Extended Warranty thru dealer or not?

[Sherman Bird]

So…looking at several Big Horns, according to CarFax or Autocheck a few never had the drivetrain module reprogrammed, would this cause additional wear or damage to the transmission?

I do not know. Are these reflashes germane to emissions or safety? If so, they would be free.

 

[mlappin]

It appears from googling the recall number under certain rare conditions the cruise control may not back off or even continue to accelerate is what it amounts to. Not an actual transmission issue, strictly firmware.

 

[indept]

Maybe so.... but the fuggin cars didn't cost as much as a house! The insurance companies hadn't invented yet another "Chicken Little" ploy to instill fear to manipulate a pile of MORE money out of consumers for "protection", and, frankly it cost way less to repair cars back then.

I remember the early days of extended warranties. You'd pay the premium, get the coverage, and be told that used car you just bought wouldn't be covered for 45 days. That, my man, was illegal insurance business practice here in Texas! They took your money.... they must cover (in Texas)! A class action lawsuit drove many ext warranties into receivership.... GE Capital bought up many of them, thus preserving the policies.

Before the lawsuit, I'd tear down a transmission and wait for the adjuster to come evaluate the damages.... It was an insurance company adjuster! He/She would dream up a plethora of excuses NOT to cover the problem, and deny the claim. I witnessed many pissed off customers who'd just bought a used car and extended policy get shafted and literally scream at the top of their lungs at the used car manager at the dealer I worked for.... it was sad.

After the lawsuit, they seldom refused coverage... but they still did, occasionally.

I read the different opinions here and respect the differences. I personally and professionally do not recommend them to customers who inquire about it. I counsel them to put that amount of money in a savings account and add a few bucks every payday. In the BIG picture, with PROPER and TIMELY maintenance by a COMPETENT and DILIGENT shop/mechanic, the failures which the policies usually cover almost never occur.

So what you're referring to is not ****** cars but ****** insurance tactics. As for cost, while it's true that I paid about the same for my truck as I did for my 1st house but that house was bought 40 years ago. The ratio of car to house costs is about the same. You're correct that preventive maintenance will prevent many failures and typically extended warranties don't pay for themselves.

 

[Sherman Bird]

So what you're referring to is not ****** cars but ****** insurance tactics. As for cost, while it's true that I paid about the same for my truck as I did for my 1st house but that house was bought 40 years ago. The ratio of car to house costs is about the same. You're correct that preventive maintenance will prevent many failures and typically extended warranties don't pay for themselves.

Does your house appreciate in value? How about that car/truck? You're nearly my age. I clearly recollect just how ****** those cars were back then. In order for my Mom to take us kids to school in the mornings, we would have to raise the hood of the '55 Buick Special and remove the distributor cap and spray WD-40 in it... then wipe the plug wires with said WD-40. That and the other car Dad drove in his work had their hoods up for nagging problems ALL THE TIME! Most people I know today won't put up with that, but we and the neighbors all pretty much accepted the reality we had facing us then regarding car ownership. Those cars were not air conditioned. The Buick did not have power steering, had a steering wheel the size of one on a fire truck, but had emblazoned on the brake pedal: "POWER BRAKE"! How's that for dichotomy?

The fact that so many people I know stay in perpetual debt for automobile payments astounds me. Add the debt of an insurance policy against mechanical breakage, and factor in the egregious Madison Avenue fueled depreciation of the car.... evokes rage at a racket that keeps folks in the automotive poor house.

I saw an advertisement just this morning for a truck sold by some company with a bowtie on the grille. The ad was telling the public how much the manufacturer was "saving" the consumer with incentives. I think altogether, it was mid 5 thousand dollar range. Funny how they don't mention the crippling debt on a depreciating asset for 7 years. Really? What an insult to anyone who can cipher.

 

[RLJ10X]

^Excellent.

Just pay cash.

