2018 Ram 2500 - Mopar Max Care worth it??

[Brandon32689]

I bought a new 2018 Ram 2500 Tradesman last year. I do not do much towing but wanted to be able to tow when I need to. I have also been looking at campers but I have not pulled the trigger just yet. I do use the truck as a DD. I have 10K miles on it right now and figure I will average 12K-15K per year. I was looking at adding the Mopar Max Care warranty and have been talking to someone at Zeiger about it. Do you all think it is worth it? I was looking at the 7 year 125k or even the 8 year 125K. Being that it is a Diesel I know things cost more to fix and would like to be covered. any thoughts or reviews?

 

[POINTMAN380]

I went ahead and did it on my ‘18 2500. What’s another 20 bucks...lol

 

[NH RAM]

I have the lifetime Maxcare on my wife's 2013 Grand Cherokee and had it on my 2016 Ram 1500. For me, it's easier to budget the warranty cost than an unknown expense later. With all the electronic controls and components, I felt that it was no longer worthwhile to "roll the dice". The rear wiper assembly and the front hubs have been replaced under warranty on the GC so far at 91k miles. Not a $2500 job like the warranty was, but the repair costs increase over time while the warranty cost is static.

I got the Allstate warranty on my 2019 2500; I honestly haven't done the comparison of the specific components covered yet but I was lead to believe that it is similar to MaxCare, but, the repairs can be done outside of a Ram dealer. I prefer my repairs be done at the dealer, but if I'm far from a dealer while traveling cross-country with the camper in tow, I don't want to be stuck having to get to a dealer hundreds of miles away.

 

[mtofell]

Warranty companies are in business to make money so as a group we lose on warranties. However, they make a ton of money from people not using the entire warranty (sell or crash the car) and by overcharging for it. Buying from a place like Ziegler and actually hanging onto the vehicle helps the economical end of things a great deal. Also, be sure you don't want to do a bunch of mods that could void coverage.

I bought the Lifetime when it was available back in 2014 for $2300 and am about 4K ahead (4K tranny rebuild, 2K exhaust manifold bolts). And I'm not selling anytime soon so I'll likely collect even more.

For me it's a business decision as my truck is owned by my company and I just can't have huge unexpected repair expenses coming up. If not for this warranty I'd be trading everytime the factory warranty expires which gets expensive in a hurry.

 

[MADDOG]

I've had Max Care warranties on 4 MOPAR vehicles:

1. 2006 Chrysler 300 SRT8

2. 2007 Ram MegaCab

3. 2014 Ram 2500 6.4L CC

4. 2017 Ram 2500 CTD

It paid off on the first two rigs. In both cases it was expensive electronics that failed after the bumper to bumper coverage was over.

It did not pay off on the third vehicle. It was totaled with only 23K miles on it.

It has not paid off (yet) on the fourth vehicle as it is relatively new, still under factory warranty and has 24K miles on it.

 

[jejb]

I bought a new 2018 Ram 2500 Tradesman last year. I do not do much towing but wanted to be able to tow when I need to. I have also been looking at campers but I have not pulled the trigger just yet. I do use the truck as a DD. I have 10K miles on it right now and figure I will average 12K-15K per year. I was looking at adding the Mopar Max Care warranty and have been talking to someone at Zeiger about it. Do you all think it is worth it? I was looking at the 7 year 125k or even the 8 year 125K. Being that it is a Diesel I know things cost more to fix and would like to be covered. any thoughts or reviews?

Since you don't haul with it much and use it as a commuter, I'd vote for the warranty. From a lot of what I read, the Cummins gives less problems when used to pull often and not used as a DD.

 

[tron67j]

There have been a few discussions on this, you should do a search to see all of the opinions shared. If you have a lot of extras, there is more to go wrong and more opportunities to be upside if buying. I have a Tradesman with my own upgrades, I bought simple to make it less likely I will need to repair, no extra electric motors ( I only adjust my seat once) and no sunroof, air adjusted ride or other things I don't need. My family has had warranties that have gone mostly unused at various times, my wife bought it for her van, expensive piece of mind that has paid out $150. As said above, the companies are in business to make money so actuarial table is betting you won't use value, but again some people will so it is priced accordingly. Geico sells a policy that you can include in your vehicle policy, might be something to look at. Good luck.

 

[mtofell]

It did not pay off on the third vehicle. It was totaled with only 23K miles on it.

Just curious... did you get back a prorated amount? I thought I read that you can cancel if you sell or wreck the vehicle they will refund based on 150K. At least that is with Lifetime Maxcare. I think that is to make up for the fact that it's not transferable.

 

[MADDOG]

Just curious... did you get back a prorated amount? I thought I read that you can cancel if you sell or wreck the vehicle they will refund based on 150K. At least that is with Lifetime Maxcare. I think that is to make up for the fact that it's not transferable.

I did get a prorated refund.

IIRC it was a 7 yr/70k mile contract. I had the truck just two weeks shy of two years.

I got a refund that was roughly equal to 72% of the contract price less a small administrative fee.