I just purchased a 2004 Crossfire 2 weeks ago and I apparently have 30 days to pay the extra $1500.00 for the extended warranty, currently its a 3 year 36,000 mile bumper to bumper, 5 year 50,000 mile roadside assistance, 7 year 70,000 mile drivetrain warranty. could be wrong on the roadside assistance, but im failry sure, ANYWAYS, is it worth 1500 bucks to bump all the coverages up to 7 year 70,000miles? I'm leaning towards no, but your input is very welcome.

 

Don't bother, the current coverage is more than sufficient. And you can get the warranty for cheaper, there is a hella mark up in that. They push it because it puts money in their pockets. i use to be so PRO warranty, then I had to sell them, saw what they are about, and now i am ANTI warranty. Just might as well set your cash on fire.

 

DEFINATELY NOT!

Take this example, you go to a shop and buy a washing machine / dishwasher / fridge / freezer etc.. They will offer you extended warranty. You reply, but it has 3 years manufacturers warranty already. I expect if something will go wrong it will happen within that time. They still try and sell it to you. So you say, "are you telling me this brand new product is likely to go wrong a lot?" then they defend the product, so you say "well I don't need the extended warranty then do i" to which they have no answer.

 

I got the warranty. This was my first experience with a Chrystler product and I didn't have very positive vibes about their quality level. I bought mine in the first year of production which also tended to raise some flags. There is still a question about how long this production run wil last. So the warranty made me feel better about the deal. For me it was more a case of wanting to insure service as it was about getting the best value for service. I thought that it would move me to the head of the list should parts be scarce (as they were and still are). I also do not mind if the dealer feels good about the deal and made a few bucks. I don't have an adversarial relationship with my dealer. They are always glad to see me and I always get first rate treatment. So for me it was a no brainer. I am glad I did it. Would do it again for the same reasons. Who knows it may even save me some money down the road.

 

Warranty won't push you up the list if they are waiting on parts. Plus I never keep a car more than 2 years anyway. Your dealer is always happy to see you as he made sooo much money off you selling the warranty!!

 

I bought the warranty because it included oil changes and road hazard on the tires and wheels. The oil changes alone will almost cover what I paid for the warranty. If you want the extra piece of mind, try to negotiate the price down or make them throw in some free maintenance. The price shouldn't be that high since you are only upgrading an existing warranty, not extending it.

 

That may be true for where you come from, but not here. Dealers definitely have A list people and B list people. The A list is populated with friends, relatives and people that paid to much. I get life time free oil changes. They have already bought me a tire. Yeah I just got hammered on the price. We agree on one thing however. If you intend to keep your car for 2 years, do not bother with the extended warranty. Just the depreciation on the car will be sufficient punishment.

 

I didn't realize how much the oil changes and regular service visits would cost, otherwise I would have gotten at least the oil changes when I bought the car. After I realized the cost, I called back the dealer and asked if I could add the oil changes and service, they started to give me a price then realized the service package said it was not valid for Vipers or Crossfires. She gave me a new price for just oil changes, which is just a bulk buy price for 6 oil changes for about $85/each, didn't seem worth it. I will just change it on my own.

 

Warranties of any kind, for any item, that you are charged money for, are the biggest ripoffs in history.

Make it a rule to NEVER buy a warranty or an "extended service contract" of any kind!

Warranties have one of the biggest profit margins of any product... Trust me.. companies make big money off warranties... customers lose big money on warranties... they are NOT worth it. Granted you could be the lucky guy whose warranty works out for him.. but the majority of people will lose money buying warranties. It's like taking the insurance in Blackjack.. you might win out if your lucky, but overall it's a losing strategy..

It's true..

 

Not quite the same thing. I don't buy Blackjack insurance so I make out over many hands. I only bought one crossfire so I have nothing to amortize this bet over. If I don't buy the warranty I either win small or lose big. The warranty does cap your losses. If I never use it again it still accomplished what I bought it for.

