Opinions please, another extended warranty thread...

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breal201999

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Opinions please, extended warranty (buy now, or okay to wait)

(start rephrase)
Let me rephrase for those first reading this. I'm not here to debate if LIFETIME warranty is a good thing or not. To each their own on that subject. I'm sold on the LIFETIME myself, but my question really lies around what am I risking instead of buying now, as opposed to waiting until I reach 30,000 miles on my 2016 that currently has 7,000 miles.​
(end rephrase)

My apologies for yet another warranty related thread, I tried for replies on an existing thread, but thought may be best to take my own situation to a separate thread.

I went to this site for two quotes... One for as of today, and one considering my truck is 2 years old and 30,000 miles. Yes the price is higher than the price Clay quoted me, at minimum by $300... but the difference between the two quotes on this site is only $150. What causes the quote to go up is "within 12 month from warranty start date" check box.

[email protected] - $2430

Genuine Mopar Vehicle Protection Warranty - Save $$ Today
2016 as of today with 7000 miles - $2730
2014 with 30,000 miles - $2880

My thought is at worst (considering today's prices) if I don't buy now and I wait until I have 30,000 miles... I might be out of pocket $450 more than I would if I bought now. I hope to be in a better financial position 2 years from now when my wife goes back to work full time from being a stay at home mom, so I'd have more disposable income and would feel better about spending $2880 then rather $2430 now. If I figure that $450 is "interest", yeah that's a horrible rate. Maybe I shouldn't look so hard at the numbers like that... but I'm a numbers guy.

Am I risking anything else other than maybe $450 if I don't buy now and drive my truck another couple of years to about the 30,000 mile mark?

Does anyone find fault in my logic?

Thanks
 
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MADDOG

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Just one option to consider. MOPAR/Chrysler Contracts will do you a 3 year, no interest payment plan on any service contract you purchase from them.

When looking at service contracts, check the "What's Covered" and "What's Excluded" terms of the warranty.

Chrysler Service Contracts MaxCare warranty covers all but wear parts and component failure due to collision, flood, etc...It's one of the best warrantee plans out there, IMHO.
 
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breal201999

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Just one option to consider. MOPAR/Chrysler Contracts will do you a 3 year, no interest payment plan on any service contract you purchase from them.

When looking at service contracts, check the "What's Covered" and "What's Excluded" terms of the warranty.

Chrysler Service Contracts MaxCare warranty covers all but wear parts and component failure due to collision, flood, etc...It's one of the best warrantee plans out there, IMHO.

I am looking at the LIFETIME Maxcare plan. Is that the same MOPAR/Chrysler plan I would get through Clay at Zeller Motors or through Genuine Mopar Vehicle Protection Warranty - Save $$ Today?

Or are you suggesting a plan through a dealer? I would be interested in 3 year no interest, but who offers that? Dealer directly, or Genuine Mopar Vehicle Protection Warranty - Save $$ Today ?
 

MADDOG

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If you sign up for the lifetime Maximum Care plan at Chrysler service contracts website, or call them at their toll free number, you can the 3-yr plan.

https://www.mopar.com/chrysler/en-us/care/mopar-vehicle-protection.html#body

I have no idea who Clay is nor have I ever dealt with Zeller motors so I have no idea what they are offering.

As long as the plan is offered by Chrysler/FCA and it is a Maximum Care warranty you are getting the best one out there.

I'd never, ever suggest using a dealer for this. They **** you on the price. Go direct to Chrysler
 
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breal201999

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If you sign up for the lifetime Maximum Care plan at Chrysler service contracts website, or call them at their toll free number, you can the 3-yr plan.

https://www.mopar.com/chrysler/en-us/care/mopar-vehicle-protection.html#body

I have no idea who Clay is nor have I ever dealt with Zeller motors so I have no idea what they are offering.

As long as the plan is offered by Chrysler/FCA and it is a Maximum Care warranty you are getting the best one out there.

I'd never, ever suggest using a dealer for this. They **** you on the price. Go direct to Chrysler

The quote from the link you provided is $3730 with only an alternate 12 month payment option. Directly from the dealer we bought our RAM from new, they are offering $2790 for LIFETIME Maxcare. Clay is recommended on many other threads here suggested the lowest price for the same warranty. All of these best to my knowledge are the for the same warranty coverage.
 

clh1220

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The one he posted is allot higher. Your right in line with i ziggler . I'm getting mine before 12k miles. You do get free rental with it.
 

huntergreen

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If you sign up for the lifetime Maximum Care plan at Chrysler service contracts website, or call them at their toll free number, you can the 3-yr plan.

https://www.mopar.com/chrysler/en-us/care/mopar-vehicle-protection.html#body

I have no idea who Clay is nor have I ever dealt with Zeller motors so I have no idea what they are offering.

