Dealership maintenance service contracts. Pros and cons?

[condor767]

Soliciting opinions on maintenance service contracts when buying a new vehicle. Example, at the place I bought mine, they offer a 10yr/100,000 mile plan that covers all oil changes, tire rotations, and scheduled service intervals (15k, 30k, 45k, 60k, etc.) for $2295. For that price they also throw in the tire and wheel protection plan (if you nick a tire or scratch a wheel, free replacement), free ding and dent repair, roadside hazard, free key fob replacement, and windshield chip/crack free replacement.

Good deal or not? Anyone else signed up for these?

Thx

 

[chrisbh17]

Ask them how much those service interval things are. Owners manual shows the ones that are "required", but dealers tend to make up their own. For instance, my dealer said I was supposed to pay them for a 3 month checkup of my new truck....seriously?

Pretty sure thats what they use to make that $2295 seem like a "deal".

I was offered the tire/wheel/ding/dent package as well but declined them. My guess is the fine print on them rules out a lot of the common issues ("pothole bent your wheel, we wont cover it", etc).

 

[condor767]

These service intervals are only the ones required in the owners manual. No extra ones. And they’re not really cheap... For example the 30k service runs around $300... the 60k is around $500.. etc.

Oil change + tire rotation every 5000 miles runs $100 per visit.

plus the rest of the protections they throw in for that $2295 seems like it saves you money over 10 years/100k miles.

 

[chrisbh17]

FWIW a tire rotation and oil change (with synth blend) is 40.00 at my dealer.

Point being the "$100 per visit" is pretty variable and they might be showing you the max it will cost you to make the $2300 worth it. But without the $2300 package it would really cost you $40/tire rotation and oil change. Figure 3 of those per year, thats $120/year.

I do think their might be some value in the other packages that are included but I would read the fine print slowly and multiple times. I know the dent/ding one *looks* good, but then says things like the max size of the ding can only be the size of a dime, etc.

 

[pacofortacos]

The $40 package is blend and only 5 qts oil, if they are giving you all 7 qts for 40 that isn't bad.

 

[chrisbh17]

The $40 package is blend and only 5 qts oil, if they are giving you all 7 qts for 40 that isn't bad.

Might not be, but I cant see them going from 40 to 100 for an extra 2 quarts of oil....even at dealer pricing lol.

 

[pacofortacos]

unless they allow full synthetic

 

[chrisbh17]

Yeah can get a deal on the full synth package too....59.95 instead of 39.95.

I trust them about as far as I can throw them, but the prices arent really that bad.

 

[Jrod]

Got the plus plan on my 2016 10y/100k. Similar price, except my intervals are every 5k instead of 10k to include all required services in the owners manual. Saves about 20% off the top. Margins are less if you finance with interest. Regardless, it includes my 100k platinum plugs, so that was icing on the cake for me.

 

[condor767]

Got the plus plan on my 2016 10y/100k. Similar price, except my intervals are every 5k instead of 10k to include all required services in the owners manual. Saves about 20% off the top. Margins are less if you finance with interest. Regardless, it includes my 100k platinum plugs, so that was icing on the cake for me.

Thanks for the replies. I ended up getting this plan too. They threw in the extras as well. So for $2295 I do end up saving over the 10 years. The only thing I did not take into account is that I want fully synthetic oil and that is not covered... so looks like around $20 out of pocket for each oil change to make up the difference.

Otherwise it is as you stated, oil changes every 5k miles, tire rotations every 10k, all major service intervals covered. Plus the 5 year wheel and tire/windshield/etc protection (which does cover pothole dents, curb scruffing the wheel, etc.) I think I did ok.

I thought long & hard about buying a Mopar extended warranty. As I only drive around 10k miles per year, I looked at the 8yr/85k plan. Chrysler Warranty Direct offers it for $1705. In the end I decided against buying it, to me it is basically a gamble that only extends out 5 years and an extra 50k miles that I’ll need something replaced that costs that kind of money. I’m sure it can happen but that’s a lot of money up front for a big “if”.. money I can invest elsewhere that will grow and cover the repair(s). So I passed on that.

 

[Jrod]

Thanks for the replies. I ended up getting this plan too. They threw in the extras as well. So for $2295 I do end up saving over the 10 years. The only thing I did not take into account is that I want fully synthetic oil and that is not covered... so looks like around $20 out of pocket for each oil change to make up the difference.

Otherwise it is as you stated, oil changes every 5k miles, tire rotations every 10k, all major service intervals covered. Plus the 5 year wheel and tire/windshield/etc protection (which does cover pothole dents, curb scruffing the wheel, etc.) I think I did ok.

