertrain which is where the big ticket items happen - still have 4 years/48000 miles left in that. I feel it’s a waste to even have it if I won’t be using it anytime soon.

2) All consumer report data indicates that a great majority of customers will never/barely use the extended warranty. Reasons for this lie within the fact that most major problems either happen with brand new components (factory install fails) or towards end-of-life spans (after 100k Miles.) which is why extended warranties typically don’t go too far beyond 100k miles. Big expensive failures in between these mileages that exceed the cost of the extended warranty are not as common (but yes they do happen.) So it’s a roll-the-dice kind of proposition, but much more in favor of the company, not the consumer.

3) Extended warranties greatly benefit the company and not the customers, which is why they’re offered and so profitable. There will always be stories from some folks where it paid off big time (like Vegas winners) but overall the companies usually come out ahead.

4) The typical average car repair is in the $300-400 range, and for the length of most extended warranties and what we pay for them ($1500-$2500) odds are that we won’t approach that level. Yes there are exceptions, some will reach it and some will greatly surpass it. But.. From 36000 miles to 85000 miles the chances of exceeding a $1500 repair are lower than not using it at all. Yes there are /have been exceptions and I’m sure I’ll hear about them below.

5) Finally.. and the most important reason for me. In these uncertain times with jobs being cut, business going under, etc... I feel I can much more wisely use that $1500 towards a rainy day fund and/or investing. In any case I wouldn’t even be using the extended warranty for two more years and when I think of what that $1500 can do for me in those next two years, doesn’t justify me spending it on this.

I know on the other thread I was pretty happy about purchasing it and recommended it (Ziegler.) I wont stop recommending it, it’s a great price And I totally understand why many folks would get it. But it’s not for me. I should have done more research prior to buying it but thankfully Ziegler was very quick in refunding the full amount quickly.

Signed, Rolling the bones and sleeping well again. )

I agree with almost everything you said. Extended warranties definitely benefit the company, if not they wouldn't be offered. The only thing I am hesitant on is big ticket items are associated with the powertrain. With the amount of electronics and computers in these vehicles that can get very expensive, that is my reason for wanting an extended warranty more than any other component of the vehicle.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

It's insurance. I haven't purchased extended warranties for vehicles in years but I also swapped them before the base 3/36 was done. This one, I think, I'm going to hang on to so I'll purchase an extended warranty. I have no idea where the 3-400 average came from. I'm guessing sometime last century..... You can't buy a taillight assembly, power mirror for that. I've got a Limited so there's lots of expensive doodads that can potentially go south.
I insure my house, car, truck. Sure law requires it to get tags but I'd buy it anyway.
My truck has been trouble free for the most part. Trim molding replacement and right hand mirror. If I'd been chasing repairs, I'd broom it for something else and not get a warranty.
I don't buy warranties for appliances those often cost close to half of replacing them completely. That's surely not the case with the truck warranty. If my 12" infotainment system goes bad, it'll more than pay for the cost. Plus, I'll never lose sleep over spending a couple thousand dollars.

 

[INVISBLE]

I am with the others... I realize with all the problems that parts like the 12.1 radio and all its issues, might be one of the things that goes after the 3/36 and it alone will cost more than an extended warranty. My Limited literally has everything on it. Air ride is extremely expensive to fix too. Just imagine everything that isnt a powertrain item and you start to realize a little insurance can go a long way down the line.

 

[LaxDfns15]

My biggest concern, and the main reason for getting my warranty, was my radio. A 12" radio from the dealer is going to run well into $2000, and if that thing goes out after 36k miles (I only have 26k left) I'm hosed. My warranty was 8/125k for $1500. If I don't use a single cent of it I'm ok with that because I spend more than $200/yr on stupid shyte anyway.

 

[mikeru82]

the only person who ever intimidated me was my D.I. at Parris Island...ha ha...believe what you want, but I just did that on a car I bought for the wife 2 weeks ago. And I tell it to the salesman BEFORE I have picked out the car and made the deal. The one I just bought, the finance mngr called me to go over everything and he stayed clear of the warranty crap cause it was in the notes from the salesman NOT to push the warranty on me. It's not about intimidation, it's about wasting time..lol

This is not a good tactic in general. Maybe you have a great relationship with your dealership, and they will give you the best deal on the vehicle price because they like you or something. But it's not a good tactic for most people to use. Times have changed in the car sales business. Cash is no longer king. The profit is no longer in the actual vehicle, it's in whatever they can sell in the finance office. If they know they won't be getting anything else from you, you're not likely to get as good a deal on the vehicle price as you might if they didn't know this. And it's the main reason you never want to let the salesman know if you plan to pay cash for a car until the price has been negotiated, and you're sitting in the finance office. They know that most people who pay cash for a vehicle tend to not buy anything offered in the finance office. Same thing if you tell them ahead of time that you don't even want them to attempt to sell anything else to you. They know you aren't buying anything else so you might not get that extra dealer incentive you might have gotten if they though you'd pay for ceramic coating, or a service contract.

