In the good old days, when Chrysler cared about us, they had trained techs on-hand to fix our cars, and parts were more available than information on this forum; MaxCare seemed like a no-brainer.

Now... not so much.

Factory warranty runs out on my car at the end of this month. Part of me wants to tack on a MaxCare policy for 'peace of mind'. The other part of me wants to save that cash, and apply it in other areas of my life or other areas on the car, and simply fix things as they come along.

My car has a manual trans, so those don't really have a history of breaking unless you simply drive like a buffoon (I don't). The clutch will eventually need to be replaced later in this car's life, but that's not covered by warranty anyways so that'll be out-of-pocket.

In the 3+ years on this forum, I have seen no major mechanical breakdowns on the N/A 3.2 motors. Most gremlins are related to the CPS and RCM.... both are under $100 if purchased through autohaus or rockauto. Otherwise, the engine is a tank if you maintain it properly.

So... if it's mechanical, we simply buy the Mercedes part that is normally 200% cheaper. Many people have had great success doing that. Concerning body panels, Chrysler hates us anyway, whether it's warrantied or not it makes no difference. They simply don't have 'em.

Interior parts (blower motors, HVAC, etc) can be sourced through LKQ because they're not a high demand item like bumpers, etc.

Combine all of that with the fact that very few dealers are even around anymore, and the ones that ARE, don't have trained Crossfire techs. In short, they end up breaking two things to fix one.

Having said all of that... why buy? Or should I put that $1,300 towards other areas of the car? hahaha

 

sounds like you have it covered,,, i had a thermostat leak,, got a new thermostat, upper hose, and correct antifreeze for the 50 duct i have,, I also got a AC fan, cup holder, (didn't work) then got the bin in place of cup holder,new motor mounts, and driveshaft disks for another 50 duct. I was told by my service rep,,, go on line get the max care it is cheaper than what we have here, make sure it is the maxcare because the car is a mercedes and the MC covers 90% of the car where the care+ covers only 60%
if you take that 13 to 1800 dollars and get some good interest before anything goes bad you win. remember you are betting that everything goes bad where they are betting that nothing goes bad. good luck ,, yes i have the maxcare jim

 

i just bought maxcare for my black srt. will do it again when the graphite comes up same time next year. roll the dice, baybay. these ain't toyotas with grabby floor mats.

 

I have MaxCare too. 7/60K. I don't put that many miles on her so it saved me a few hundred.

It up to you. The parts (most) can be found. But I don't have the room to work on my own car. TINY garage. And it's also the labor costs that I was willing to pay for (gamble on?) in advance.

It's peace of mind for me. What little I have sleeps well...

 

actually having a limited roadster eliminates most of the high cost problems. ie: s/c auto trans vert top or hyd. associated with the vert.
aside from the unknown i dont have a warrenty on my 32. couldnt get one if i wanted it. im relying on the forums and my ability to fix most issues. major issues will be dealt with when it arises!
how about putting say 2500 in a xfire savings account? then add maybe 50 a month so if something happens you will have a large nut to negotiate with the mechanic?
and of course you have seen my growing stash of parts so that if needed im not at the mercy of the dealer!

now something else to consider. most xfires arent daily drivers. yours will be. the more miles the greater the risk

btw my garage fees are the most reasonable you will find!(beer!) as we say "it aint my sh*t ill tear it apart!"

 

Your post clearly tells me that you DO NOT want to go for maxcafe but you want us to tell you not to. I say, save that cash, use your hands, yours and others' knowledge on here.

 

You're right, Toyotas go screaming through an intersection out of control LOL...

Basically here's my dilemma: I know the MaxCare is good for certain gremlins... the "unforeseens" so-to-speak.

But, The MaxCare was also advertised and offered during a much different season of Chrysler. When Chrysler cared about not only our cars, but the people driving them. Meaning, they had technicians and tools to actually work on them. My local dealer has neither the tools NOR the techs. They're accustomed to working on Caravans and Jeep Commanders. These cars are quite a bit different.

The things I see most people allowing dealerships to fix are superchargers, head gasket leaks, convertible tops, etc.

My car doesn't have any of those.

Of course, there's always that one story where the guy's gas-cap had a bad release valve, causing a vacuum and crushing his tank. That was a $1,300 warranty fix. But that's the only one on the history of this forum... So...

I'm beginning to side with Steve's idea of a Crossfire Savings account. If I need it, it's there. If not...

 

I agree with your assessment. I bought the 7/70 maxcare for which I paid 1615 for but if I don't use it I would get all the money back, so I figured that was basically the same and minimized my risk overall. FWIW. Mark

 

and the srt's are even a bit more different. fortunately, my local 5 star dealer has a crossfire-trained tech and they believe in service after the sale. guess that's why they've been a chrysler dealer since the '60s (same family) and didn't get placed on "the list." financially, many dealers rely their service depts. to help get through the lean times. that's just a fact.

go saints.

 

I paid 1300 dollars and got every dime back in repairs and then some more! Especially with the free car rentals (my crossfire was my only car at the time).

1. My A/C recirc flap broke and was making a racket. Replaced that (had to slide the whole dash back to get to it). A 4 day job.

2. Had my window adjusted because of water leak.

3. I also had the typical A/C fan switch acting up (that was the second time I had to fix it in 4 years). That job alone was expensive (I believe it was a 800 dollar fix according to the dealership).

4. I thought my car was acting up... turned out it was in my head. But they did say my battery was not good so replaced that for free.

Saved me a bundle and I still have 2 years left on the warranty. I am actually considering getting another extension if I can. Our cars are expensive to fix. The mechanic at the dealership said he never buys warrantys but said he definitely would get the max care on my car. Said he knew the crossfires well and they are way to expensive to fix. I followed his advice and am glad I did!

 

I went ZURICH aftermarket warranty here. At least i can take my car anywhere that accepts zurich... MB dealers included =)

 

Comparable price?

 

My first SRT came with the warranty in the deal. Paid for a $7000 supercharger bill.
As soon as I got my 2nd SRT I bought a warranty for it. Didn't think twice about it. That car is in the shop for a $500 trans control unit.

If you had an SRT I'd say buy the warranty.

If I had a N/A XF and didn't drive like a mad man I wouldn't buy the warranty. As you mentioned these cars are pretty reliable.

 

$1,300 huh?? I say get some new rims for the old girl and hope for the best. Between the info here and people willing to help in a jam, no need for serious concern....

 

BUY the warranty!!!! I sleep a lot better!!! When are we gonna see some pic"s of that new ride?

 

You're about a week behind, my friend...

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ny-longer.html