 

[tron67j]

There are a few threads on this topic, checking them out will show both sides of buy/don't buy. People who had problems say warranties are a must have. People who had them but never used or had claims denied say they are a rip off. And then there are people who never buy them, which is my group. At the end of the day, you have to feel comfortable with your decision but I would say manufacturer warranties appear to be the best, not sure you qualify. a line of thought is that if one is keeping a truck forever to put a warranty on it. I will say from reading through this form for a while that it seems when things start breaking people start trading. My only thought on this is that that is an awful lot of money and unless you're engine and transmission impossibly other things go you're never going to use that much. Again just my thought and I'm sure that people can start quoting prices on things but at the end of the day I go by my experience and I've had three Rams since 1994, bought them new and drove them until the next one, And I can say that I've only spent about $2-3k over all those years on non-regular maintenance parts. Good luck

 

[David Vetter]

I bought my 2014 3500 1 1/2 years ago. It came out of Canada also. While I've always done my own work, I know what I dont know, such as 6.7 W/turbo, digital dash, computer,etc.. I paid 2900 for a 4 year warranty. Trans went out within a month, 6K. Covered W/a 100, 000 mile warrenty. Variable Turbo went out 6 months later 3K. Covered. The only thing else I would add is, insurance companies will balk at trucks coming out of Canada. I had to fight with them both times, thank God my CU who sold me the policy, got involved. Make sure, up front, the company will cover a vehicle coming out of Canada. Otherwise, the best 3K I've ever spent.

 

[Rick Gabler]

When I worked at a Audio/Video retailer in college (you know the retailer) I sold a lot of extended warranties on many different items. Pure profit!!! I made great extra money selling those. Really what you get is a peace of mind. How much is that worth to you???

 

[Floyd1979]

Looking at a 2016 SLT Hemi, 68000 miles for $22500. Here is the issue with it, it spent one year in Quebec before coming to the states, everything under the hood that is aluminum has that grungy gonna corrode look about it like the rims on my wife’s 16 year old Jeep Liberty. Even seen a ground cable on top of the right bank the metal tab the bolt goes thru is a little rusty. I already have a rust bucket thats paid for.

So here is the question, can a extended warranty be bought privately for cheaper than the dealer? Dealer is talking $4500 for a 5 year/75000 mile extended warranty that basically covers everything but standard wear items, brake pads, rotors etc, also covers electrical. Called EnduranceWarranty Co. and they’re talking $4800 for basically the same warranty. Any companies out there more reasonable?

Would a extended warranty that only covers big ticket items like engine, transmission, transfer case, etc be worth it or with the amount of electronics in em one that covers drivetrain plus electrical be a wiser move?

If I could get em down to an even 20K and I’ll buy the warranty I can do a lot of cleaning up under the hood and what not for $2500. Buy a five gallon bucket of Fluid Film for starters.

Other option is to drive almost four hours and take a look at a 2019 SLT lease return that was only seen in Michigan twice and was mostly Kentucky and Oklahoma for $26500 and not worry about an extended warranty for awhile as it still has a factory warranty left.

Call this number they can help

 

[Lucy Girl]

Looking at a 2016 SLT Hemi, 68000 miles for $22500. Here is the issue with it, it spent one year in Quebec before coming to the states, everything under the hood that is aluminum has that grungy gonna corrode look about it like the rims on my wife’s 16 year old Jeep Liberty. Even seen a ground cable on top of the right bank the metal tab the bolt goes thru is a little rusty. I already have a rust bucket thats paid for.

So here is the question, can a extended warranty be bought privately for cheaper than the dealer? Dealer is talking $4500 for a 5 year/75000 mile extended warranty that basically covers everything but standard wear items, brake pads, rotors etc, also covers electrical. Called EnduranceWarranty Co. and they’re talking $4800 for basically the same warranty. Any companies out there more reasonable?

Would a extended warranty that only covers big ticket items like engine, transmission, transfer case, etc be worth it or with the amount of electronics in em one that covers drivetrain plus electrical be a wiser move?

If I could get em down to an even 20K and I’ll buy the warranty I can do a lot of cleaning up under the hood and what not for $2500. Buy a five gallon bucket of Fluid Film for starters.

Other option is to drive almost four hours and take a look at a 2019 SLT lease return that was only seen in Michigan twice and was mostly Kentucky and Oklahoma for $26500 and not worry about an extended warranty for awhile as it still has a factory warranty left.

All about the MONEY. LOL

 

[shackman]

I have 69,000 on my 2014 Sport 5.7 R/T w/a S&B cold air intake bought it new and bought the Mopar life time unlimited miles warranty and have not used it yet ( knock on wood ) My last truck was a 2000 Dakota w/a 4.7 it had 293,000 on it until it died in a crash. I am going to see how if this 2014 can beat it that's why I bought the warranty and factory oil changes w/ full synthetic oil . So if you don't plan on going for the long haul I don't think the $4200. plus the $435. in oil changes would work for you.