 

[LaxDfns15]

Dammit, Now you guys got me rethinking it again. Especially those of you who have owned past FCA vehicles and had to use the warranty a bunch. But that’s why I started this thread. Help! Lol

Another option instead of buying the warranty is to just stock away some cash when available every month. For me, $200/yr is basically what I'm paying for my warranty. That's less than $20/month, so if you have $20-50 to spare, and can put it somewhere you won't be tempted to use it, it comes out to the same thing. If you never use the warranty you have that much cash to do what you want with, although it may not cover a repair if you do need it.

 

[Condor757]

Another option instead of buying the warranty is to just stock away some cash when available every month. For me, $200/yr is basically what I'm paying for my warranty. That's less than $20/month, so if you have $20-50 to spare, and can put it somewhere you won't be tempted to use it, it comes out to the same thing. If you never use the warranty you have that much cash to do what you want with, although it may not cover a repair if you do need it.

Thats what I was planning on doing. But all these stories from current/past Ram owners who have had to dip into the warranty time after time got me thinking again. Many of them have had repairs that would have cost a good deal more than what their warranties cost... a lot more times than what I would deem “rarely.”

 

[LaxDfns15]

Thats what I was planning on doing. But all these stories from current/past Ram owners who have had to dip into the warranty time after time got me thinking again. Many of them have had repairs that would have cost a good deal more than what their warranties cost... a lot more times than what I would deem “rarely.”

Gotta remember, if you're getting your info from the forums it's a small subset of a giant population. I think someone said there are about 30k members on this site. From what I could find with a quick search there were around 900k 1500's sold in 2019 and the first half of 2020. That means 0.333% of the owners in the last 1.5 years are on this site. So even if every single one of us had a transmission grenade at 60,001 miles it's still such a small sample of "issues".

 

[Condor757]

Well after reading though all these awesome replies I just called Zeigler and “un-cancelled” the cancellation. So I’m back to 8/85/$100 deductible for $1430.

I think the fact that I already have had 4 major issues in just about a year of ownership is what convinced me to stick with the plan:

-Master brake cylinder went out at 900 miles after a heavy braking effort
-Transmission got stuck in 3rd and had to restart/limp home at 3000 miles
-Drivers side window was loose/rattling at 10,000 miles
-Rear window crack/leak

All were fixed under factory warranty. I’m guessing the grand total of all that stuff was a tad over $1430? Lol. Well if those issues happened with less than a year of ownership I’m guessing there will be more.

I want to thank you everyone here for guiding me into this decision and I apologize for beating the horse dead!

 

[brian42]

This is my first new vehicle. My last one was not cheap (Ford F-250) but was older so I could do the work myself (and I did for the 11 years I had it).

It's not the parts as much as the labor. All this new tech costs money to get new parts but the overall price skyrockets when you have to have someone do it. Passwords, rolling codes, special software, etc., all cost money to have/subscribe to and labor rates aren't getting any cheaper.

I can easily get a $500 part and spend the weekend in my driveway replacing it. Now that same $500 part costs me $100+/hr to get installed because it takes special tools, programming, activation, etc. Now what used to cost me $500, a couple of beers, and some quality time in front of my house is going to cost me twice that. Now throw in the fact that I have to get it to the dealership/shop, get around on my own somehow, then go back and get it.

I plan to have this truck for 10+ years. Since I drive ~25K miles/year it was a no-brainer for me to get the 7 year/unlimited miles warranty. Now if something goes wrong I take it to the dealership, pay $100, they give me a loaner, and throw whatever parts at it that they need to get me back on the road, then get FCA to pay them.

An extended warranty is not for everyone, but for me it's worth it. My B2B runs out is 2K miles but my extended warranty lasts me until 2026 no matter how many miles I drive.