I thought long & hard about buying a Mopar extended warranty. As I only drive around 10k miles per year, I looked at the 8yr/85k plan. Chrysler Warranty Direct offers it for $1705. In the end I decided against buying it, to me it is basically a gamble that only extends out 5 years and an extra 50k miles that I’ll need something replaced that costs that kind of money. I’m sure it can happen but that’s a lot of money up front for a big “if”.. money I can invest elsewhere that will grow and cover the repair(s). So I passed on that.

Right on, the big ticket item on the plan is those plugs covered at 90k, although they are rated for 100k. Once I hit 100k I'll switch to full synthetic. Dealers use a synthetic blend, which I'm fine with. Reason being, our trucks don't require oil changes until 10k miles under normal driving conditions. My oil life is still at 50% every time they change it, so paying extra for full syn. is a bit overkill for me. Not to take away from the benefits of full syn, just saying. On the warranty side, I have the 7 year unlimited mileage plan, not available anymore. I drive about 20k miles a year, I'm currently at 55k. So, if anything happens between now and approximately 140+k miles by year 7 I'm covered. I'll probably want a new truck by then, unless mine is still purring like a kitten lol. I've already made three claims against the plan between a new master cylinder, new fuel management system, and drilling out / replacing header bolts. My adviser has reassured me the plan has already paid for itself, so I'm in the green until it runs out.

Just noticed you're in VA too. NOVA?

 

[condor767]

Right on, the big ticket item on the plan is those plugs covered at 90k, although they are rated for 100k. Once I hit 100k I'll switch to full synthetic. Dealers use a synthetic blend, which I'm fine with. Reason being, our trucks don't require oil changes until 10k miles under normal driving conditions. My oil life is still at 50% every time they change it, so paying extra for full syn. is a bit overkill for me. Not to take away from the benefits of full syn, just saying. On the warranty side, I have the 7 year unlimited mileage plan, not available anymore. I drive about 20k miles a year, I'm currently at 55k. So, if anything happens between now and approximately 140+k miles by year 7 I'm covered. I'll probably want a new truck by then, unless mine is still purring like a kitten lol. I've already made three claims against the plan between a new master cylinder, new fuel management system, and drilling out / replacing header bolts. My adviser has reassured me the plan has already paid for itself, so I'm in the green until it runs out.

Just noticed you're in VA too. NOVA?

Yes sir, NoVa. You?

Great points about the synthetic oil. Maybe I’ll just go that route instead. Synthetic blend is fine

 

[Jrod]

Yes sir, NoVa. You?

Great points about the synthetic oil. Maybe I’ll just go that route instead. Synthetic blend is fine

Yep, south end of NoVa, off of 234, one exit north of Quantico. Although Lustine is closer up Rt 1, I get my cars serviced at Safford. It's close to work (Ft Belvoir), cleaner, and more updated.

 

[condor767]

Yep, south end of NoVa, off of 234, one exit north of Quantico. Although Lustine is closer up Rt 1, I get my cars serviced at Safford. It's close to work (Ft Belvoir), cleaner, and more updated.

Sweet! I am up by IAD so I go to Brown’s Sterling. Had to drive all the way down to Lustine to find the Blue Bandit. Best truck I’ve ever owned!

See ya on the local roads... I’ll be looking out for your black beast

 

[Jrod]

Sweet! I am up by IAD so I go to Brown’s Sterling. Had to drive all the way down to Lustine to find the Blue Bandit. Best truck I’ve ever owned!

See ya on the local roads... I’ll be looking out for your black beast

lol nice! I’ve bought all my vehicles from Lustine. I’ve found the best deals there, although it was like pulling teeth wrapping up deals.. Their service department was absolute crap, which is how I ended up at Safford.

Lyndsey Dodge in Manassas has the highest awards Chrysler gives dealers in the region. They also won the best customer service award again in 2019.

 

[condor767]

yeah, couldn’t beat the deal I got at Lustine on my new Ram. MSRP $52,9k sold at $37,7k. It definitely wasn’t as organized/modern as Brown’s or Fair Oaks but it was worth it as I was strictly in the market for a navy blue (patriot blue) Ram with the bighorn level 1 package and LED lighting... Lustine had the only one in the area! Overall they were real friendly.

 

[Jrod]

yeah, couldn’t beat the deal I got at Lustine on my new Ram. MSRP $52,9k sold at $37,7k. It definitely wasn’t as organized/modern as Brown’s or Fair Oaks but it was worth it as I was strictly in the market for a navy blue (patriot blue) Ram with the bighorn level 1 package and LED lighting... Lustine had the only one in the area! Overall they were real friendly.

Very cool, they are under new management now. Things may have turned around in the last three years.