In August of 02 I bought a Limited Edition PT. It came with a 3 year, 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, and the 7 year, 70,000 mile powertrain warranty.
I paid $800 to extend the bumper to bumper warranty to 6 years or 60,000 miles. It has a $100 deductible per visit.
At 49,000 miles I've had the car in for one extended warranty repair trip. The rear torsion bar links had to be replaced and the 2 front door checks. The Chrysler dealer bill total: $170. So I paid $100 and by spending $800 when I bought the car I have now saved $70. Will I even come close to "come ahead" in the last 10,000 miles of my extended warranty? I doubt it.
But, you say, I have piece of mind, in case something goes wrong.... well, the most likely problems I would have now are with the engine and transmission, but the extended warranty doesn't apply to them because they are covered by the powertrain warranty. What else can go wrong or break that will be coveded by the extended warranty? About the biggest wearable thing I can think of is the suspension, brakes and rotors aren't, and the clutch(if you have one) isn't.
If you have any body or electrical problems, you would have probably found them out in the first 3 years or 36,000 miles. So, as the bean counters for Chrysler know, Chrysler will probably be keeping most of that $800 dollars I paid. We must all realize that they sell extended warranties to MAKE money. Yes, occasionally, an extended warranty will pay for itself, probably if you managed to get a $0 deductible, even then it's not a sure thing. (Anyone out there get a $0 deductible from Chrysler??, I have no idea.)
About 3rd party extended warranties, when I went to schedule an appointment for my repairs, the Service Advisor was very negative about the whole thing, saying things like, "if the exact part is not listed in the agreement, it's not going to be covered". I finally realized the reason, she thought I had another company's warranty. This 5-star Chrysler dealership only sells an outside company's warranty. I didn't know a dealer could get away with that, and the service advisor thought I bought the car there, (I didn't) All I've ever heard about these outside warranties, is that they are quick to bill you, and very slow to pay....anything. And that is also if they haven't gone under yet.
SRG
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