Lifetime warranty

[Reptar]

My local dealer offers a lifetime warranty on all new cars they sell. It's an unlimited time and miles extension on the factory power train warranty. Does anyone have any experience with dealers who offer these? Is it worth trying to buy from one of these dealers assuming they're not marking the truck way up, or is it more of a gimmick and they will find every way to get out of paying out claims?

 

[swankyzaphod]

Is it through FCA? My understanding is that FCA did away with Lifetime Warranties after 2018.

 

[Caliche]

I would be very very wary....

 

[Brad1331]

My local dealer offers a lifetime warranty on all new cars they sell. It's an unlimited time and miles extension on the factory power train warranty. Does anyone have any experience with dealers who offer these? Is it worth trying to buy from one of these dealers assuming they're not marking the truck way up, or is it more of a gimmick and they will find every way to get out of paying out claims?

"or is it more of a gimmick and they will find every way to get out of paying out claims"

Nail meet head.....Every single extended warranty for every single product including vehicles is a huge margin profit making machine for the person selling the warranty and a rip off for the person buying it. As a rule of thumb the actual value of the warranty is about 6 to 12 percent of the price paid for the warranty. So a $4,000 extended warranty on a vehicle ends up being worth about $400 on average. In order to convince you of this just think about it there are huge companies with massive overhead that are making a profit and all they do is sell extended warranties. This is unlike insurance because everything you can buy an extended warranty for has a finite value and almost always a rapidly depreciating value at that, where as with health and vehicle insurance that covers peoples lives (yes auto insurance covers you in the case you injure or kill another driver or yourself) protects you with something that has an infinite value (a human life).

Yes there are cases in which an extended warranty on a vehicle covers a repair that exceeded the amount spent on the warranty when the repair needs to be done outside of the original factory warranty, however if this were the norm rather than the exception then no one would be willing to sell you an extended warranty because they would be guaranteed to lose money.

Warranty companies get out of paying more often than not by having tons of loopholes built into their policies that they don't tell you about then when you are taking it in for a claim and you say something like "i took it off roading and drove through a puddle then a week later the car wouldn't start" they mark down that you "submerged your car in mud" and it voids the entire warranty and they are off the hook for any and all repairs and keep the money you spent on it. (this is an actual example of what happened to a lady with a brand new gladiator)

In a nut shell lets say you have 2 guys that each bought and drove a different 3 year old used car every 5 years for 50 years. The first guy declined the $4,000 extended warranty on every single car and the second guy bought the same offered warranty every single time. The profit margin of the warranty companies would say that both of the guys would have about $4,000 worth of repairs on the 10 vehicles total bought combined that would have been covered by the warranty. The first guy would have had to come up with the $4,000 at the time of the repair where the second guy would have been covered but the first guy would have spent a total of $36,000 less on his cars than the second guy.

Rule of thumb the harder the salesmen has to work on selling you something the less you should be willing to buy and the sales pitch for an extended warranty is in my experience the most high pressure sale in the entire car buying process. First they start by telling you a story of a guy just last week that had a $9,000 repair that was covered by it. If you say no they talk about it goes into your loan and its only an extra $50 a month for peace of mind of not having an unexpected repair pop up. If you say no to that I have had them outright insult me telling me I will regret it and come begging them to cover a repair.

 

[swankyzaphod]

Spot on Brad, when they get to the third no, I stand up and start walking out and tell them "basically you just told me I am buying a piece of shit car and should go buy something else." I have got an extra 1K off the price a few times because of that move just to get me back to the table.

 

[tkdr6]

My local dealer offers a lifetime warranty on all new cars they sell. It's an unlimited time and miles extension on the factory power train warranty. Does anyone have any experience with dealers who offer these? Is it worth trying to buy from one of these dealers assuming they're not marking the truck way up, or is it more of a gimmick and they will find every way to get out of paying out claims?

I would be apprehensive if it's NOT offered by FCA or a reputable company like Fidelity that allows you to go to any licensed/certified repair facility. I believe FCA got rid of lifetime warranty back in 2018 as we bought lifetime for our 2016 Durango Citadel for like $2,800 (not transferable when you sell).

I got a quote on the TRX for 10yr/100k warranty for $3,900 from Fidelity. Still waiting on quote from FCA to compare.

Some folks don't believe in the vehicle extended warranty and some do. The cost is influence by the term length/miles and depends on how long you plan to keep your truck and if you're comfortable gambling with this "insurance policy" or not. Also depends on how comfortable you are in doing your own repair work when things break (can save you $$ if you do it yourself).

Personally, I do plan to get an extended warranty for the TRX as it gives me a piece of mind and with my vehicle extended warranty experience they have ALWAYS paid for themselves... but I'm the type of person that also keeps vehicles for 8/10 years (probably not common) and DO NOT like to do any of my vehicle maintenance or repairs myself.

I do agree that extended warranties are often pushed on people and overpriced. Do your own research and remember you don't have to buy the extended warranty from your dealership and don't have to buy it the day you sign papers and pick up your truck. Don't be impetuous and be pushed into anything you're not comfortable with.

To each their own...

Good luck!

 

[Cnterline]

I am waiting for a price also , I always buy the max care when the vehicle is new , and I’ve been a mechanic 40 yrs lol, they have always paid for themselves, this truck having the SC and those shocks I am definitely getting it , front diff went bad on my 2012 @70k miles ,that would have been a few bucks and a pita to do, dropped it off 100 bucks , Bill was over 5000, they did all the ball joints and tie rods too.

 

[Johnny@JustBoltOns]

Some dealers here in TN offer Lifetime Warranty as long as it's service by them but I'm sure the more expensive components won't be covered with that.