As long as the plan is offered by Chrysler/FCA and it is a Maximum Care warranty you are getting the best one out there.

I'd never, ever suggest using a dealer for this. They **** you on the price. Go direct to Chrysler

my dealer matched the price and did the interest free term on the warranty.
 

jljbtm

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I have to ask you guys is (where is the fear) do the transmissions always fail at a certain time? The hemi engines are strong and reliable. So why invest in these extended warranty?

Sent from my Samsung Note 4
 
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breal201999

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I have to ask you guys is (where is the fear) do the transmissions always fail at a certain time? The hemi engines are strong and reliable. So why invest in these extended warranty?

Sent from my Samsung Note 4

TIPM, uConnect 8.4, engine, transmission, transfer case, rear end... any one of those going south almost justifies the warranty in itself. For me, this is my first truck and I hope to get MY life's worth out of it and I'm 37. As long as I can avoid driving by the lots and being distracted by new shiny things :). At worst, you keep the truck until the warranty repair exceeds the value of the truck and they pay you what the truck is worth. The only real situation I can think of where this wouldn't pay off (and out of your control) is if the truck is ever totaled in an accident and never needing a repair. Then it would have been a waste.
 
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KCaudill

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I have to ask you guys is (where is the fear) do the transmissions always fail at a certain time? The hemi engines are strong and reliable. So why invest in these extended warranty?

Sent from my Samsung Note 4

New rams and all new cars have multiple computers and the entire car is computer controlled. So yes a warranty is needed in todays cars.
 

jljbtm

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So there is a fear that something major will go wrong with it? The engines are reliable and the transmissions have no history of major failures the rest of the driveline isnt "bullet proof" but unless your dragging it through the mud and up the side of a mountain with no road every day what should go wrong? Granted everything wears out.

Sent from my Samsung Note 4
 
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breal201999

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Not trying to argue the point if should/shouldn't get extended warranty, because there are other threads for that.

But, here's an example where someone just replaced the battery and the TIPM went "wacky"... $3500 on the estimate to repair, not sure what his total out of pocket ended up being all said and done.

http://www.ramforum.com/f38/ram_thinks_its_liberty_something-93081/

Really, I was just interested if anyone could point out if I was missing something in my logic if I were to wait until my 2016 reaches 30,000 miles before purchasing the warranty as opposed to buying it now. At worst I'd be out $450+/- or so more later (hope to be in a better financial position) than if I were to buy now (not as much disposable income). If I'm going to drive this truck into the ground, which at this time I'm planning on doing, I'm sold on the warranty. Because eventually it will pay off as long as the truck isn't involved in a major accident. And if it is in a major accident, I'm probably going to be more concerned about family/life than what I'm out for the warranty.
 
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ExpressRules

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If you plan to run your truck into the ground then getting an extended or lifetime warranty is a no brainer because odds are that it will pay for itself many fold. If your plans are to keep it 4 or 5 years then it may cost you more than it saves.

Some may say I'm looking at it too simplistically but in my mind that's the logical way to decide. :crazy:
 

02Steve15

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It's just rolling the dice if you're keeping it 4-5 years as stated above. More peace of mind than anything else as you are less likely to use it than if you kept the truck forever, of course.

I probably won't know if I'm going to extend my warranty until my basic warranty expires which is in 1.5 years. I may extend it as far as a couple or a few years into the 5th gen trucks then pick one of those up.
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mtofell

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To answer your main question the only thing I can thing of (and someone already pointed out) is the rental/loaner thing when in for warranty work. If you don't want/need to finance it in with a loan at the time of purchase and don't care about the loaner I don't think you're risking anything.

Someone asked about what fails? Anything and everything :)

My tranny blew at 38K and was rebuilt under warranty. The thing still has problems and I'm just waiting/hoping it blows again (when convenient, of course) and maybe I'll just get a new one.

