brian42
Ram Guru
I'm having my first ESP visit right now. We'll see if the dealership approves the work but I made sure what I had them look at was covered by the ESP (Max Care). My truck is pretty much bone stock.
So far I've learned about the rental policy (see post #89). You don't get a "loaner" until the dealership determines that they will perform a repair, not when you drop the truck off.
It's a MOPAR ESP no matter who you buy it from (many listed in this thread). I can see it when I log into MOPAR.com and the dealership sees it when they bring up my VIN.
My service advisor/writer was intimately familiar with the Max Care ESP so that works for me overall. I may not get all the work approved but at least he knows what is covered and what isn't so there will be no question when they do the repair. As long as it's covered then it's up to the dealership to get paid from MOPAR minus my deductible and I'm only on the hook for $100 to get my truck back.
I'm not sure how familiar a service department is with other 3rd party ESPs as the onus is on you to pay to get your truck back, whether the ESP company pays some and you pay some or you pay all of it to get your truck back and then try to get reimbursed by your ESP company.
If you have a MOPAR plan with a deductible you pay that at the end when you pick up the truck (and the deductible applies to the visit regardless of how many issues you have them investigate). There is also a clause in there that says I am responsible for any state/local tax on the total repair price. I will find out soon enough how that is applied or if it gets waived.
Biggest things that I noticed so far:
1. The basic warranty covers the suspension as long as it's not lifted more than 2". The ESP covers suspension components but has a caveat that it does not cover any aftermarket parts or failures due to them (that includes oversize tires). So even if you are rockin' a MOPAR 2" lift buyer beware.
2. My dealership gave me a loaner every time I took my truck in for service during the basic warranty period (and there are plenty that don't). Now my rental/loaner coverage starts when they approve a repair instead of when I drop it off for diagnosis (although the dealership was more than happy to charge me $40/day for a loaner until it was diagnosed).
3. Even though I have an unlimited miles plan I see that my "inconvenience" reimbursement (lodging, tow, loaner/rental) runs out at 100,000 miles. At my current rate I'll hit that mark at the 5 year point.
I don't think they'll completely go out of business as it is a great way to get people to bring their truck to the dealership for service. If you are already doing that there's a good change you will have items repaired there that are not covered and have your routine maintenance done there too.
They did kill off the lifetime ESP (Max Life?) within the last couple of years as I'm sure that was not a money-maker for them.
Below is a (redacted) copy of my MOPAR ESP for anyone interested in what is actually covered. It's not 200 pages of legal mumbo jumbo, it's only 10 pages long. It's pretty clear on coverage although there are some grey areas for some items/components that will be a judgement call on the dealership on whether they think they can get paid by FCA for the work.
For background this is for my 2019 RAM 5.7L 4x4: MOPAR Max Care ESP, 7 years | unlimited miles | $100 deductible, purchase through Zeigler:
Last edited:
