Hi all, new member here...

I just bought an '06 2500 MegaCab 4x4, Cummins 5.9, etc. It has 34.5K miles on it and will be going out of warranty soon. What are your general opinions of service contracts/extended warranties? Who offers the best rates, and what kind would you recommend I look at (e.g. are major repairs frequent and random enough to warrant an exclusive contract or are you seeing them focused on certain areas such as suspension and I should go for an inclusive contract)?

 

There have been lots of past discusions on that subject and lots of opinions. Personally I wont go with the extended warrenty but I like to gamble. It would be interesting to get a poll going with a breakdown by year and transmission type asking if they should have gotten the extra warranty or not.

 

I just bought my 2006 a month ago and I did go with the warranty from Dodge. I have warranty for 4 years or 50k miles bumper to bumper.

Theres one key element to this warranty and thats why I bought it; If I do not use the warranty at all, I get a refund check after the 4 years regardless of mileage. So, if nothing major fails on the truck or if I can not add up enough broken stuff to make the repairs worth it, I can still get my money back.

This is just my opinion of course and I probably wouldn't have bought the warranty if I didn't get the refund. My last truck I bought the warranty on and never used it once. So, this way I have some backup if something bad happens and if it doesn't, I get my cash back.

Well, again, just my opinion. Have a good one.

 

Purchased 2007 with 6.7, auto, 4x4.
Xtnd warranty from Chrysler 6 yrs, 85k miles, $100 deduct/visit, cost $2200, type warranty the one that covers everything except brakes, and maint.
Yeah I know should have put money into CD for 4 yrs or so instead but I chose to take warranty along with 0% money for 4 years.

 

I had a service contract in effect when my transfer case needed to be replaced. It paid for itself in parts and labor. It also paid for a fuel gauge sending unit and for a frozen steering knuckle parts and labor minus the $100 deductable.

 

I've heard over and over that the extended waranties make good money for the dealers, and they always try to push them with ridiculous pitches like "When that computer goes out right after the warrantee it will cost you about two thousand to get it fixed". I always ask questions like, if the computer will only make it through the warrantee period and you know it's a problem then I need to buy a different kind of car, goodbye. That sends then into a fit.

I did buy the warrantee on a new VW and when we had a problem the dealer just said "oh, they went out of business so there is no warrantee". I hated that. The dealer got their cut for selling the warrantee, but accepted no responsibility for it.

There are times when it could be a big help, but the cost is really high and you are buying a good truck. It might be there if you need it and it might not. Hard to decide isn't it? I'd say check out the truck thoroughly and skip the extended warrantee.

John

 

Webhorn,
Only go with a Dodge's own extended warranty. Your motor has more than the 36/36 on it so if you put an off brand warranty on the other parts you know the two companies are going to argue over who's parts broke what. You will be offered Dodge warranties by mail after the fact but there are some aftermarket companies trying to imitate them. There are more than one level of coverage so be sure you are getting the one that you pay for. Pick a part that you think may fail and go back to the service manager and ask him if that part would be covered. Jim

 

If you do buy one, buy it from Dodge and not some after market company who my or may not be in business when you need to use it. I have one that extends the warranty to 7 years or 100,000 miles and it covers every thing except wear items like brakes, wiper blades etc. Oh, I got it for only $2100.00 by having my dealer price match the online Dodge dealer.

 

Got one on a used truck once. Seems like everything that ever went wrong wasn't covered for some reason or another. They had more reason to deny a claim than I ever though anyone could possibly have. The worn out ball joints were denied, normal wear and tear. Master cylinder, same thing, normal wear and tear. When the transmission went out, they horsed me around for almost 2 weeks before giving me an authorization, then retracted, truck was already in the shop.

No more extended warranties for me, ever.

 

Yup, lots of opinions. What got me is starting last year I started getting letters in the mail saying it was my last chance to extend my warrenty. They gave me a "last chance" about 14 times. Anyway, called Chrysler and the company offering the warrenty isnt even endorsed by Chrysler. My dealer denied giving out my name and address but I know it was them due to a reversal in some letters of my name that they had made on my original papers.

 

Bark, They sure can make them look like originals can't they? The dealer does not sell the name they probably get them through dmv records. I would think with all the new laws that will go away too. Aftermarket companies can cause big issues.

 

What DBLR said ! Only with Chrysler and shop the dealers. Even shop the dealers on line.
My dealer matched the lowest offer I found on line. 2k for 7 year/100k service contract for diesel Ram trucks.
It's supposed to cover something like 5000 items.
Dealer just replaced the front pinion yoke and seal and repaired a small coolant leak on my truck for only the cost of the deductible.
I had one on my 96' Jeep Grand Cherokee and they replaced the radiator and water pump for only the deductible.
I believe they're called "Chrysler Gold Service Contracts"
I guess there O.K. if you need them.
Maby peace of mind.

 

I just dropped of the 05 Chrysler T&C mini van. It has non Chrysler extened warrenty. Has a few small propblems to be fixed. The drivers side window somtimes will not come up, power window. The rear wiper don't move. Drivers side wheel/tire has a wobble, there is a whine, might be P/S or something else.
Missing a **** on one of the power seat levers.
Service writer called the warrienty company, and they told him to call them on the repairs and estimate.

On the truck I have the Chrysler Warrenty. Not sure of the time on it. But to me it is worth it. It has already fixed some problems.

 

Buying a warrantee through the dealer doesn't mean a whole bunch. As I posted earlier, I bought one through VW, as part of the contract, at the time I bought the car and they went bankrupt. VW did not stand behind it even though they got their cut. With the other comments about being denied, I'd say it's very risky. I get those last chance letters too. And promptly toss them. Junk mail is such a pain!


John

 

sCreamin400: Its funny but we had corrected the name problem at the DMV when we registered the vehicle (we paid cash so no lein or anything). The only place the mispelling had turned up was at the Dealer. Thats why I accused them of turning my name and address over to other people. I will probably never know, however, (and this is kind of funny) according to one of their mechanics, one of their salesmen was fired for using their computers to send out mass spam e-mailings.