 

[TBMSport]

With an extensive background in service advising/managing and an accounting background, I have slightly different rationale for extended warranty. Economics!

First my main go-to thought is, if I need to THINK about getting an extended warranty, I need to THINK about getting a more reliable vehicle in the first place. If my fears of stuff breaking down are rooted in the track record of the vehicle vs general paranoia, then I shouldn't be buying that vehicle. If the OEM/dealer network is a pain to get reasonable and legit issues repaired under new car warranty, do I expect them to be heroes when the truck is old and parts are obsolete AND they're having to fix it on warranty claim rates??

Second, I look at the projected resale value of the vehicle (hence I will never seriously consider an F-150). If the vehicle has cost me an arm during warranty ownership and it's resale value at the end of the factory warranty is garbage, it's going to probably cost me a leg after warranty. So why would I want to keep it (extended warranty or not)? It's just going to be a headache.

Third, there are TOO many variables that can come into play between buying new and warranty end. Accidents, theft, hell even a lemon law buy back. As some have eluded to. An extended warranty can be purchased at any point. New vehicles coming out. Newer model year vehicles with better features/reliability available as pre-certified with built in extended warranty.

My family has only bought an extended warranty for ONE new vehicle purchase in the past 40 years we've been buying cars and that was for my mother's Lexus LS430. And as expected, it was never used bc the car was highly reliable (and rarely driven). I think it was about $1900. We kept it for 12 yrs and only put about 65k miles on it. As it turned out, the car got hit twice through no fault of our own. Certified Lexus dealer screwed up the repair and it never looked right and features never worked like new. Then a few years after the extended warranty went, the air bags went and the power tilt/telescopic system went. The touchscreen display was whoafully out of date as was the Sirius system and built in navigation. Repairing the airbags alone was a $2k job. About $750 for the steering repair. Nothing could be done about the display system short of a full out aftermarket dash redo. Thankfully, the car was fully loaded with rare options and color combo so it kept its resale value well when we sold it (even the dealers made a generous trade in offer), but that extra $1900 could have gone a much longer way if it was in the bank or Tesla/Amazon/Apple stock.

 

[OldMarine]

This is not a good tactic in general.

Mike....sorry, don't see your logic at all. Your saying you can only get a good deal if you agree to spend MORE money in the finance managers office? Once that happens, you don't have a good deal anymore lol. Too many people not only fall for an X-warranty when they don't really need it, but they then get talked into rolling it into the financing!! Now they are paying interest on the warranty! Listen, whatever works for you great...what works for me is, I go into a dealership, after my search on Autotrader..I hook up with a salesperson and tell them what I'm looking for, and,(here's the key), I tell them I am willing to buy TODAY for the right deal. Once they hear that, they go full steam ahead. We look at the vehicle, we go back and forth a little bit, we agree on a price...I get out the checkbook to put down a deposit, and then tell him," please let the finance manager know I don't want any extras, and will walk on the deal if i feel pressured in anyway"...saves me LOTS of aggravation. Peace out.

 

[OldCheyenne]

I bought a Certified Pre-Owned Cadillac, came with a CPO warranty extension up to 3 years and 75,000 miles. Since I don't put many miles on the car, I was interested in the additional 3 years. Car was a 2015, bought in 2017, warranty until 2020. In the 3 years I have had car, 3 items failed: Adaptive Cruise, the fancy radio system that controls everything (CUE) and a torque/transmission converter. My cost = zero; without the CPO warranty, cost would have been 4,000 for Adaptive cruise, 2,000 for radio system and 3,000 for torque converter; that is 9,000 in repairs for 3 years! Why so much???.....everything is now computer controlled, they don't replace a part anymore, they just replace the entire item. Oh, yes I'm getting rid of Cadillac and getting a Ram 1500 Limited. Hmmmm...I wonder how much they'll charge for replacing the 12" display. On the caddy it was 2,000 for an 8" (and they only gave a 12 month warranty on it, even though everyone knew it would fail again).

Every wonder why Ram (or almost any US company only gives you 3 yr/36,000) and many of the imports give you 5 yr/50,000 or better?? I would buy extended warranty, only because of my experience. Hopefully, Ram will beat Cadillac.

Hint to Ram....bump price of all your trucks by 1,500 and give me a Kia type warranty! Sure would make Ford, GMC and Chevy look bad. And adding 633,000 x 1500 = 949,500,00 (almost a Billion) to the bottom line sure wouldn't hurt. Heck you might even top ford in sales!!