 

[tkdr6]

I am waiting for a price also , I always buy the max care when the vehicle is new , and I’ve been a mechanic 40 yrs lol, they have always paid for themselves, this truck having the SC and those shocks I am definitely getting it , front diff went bad on my 2012 @70k miles ,that would have been a few bucks and a pita to do, dropped it off 100 bucks , Bill was over 5000, they did all the ball joints and tie rods too.

My 2013 Ram 3500 turbo diesel was having a high-pitch squealing noise when I was towing and using the engine breaking. I guess the manifold head gasket was leaking and back pressure on the turbos was causing air to leak there as well. They ended up replacing head gaskets and turbos and was over $6,000 work order (parts/labor), all I paid was $100. This happened last year with 65k miles on my truck and it was 7yrs old... all while using the truck for something that it was designed for.

The extended warranty I bought for my Ram 3500 was like $3,100 (8yr/100k) and it more than paid for itself... and I'm not even sharing some of the other smaller less expensive repair items that broke over the years that all add up!

In my case, the insurance policy gamble paid off for me.

Can't imagine if the TRX has supercharger/engine/drive-train or complicated suspension issues... cost could be insane really fast!

 

[Brad1331]

Some dealers here in TN offer Lifetime Warranty as long as it's service by them but I'm sure the more expensive components won't be covered with that.

That is another big thing that voids extended warranties sold by a dealer they will say in the contract that they must be serviced by the dealer every 5k miles and or 6 months which every comes first for the entire duration you own the vehicle and have to have all "routine maintance" done so they will sell you $120 oil changes with $40 worth of materials every 5k miles or twice a year minimum a $250 coolant flush with $20 in materials every 15k miles a $400 transmission flush with $50 in materials every 40k miles etc etc etc which forces you to not only pay the high cost of the warranty but the inflated dealer rates to do services you may or may not need year after year all so if something breaks that might be covered you don't have to pay for the repair......

 

[Johnny@JustBoltOns]

That is another big thing that voids extended warranties sold by a dealer they will say in the contract that they must be serviced by the dealer every 5k miles and or 6 months which every comes first for the entire duration you own the vehicle and have to have all "routine maintance" done so they will sell you $120 oil changes with $40 worth of materials every 5k miles or twice a year minimum a $250 coolant flush with $20 in materials every 15k miles a $400 transmission flush with $50 in materials every 40k miles etc etc etc which forces you to not only pay the high cost of the warranty but the inflated dealer rates to do services you may or may not need year after year all so if something breaks that might be covered you don't have to pay for the repair......

Without a doubt, they have their ways and that's exactly it. I do all my own service. I rarely give anyone the keys to my trucks unless they are getting detailed by a friend or windows tinted.

 

[More Cow Bell]

I have story, After story, After story!!! On experiences at automobile dealerships! The problem is they’re the only ones that have what I want. And I have yet to leave one without the need for a shower! (True story)

 

[Brad1331]

I have story, After story, After story!!! On experiences at automobile dealerships! The problem is they’re the only ones that have what I want. And I have yet to leave one without the need for a shower! (True story)

I definitely made my fair share of mistakes when I was younger on my first car deal, but I have got to the point that it amuses me and I enjoy watching all the crap they try and say "comes on every vehicle" that they try to sell me and seeing every single thing ends up coming off except the negotiated price of the vehicle, the tax, the title and registration fee, and maybe a small DOC fee but until now I've always either got the doc fee taken off or renegotiated the price of the vehicle down by the amount of the fee......

I say until now because I already agreed to pay MSRP for my TRX and if they say there is a $400 DOC fee that they can't take off and aren't willing to drop the price of the truck by $400 I will probably pay it because I want my TRX so bad and I can't go to another dealer and buy one off the lot but any other car I would just walk out

 

[Reptar]

Just to be clear I am not referring to a third party warranty, its a complimentary thing that the dealer offers. There's just a $100 deductible and you have to keep up with all the maintenance according to the owners manual.

Exclusive Lifetime Warranty

Exclusive Lifetime Warranty

www.rhythmcdjr.com

 

[Reptar]

Some dealers here in TN offer Lifetime Warranty as long as it's service by them but I'm sure the more expensive components won't be covered with that.

Yeah this is in TN and it says "Service Your Vehicle Anywhere with Our Lifetime Warranty". I just wonder if they truly stick to it.

 

[Bambi]

Think they will honor the warranty after you swap the blower out and are making 1200hp? Asking for a friend

 

[OkieTRX80]

I work in the service department of a Ram dealer and if allowed by mods, I don't mind quoting this forum Maxcare warranty. I'll quote them at dealer cost + $100 for yall Keep in mind, im not in finance a dept, so don't care to rape people and make a living off selling warranties.

 

[tkdr6]

Think they will honor the warranty after you swap the blower out and are making 1200hp? Asking for a friend

Good luck with that!

They are always looking to find ways to make you pay, if they can remotely justify that your modifications in anyway could’ve caused the vehicle problems, then good luck trying to get the extended warranty to cover the necessary repairs

 

[tkdr6]

I work in the service department of a Ram dealer and if allowed by mods, I don't mind quoting this forum Maxcare warranty. I'll quote them at dealer cost + $100 for yall Keep in mind, im not in finance a dept, so don't care to rape people and make a living off selling warranties.

Would be interesting to see what dealer cost plus $100 is for the TRX extended warranty. You will likely have to give several options regarding terms of months and miles, as not everyone will want the same terms based on their lifestyle being different.

 

[OkieTRX80]

Would be interesting to see what dealer cost plus $100 is for the TRX extended warranty. You will likely have to give several options regarding terms of months and miles, as not everyone will want the same terms based on their lifestyle being different.

Do you have your VIn??