I’m seriously looking at a Ram and Ford pickup. In both cases I’m very tempted to go diesel but the idea of owning one of those out of warranty is… discomforting. Both manufacturers offer extended warranties that can be purchased while you are still within the original warranty period (the earlier you buy it the cheaper it is). Does anyone have any experience with or opinions on these warranties?
Edit: should have said “manufacturer extended warranty”
I have 7 years, extended by 3 I think.
For me it was worth it. I can transfer it if I sell it.
I’ve had weird shit go wrong, but probably because mine was the first sold of a new model from the dealership.
If it was a Toyota or Honda I’d be less concerned.
I’m seriously looking at a Ram and Ford pickup. In both cases I’m very tempted to go diesel but the idea of owning one of those out of warranty is… discomforting. Both manufacturers offer extended warranties that can be purchased while you are still within the original warranty period (the earlier you buy it the cheaper it is). Does anyone have any experience with or opinions on these warranties?
I own a 2013 Ram 2500 Cummins that has around 85k on the clock. Has been super solid except for the front tie rods, and the $$#@ DEF system. The engine is pretty bomb proof, but also depends on how much you are driving it. Towing, not towing? Lots of miles or not much? Highway vs town. Also, if you get a Ram with a gas engine, you can get a lifetime bumper to bumper warranty as well.
Warranties are great if you are the few who use it within the time frame, a waste of money for most.
I’m seriously looking at a Ram and Ford pickup. In both cases I’m very tempted to go diesel but the idea of owning one of those out of warranty is… discomforting. Both manufacturers offer extended warranties that can be purchased while you are still within the original warranty period (the earlier you buy it the cheaper it is). Does anyone have any experience with or opinions on these warranties?
We bought a new Dodge van back in 2015. As we are signing the final paperwork, the finance guy says to me, “hey, extended lifetime warranties are on sale this month, you want it”. I was tired, it had been a long day arguing with them over price, and I caved and said yes. I never buy extended warranties. I think we paid around $2500 - $3000 for it. On the way home, I was pissed at myself, WTH did I buy this stupid lifetime warranty.
Flash forward to May of this past year, I’m pulling the van in the garage and the check engine light comes on. We had not noticed anything wrong with the van. I take it to the dealer the next day thinking it is going to be something silly and simple. Give them my warranty information and they call me later that day and say, “we are going to have to replace the torque convertor and transmission”. Out of pocket cost to me, $100.
We plan to keep that van forever.
Matt
I’m seriously looking at a Ram and Ford pickup. In both cases I’m very tempted to go diesel but the idea of owning one of those out of warranty is… discomforting. Both manufacturers offer extended warranties that can be purchased while you are still within the original warranty period (the earlier you buy it the cheaper it is). Does anyone have any experience with or opinions on these warranties?
If you buy one negotiate on the warranty cost.
Well I never buy them but when we bought our Tucson the wife really wanted the extended warranty. (5 years plus 2 more extended). I didn’t want to fight over it and it was going to be her car so we did it.
6.5 years later we had the engine replaced under warranty.
If we didn’t have the warranty I would have ditched the car as it would have been close to $10,000 to replace.
Now We have an 8 year old car with a 1.5 year old engine.
So that’s my story.
I’m seriously looking at a Ram and Ford pickup. In both cases I’m very tempted to go diesel but the idea of owning one of those out of warranty is… discomforting. Both manufacturers offer extended warranties that can be purchased while you are still within the original warranty period (the earlier you buy it the cheaper it is). Does anyone have any experience with or opinions on these warranties?
If you buy one negotiate on the warranty cost.
For Ram, you do NOT have to buy the warranty from the dealership. This website has been cheaper than anyone else I’ve ever seen.
https://chryslerwarrantydirect.com/warranty-plans/
It’s just a dealership that is leveraging online to gain $ with selling a high volume instead of trying to make $1k per customer.
I would never buy extra insurance on anything.
It looks like Chrysler has eliminated lifetime warranties?
I own a 2013 Ram 2500 Cummins that has around 85k on the clock. Has been super solid except for the front tie rods, and the $$#@ DEF system. The engine is pretty bomb proof, but also depends on how much you are driving it. Towing, not towing? Lots of miles or not much? Highway vs town. Also, if you get a Ram with a gas engine, you can get a lifetime bumper to bumper warranty as well.
The emissions control stuff is what scares me. On the Ram I’m also air suspension which is something I know will break at some point.