 

over the course of a lifetime the chances of paying more into extended warranties than you will ever get out approaches 100%. one of the few situations where one might make sense is for someone on a fixed budget without enough cash in reserve to pay for a major repair. on the other hand, owning a new, or nearly new car in the crossfire's price range without some savings wouldn't make much sense to start with.

i allowed myself to get talked into one when i bought my first car at 22. since i balked at buying it, the dealer made an offer that if i never used it, i could get a refund for the entire amount ($800). i did a couple minor repairs myself or simply paid the full amount out of pocket and after 3 years i got my money back. but it still cost me because the dealership earned a decent amount of interest on my money.

some other reasons not to get an extended warranty are:

too many exclusions - they never cover many of the things that tend to break or wear. for example, a trim piece cracks. not covered. or a covered part fails but does collateral damage to other parts and the subsequent damage isn't covered.

hidden warranties - sometimes it's possible to get the manufacturer to authorize repairs at no cost due to pr efforts to make good on known defects (e.g. toyota oil sludge problem).

you are stuck (in manufacturer branded contracts) with using dealerships to make repairs.

you can't get an extended warranty for your vehicle at 150K miles (when you would be really likely to be making repairs). imagine if they did offer extended warranties for high mileage vehicles. they'd be asking for $3K a year.

 

Do not pay $1500. If you want an exteneded warranty check out:

http://www.warrantydirect.com

They will tell you if they have dealt with your dealer in the past. You can also check with the service dept (forget the credit guy) to inquire about their experiences with Warranty Direct.

I paid less than $700 for 7yr/70000 miles full bumper to bumper including emisions. In my case I will be keeping the car for 7 years as long as my body does not assume room temperature before that. I wanted protection from a major cash outlay.

Most of these companies make big bucks when owners trade in the vehicle before the manufacturers warranty expires or well before their warranty lapses.

Best of luck.

 

I bought an aftermarket warranty once and that was an even worse idea than buying it directly from the manufacturer! Yeah it's cheaper but try getting them to actually pay out on a claim. If I ever bought a warranty, which I won't, I'd buy a real OEM one.

Anyway I educated myself and I'll never purchase an extended warranty or service contract of any kind, for any item. These "products" aren't designed to actually save purchasers money, their all designed to be mostly profit.. Talk to a salesman you know.. a salesman for any product... They will tell you how they are always told to push the extended service contract, and how it also has the biggest payout to the salesman of almost anything. I used to work for a major electronics retailer and the extended service was the biggest scam.. most people forget about them.. if you do actually remember you have one, the process of getting something fixed is almost impossible.. few actually got it fixed under the warranty.. nobody actually got all their money back.. trust me.. it's the same with most warranties.. this is how I learned all about how warranties are the big money maker.. and then it clicked into place how I'd been getting scammed into buying them for my car too.. and never had a dime paid out.. when I eventually did need it they wouldn't pay the claim. Anyway now I always tell everyone who brings up this subject the same thing:

Don't buy them for your car, your digital camera, your home theater, your TV, your appliances, nothing... the money you save overall will more than pay for the cost of whatever you MAY have to pay to fix.. It's easy to think "Oh I just paid $900 for this digital cam, whats another $50? to never have to worry about it" but then it never breaks anyway, and if it does good luck getting them to honor it. Don't you know it's ALWAYS your fault? Warranties don't cover abuse. Anyway I already know the deal, I'm just trying to look out for and educate others.. Take it as you will.

 

Individual circumstances differ. I am retired and on a fixed income. This is my second auto using Warranty Direct for an extended warranty. On my last, a 98 Ford, I bought a 5yr / 100000 mile warranty for $800.00.

At 52,000 miles - A new transmition - my cost $100 deductible - Actual cost $2400
At 80k - AC compressor - my cost $100 deductible - Actual Cost $1200

I paid a total of $1000 for $3600 in repairs, so I guess I was lucky and there was no problem getting the $$$ form Warranty Direct.

Now that I an on a fixed income I can't take the risk of a major expenditure. To say "never purchase and extended warranty" does not consider every circumstance. By all means if you are going to secure a third party warranty check with your dealer's servce dept to see if they have any experience with the company.

BTW..Most dealers are not offering a Chrysler extended warranty. They use a third party as they make more money using same.

Make your decision based on your own circumstances.

 

Dadof4 makes a good point. It does depend on your circumstances. If you are going to keep the car that long then yes it could be of benefit. For me, 1-2 years I keep a car max so it is a waste of money.