If you've never owned a Ram before get ready to be disappointed by their dealer service and overall backing of their product. And it's not just me being the disgruntled guy with a blown tranny. Unhappy folks with Rams are much easier to find than any other big brands. I'm pretty sure Consumer Reports and JD Power agree.

Not to paint a total "doom and gloom" picture. Ram does give you the most for your money and I generally like my truck. There is just ZERO chance I would ever own a Ram without a warranty in place. To be fair I don't think I'd want to own any modern vehicle without a warranty given all the high tech junk. Ram just makes me not have to even think about it. :favorites13:
 

huntergreen

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So there is a fear that something major will go wrong with it? The engines are reliable and the transmissions have no history of major failures the rest of the driveline isnt "bullet proof" but unless your dragging it through the mud and up the side of a mountain with no road every day what should go wrong? Granted everything wears out.

Sent from my Samsung Note 4

i would just ask, how much to replace the pcm, these fancy radios, sensors, ect, for me 2600.00 with 100.00 deductible was cheap ins.
 

huntergreen

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To answer your main question the only thing I can thing of (and someone already pointed out) is the rental/loaner thing when in for warranty work. If you don't want/need to finance it in with a loan at the time of purchase and don't care about the loaner I don't think you're risking anything.

Someone asked about what fails? Anything and everything :)

My tranny blew at 38K and was rebuilt under warranty. The thing still has problems and I'm just waiting/hoping it blows again (when convenient, of course) and maybe I'll just get a new one.

If you've never owned a Ram before get ready to be disappointed by their dealer service and overall backing of their product. And it's not just me being the disgruntled guy with a blown tranny. Unhappy folks with Rams are much easier to find than any other big brands. I'm pretty sure Consumer Reports and JD Power agree.

Not to paint a total "doom and gloom" picture. Ram does give you the most for your money and I generally like my truck. There is just ZERO chance I would ever own a Ram without a warranty in place. To be fair I don't think I'd want to own any modern vehicle without a warranty given all the high tech junk. Ram just makes me not have to even think about it. :favorites13:

many issues people have are blown out of proportion due to poor dealer service.
 

kltk1

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Two points for consideration.

1) Regarding the OP's original question, the only downside, as has been mentioned, is the loaner car for service. I just took delivery of a 2016 Ram 1500 and decided to wait before buying the MaxCare. I couldn't justify tying up $2800 for the next 3 years, 36k if I really don't have to. So, I decided to wait as I really don't see myself using the MaxCare until the 3/36 runs out.

2) As for justification of the warranty itself, a MaxCare really only works for those who KNOW they'll be keeping their vehicles for the long haul. I'm in that category. I just traded in a 2002 F150 with 160K, in the last 3 years of ownership I kept hoping it would stop costing me money after a fix. turned out not to be the case and I laid out a lot of money over 3 years and only one item was a large expense, the transmission at $3500. Other than that it was bearings, tie-rod ends, alternator, power window motors, exhaust manifolds, overhead console display etc. All things that would have been covered by a MaxCare type warranty and would have come in under the value of the vehicle. Honestly, if I had a MaxCare type warranty I'd still have the F150 as there would be no reason to get rid of it.

That said, I just read a story on this forum about someone having to replace ball joints on their Ram 1500 at 70K. Turns out the ball joints are part of the lower control arms and have to be replaced together. $1700 job. It's my understanding tie-rod ends are a common failure on the 1500's in the 50k neighborhood, that's likely a couple hundred dollars per to replace. If you keep your truck 15 years and put 200K on it the warranty is likely to pay for itself. If you're going to trade in your truck, with less than 100K and/or under 10 years, It might be worth it to take the gamble and not buy the warranty. That's my thought process on the warranty.
 

yillbs

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Geico has a warranty service , its like 120 bucks a year, covers everything on the power train , even lift kits. I use it on all my vehicles, used it on my lofted ranger last year , 100 dollar deductible and got my fuel pump fixed free of charge. Don't have to go to the dealer either , they pay the repairs over the phone with a credit card. Worth looking into?
 

mtofell

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I'm pretty sure I remember reading in my Lifetime MaxCare contract that while it's not transferable you can cash out a prorated amount if you sell the truck (or want out for some other reason, I suppose).

There is a "service fee" of some sort and I'm sure they stick it to you but at least you could get out if you want. I think with it being "lifetime" they base it off of 150K miles. This is foggy memory from nearly 3 years ago but should be in any of the contracts if anyone cares to research.
 
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