extended warranty

[helene]

my warranty is about to expire, 2006 pt cruiser which I bought used , it was a rental; Should I buy an extended warranty? which one is the best one?
How many miles does a pt cruiser run before having major problems as a rule?
Please help! I don't have much money to buy one but I am afraid if I don't and my car brakes down, I will have to ride a bike!
Thanks

[CREWZIN]

Welcome to the forum Helene,

Extended warranty is like any insurance. A waste of money until you need it. If you plan on keeping your cruiser for years to come and you don't have the money to put out for any major repairs plus you can't do any of the work yourself, it's probably a good idea to look around and buy an extended warranty. No advise here on which one to buy as I bought one from a well known company (Warranty Gold) a bunch of years back. They paid for one repair on the PT (power steering pump) and then they went into some sort of Chapter that let them dump all their old customers (me and thousands of others) yet still go out and look for new business. I Paid $1,100, got a $300 repair and lost the rest. I went another 5 years without any real major repairs so I've been lucky so far.

[Hooligan]

Helene, welcome to the Forum.

I have purchased Extended Warranties only from Chrysler. Their warranties start when the car was put into service. I purchased my last two from Whittrock Motor Co,712.792.9234. Give Kevin a call with your VIN number and see what he may be able to do for you. Warranty companies other than Chrysler will cover most things, BUT you will have to pay everything up front and try to collect later. They saved me by repairing A/C hoses, rebuilding transmission etc. (Different vehicles).

[slartyblarfast]

Get the Chrysler extended warranty only!!! As a chrysler tech I can tell you that alot of times it is a MASSIVE pain to deal with aftermarket companies. Buy the best you can afford. I have 0 deductible maxcare on my 06 pt. I get first day rental which is really nice! Most aftermarket warranties will only for 1 or 2 days. I can get a rental car even if all I need is an oil change! It's been WELL worth the money!

[customer20]

To answer your question; about the time your warranty expires, 70,000 miles, your cruiser will begin needing expensive repairs, (about $1,000 each repair).

Sorry to say this, but I would trade in your current cruiser in on one with a lifetime warranty, before you pay out any money for repairs, or warrantys.

Then apply the money you would have spent on that extended warranty to pay the difference between the trade in amount and the purchase price.

You will still owe them some money, but in the long road ahead, you'll actually save alot of money that way. And the longer you keep it, the more you will save.

That lifetime warranty is really the smart way to save on repair expenses.

[Duster]

Originally Posted by customer20

To answer your question; about the time your warranty expires, 70,000 miles, your cruiser will begin needing expensive repairs, (about $1,000 each repair).

Sorry to say this, but I would trade in your current cruiser in on one with a lifetime warranty, before you pay out any money for repairs, or warrantys.

Then apply the money you would have spent on that extended warranty to pay the difference between the trade in amount and the purchase price.

You will still owe them some money, but in the long road ahead, you'll actually save alot of money that way. And the longer you keep it, the more you will save.

That lifetime warranty is really the smart way to save on repair expenses.

Your "old" 2006 PT will absolutly die in the next 30k km so go ahead and buy a new onw...and do this every 2 years...

It's exactly what you said to him!

C'mon! Gimme a break...

[customer20]

helene said she couldn't afford repairs, and so likely she won't take my advice anyway, because she would probably have to make new car payments. But if I had to choose between paying repairs on one with no warranty, or payments on a car with a lifetime warranty, I'd take the warranty.

There is no guarantee that the lifetime warranty will still be available next year, and no guarantee that the PT Cruiser will still be around the year after that. And now is a good time of the year to trade because of end of the year sales and rebates. Plus the trade in value on an '06 is still good, but in a few months it will drop.

Lastly, the '06 and the '08 are about identical, so it's strictly a financial decision.

If you keep the car long enough, a lifetime warranty could pay for the car.