Current Warranties Ranked Best to Worst (from Motor1.com 2018)

Brand Basic Coverage Powertrain Coverage Corrosion Coverage Roadside Assistance Volkswagen 6/72,000 6/72,000 7/100,000 3/36,000 Hyundai 5/60,000 10/100,000 7/Unlimited 5/Unlimited Genesis 5/60,000 10/100,000 7/Unlimited 5/Unlimited Mitsubishi 5/60,000 10/100,000 7/100,000 5/Unlimited Kia 5/60,000 10/100,000 5/100,000 5/60,000 Jaguar 5/60,000 5/60,000 6/Unlimited 5/60,000 Infiniti 4/60,000 6/70,000 7/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Tesla 4/50,000 8/Unlimited -- 4/50,000 Lincoln 4/50,000 6/70,000 5/Unlimited Unlimited Cadillac 4/50,000 6/70,000 6/Unlimited 6/70,000 Buick 4/50,000 6/70,000 6/100,000 6/70,000 Lexus 4/50,000 6/70,000 6/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Acura 4/50,000 6/70,000 5/Unlimited 4/50,000 Audi 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/Unlimited BMW 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Mini 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Fiat 4/50,000 4/50,000 5/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Volvo 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Porsche 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/50,000 Land Rover 4/50,000 4/50,000 6/Unlimited 4/50,000 Alfa Romeo 4/50,000 4/50,000 5/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Mercedes 4/50,000 4/50,000 4/50,000 4/50,000 Smart 4/50,000 4/50,000 4/50,000 4/50,000 Chevrolet 3/36,000 5/60,000 6/100,000 5/60,000 GMC 3/36,000 5/60,000 6/100,000 5/60,000 Chrysler 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/100,000 5/100,000 Dodge 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/100,000 5/100,000 Ram 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/100,000 5/100,000 Ford 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 5/60,000 Jeep 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/100,000 5/60,000 Honda 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 3/36,000 Mazda 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 3/36,000 Nissan 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 3/36,000 Subaru 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 3/36,000 Toyota 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 2/Unlimited

 

[mikeru82]

Mike....sorry, don't see your logic at all. Your saying you can only get a good deal if you agree to spend MORE money in the finance managers office? Once that happens, you don't have a good deal anymore lol. Too many people not only fall for an X-warranty when they don't really need it, but they then get talked into rolling it into the financing!! Now they are paying interest on the warranty! Listen, whatever works for you great...what works for me is, I go into a dealership, after my search on Autotrader..I hook up with a salesperson and tell them what I'm looking for, and,(here's the key), I tell them I am willing to buy TODAY for the right deal. Once they hear that, they go full steam ahead. We look at the vehicle, we go back and forth a little bit, we agree on a price...I get out the checkbook to put down a deposit, and then tell him," please let the finance manager know I don't want any extras, and will walk on the deal if i feel pressured in anyway"...saves me LOTS of aggravation. Peace out.

haha...no, that's not what I'm saying at all. What I am saying is not to tip your hand before you get into the finance office. Let them think whatever they want until then. Don't do or say anything that will indicate you won't even consider buying anything in the finance office. Once you and the sales person have agreed to a price, and you're in the finance office, then you can drop the "bomb" on them and tell them you won't be buying any of their extra crap. Sure, it might cost you a little more time during the buying process, but you'll likely get a better deal on the purchase price. I learned this from a retired CDJR sales manager.

 

[LaxDfns15]

I bought a Certified Pre-Owned Cadillac, came with a CPO warranty extension up to 3 years and 75,000 miles. Since I don't put many miles on the car, I was interested in the additional 3 years. Car was a 2015, bought in 2017, warranty until 2020. In the 3 years I have had car, 3 items failed: Adaptive Cruise, the fancy radio system that controls everything (CUE) and a torque/transmission converter. My cost = zero; without the CPO warranty, cost would have been 4,000 for Adaptive cruise, 2,000 for radio system and 3,000 for torque converter; that is 9,000 in repairs for 3 years! Why so much???.....everything is now computer controlled, they don't replace a part anymore, they just replace the entire item. Oh, yes I'm getting rid of Cadillac and getting a Ram 1500 Limited. Hmmmm...I wonder how much they'll charge for replacing the 12" display. On the caddy it was 2,000 for an 8" (and they only gave a 12 month warranty on it, even though everyone knew it would fail again).

Every wonder why Ram (or almost any US company only gives you 3 yr/36,000) and many of the imports give you 5 yr/50,000 or better?? I would buy extended warranty, only because of my experience. Hopefully, Ram will beat Cadillac.

Hint to Ram....bump price of all your trucks by 1,500 and give me a Kia type warranty! Sure would make Ford, GMC and Chevy look bad. And adding 633,000 x 1500 = 949,500,00 (almost a Billion) to the bottom line sure wouldn't hurt. Heck you might even top ford in sales!!

Current Warranties Ranked Best to Worst (from Motor1.com 2018)

Brand Basic Coverage Powertrain Coverage Corrosion Coverage Roadside Assistance Volkswagen 6/72,000 6/72,000 7/100,000 3/36,000 Hyundai 5/60,000 10/100,000 7/Unlimited 5/Unlimited Genesis 5/60,000 10/100,000 7/Unlimited 5/Unlimited Mitsubishi 5/60,000 10/100,000 7/100,000 5/Unlimited Kia 5/60,000 10/100,000 5/100,000 5/60,000 Jaguar 5/60,000 5/60,000 6/Unlimited 5/60,000 Infiniti 4/60,000 6/70,000 7/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Tesla 4/50,000 8/Unlimited -- 4/50,000 Lincoln 4/50,000 6/70,000 5/Unlimited Unlimited Cadillac 4/50,000 6/70,000 6/Unlimited 6/70,000 Buick 4/50,000 6/70,000 6/100,000 6/70,000 Lexus 4/50,000 6/70,000 6/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Acura 4/50,000 6/70,000 5/Unlimited 4/50,000 Audi 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/Unlimited BMW 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Mini 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Fiat 4/50,000 4/50,000 5/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Volvo 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Porsche 4/50,000 4/50,000 12/Unlimited 4/50,000 Land Rover 4/50,000 4/50,000 6/Unlimited 4/50,000 Alfa Romeo 4/50,000 4/50,000 5/Unlimited 4/Unlimited Mercedes 4/50,000 4/50,000 4/50,000 4/50,000 Smart 4/50,000 4/50,000 4/50,000 4/50,000 Chevrolet 3/36,000 5/60,000 6/100,000 5/60,000 GMC 3/36,000 5/60,000 6/100,000 5/60,000 Chrysler 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/100,000 5/100,000 Dodge 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/100,000 5/100,000 Ram 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/100,000 5/100,000 Ford 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 5/60,000 Jeep 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/100,000 5/60,000 Honda 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 3/36,000 Mazda 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 3/36,000 Nissan 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 3/36,000 Subaru 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 3/36,000 Toyota 3/36,000 5/60,000 5/Unlimited 2/Unlimited

Nissan bumped their Titan warranty up to a standard 5/100,000 bumper to bumper warranty a couple years ago.

 

[OldMarine]

haha...no, that's not what I'm saying at all. What I am saying is not to tip your hand before you get into the finance office. Let them think whatever they want until then. Don't do or say anything that will indicate you won't even consider buying anything in the finance office. Once you and the sales person have agreed to a price, and you're in the finance office, then you can drop the "bomb" on them and tell them you won't be buying any of their extra crap. Sure, it might cost you a little more time during the buying process, but you'll likely get a better deal on the purchase price. I learned this from a retired CDJR sales manager.

ok, I see what you are saying, BUT...(always a but right?)...I have already made the deal I am happy with BEFORE I step foot in a finance office,(now they just call you instead due to Covid)...that's why I don't want to waste time hear the routine. The deal is done, the price is agreed with the salesman, and THEN I tell them not to hit me with the warranty/undercoating/3m protective film /backrubs for life...etc...got better things to do

 

[User_3336]

Yeah, I still can't figure where that statistic came from . . . .

3-400 dollar per visit after warranty is a dream---all the electronics now a days, good luck

 

[User_3336]

You'd turn down backrubs for life??????????????

ok, I see what you are saying, BUT...(always a but right?)...I have already made the deal I am happy with BEFORE I step foot in a finance office,(now they just call you instead due to Covid)...that's why I don't want to waste time hear the routine. The deal is done, the price is agreed with the salesman, and THEN I tell them not to hit me with the warranty/undercoating/3m protective film /backrubs for life...etc...got better things to do