I naturally seem to put 15,000-20,000miles/year on any given vehicle. Mostly highway. I’ll probably get a travel trailer in the ~5,000-7,000lb range and tow that periodically but how often and how far is undetermined at this point.
Good to know about the gas engine.
If you buy one negotiate on the warranty cost.
Of course 
.
I own a 2013 Ram 2500 Cummins that has around 85k on the clock.
Dang, my family has a 1989 Ram Cummins, with like 200K by this point, and that thing is indestructible. No major repair so far.
As an example, I had my DEF pump go out recently. The part was over $1000! And even though it doesn’t make the truck run worse (it actually runs better with it eliminated), it went into a limp mode after 200 miles of not getting it fixed, so I had no choice. Lame.
Front end rebuild was around $3000. With that said, those are the only two major repairs and it is a champ. The RAM panels are cheap and dent easily.
Interesting. I’m seeing a 6 year 125,000 mile warranty for ~$2,200 for the vehicle I’m looking at with a $200 deductible. If I could get that down to $1,500 I feel that would really be worth it. I’d imagine anything with the engine, transmission, or (air) suspension would easily be >$1,700.
I’m seriously looking at a Ram and Ford pickup. In both cases I’m very tempted to go diesel but the idea of owning one of those out of warranty is… discomforting. Both manufacturers offer extended warranties that can be purchased while you are still within the original warranty period (the earlier you buy it the cheaper it is). Does anyone have any experience with or opinions on these warranties?
We bought a new Dodge van back in 2015. As we are signing the final paperwork, the finance guy says to me, “hey, extended lifetime warranties are on sale this month, you want it”. I was tired, it had been a long day arguing with them over price, and I caved and said yes. I never buy extended warranties. I think we paid around $2500 - $3000 for it. On the way home, I was pissed at myself, WTH did I buy this stupid lifetime warranty.
Flash forward to May of this past year, I’m pulling the van in the garage and the check engine light comes on. We had not noticed anything wrong with the van. I take it to the dealer the next day thinking it is going to be something silly and simple. Give them my warranty information and they call me later that day and say, “we are going to have to replace the torque convertor and transmission”. Out of pocket cost to me, $100.
We plan to keep that van forever.
Matt
Damn!
I’ve bought 1 extended warranty. On my FiST to protect from all kinds of screen problems. 5.75 years later, the 24 month Ford warranty expired and the $750 36 month extended expired. I used it once and it paid for itself.
Ford used crappy plastic on the HVAC blend door actuator a whole lot, and they last about 3 years. This $12 part takes 8 hours to replace… The $100 deductible was worth it 
I think you’ve mentioned you’re in Florida. If not ignore the following and negotiate away:
If you go that route and drive cars until they die, consider a lifetime Maxcare policy from MOPAR – unlimited mileage and covers near everything that isn’t wear. It’s easy to purchase after the sale. No point in playing with the finance manager because Florida dealers will quote extremely high rates, which are non-negotiable. Not worth it at prices quoted by MOPAR in Florida, IMO.
It would be worthwhile to search some of the Jeep (possibly Ram) forums for dealers willing to sell the Maxcare policies at HIGHLY discounted prices. You’ll need a non-Florida address for the paperwork. Vehicle can be serviced at any dealer in the country. You’ll be glad you made the effort.
Interesting. I’m seeing a 6 year 125,000 mile warranty for ~$2,200 for the vehicle I’m looking at with a $200 deductible. If I could get that down to $1,500 I feel that would really be worth it. I’d imagine anything with the engine, transmission, or (air) suspension would easily be >$1,700.
FYI - I paid less than this for a lifetime, unlimited mileage Maxcare warranty. $100 deductible.
Good to know, thank you.
I’ll see if I can find the name of the person I got my warranty from, he’s in the jeep forums and sells the warranties for very very low markup. I have a 2014 Grand Cherokee and it covers more than I would have thought. We ended up having a wheel bearing go out, outside of warranty and they covered it.
In my opinion on cars now, as long as it’s factory extended not the bs fly by night warranty companies and the cost isn’t insane, if you are planning on keeping your car for the full time of the warranty, it’s worth while to buy it. I know people will say no warranty is worth it, we’ll look up the repair cost for any electronics on the car and determine if you’d be okay with paying that out of pocket. My guess is most people won’t be.
Nothing on car repairs is really cheap on new cars anymore, the systems are too complex.
They’re insurance. They provide varying levels of cover, have exclusions, have wriggle room for the things that you’d think are covered, and like all insurance are invaluable if you really have to call on them but otherwise are expensive peace of mind that you don’t really need.
We have a Range Rover, an Aston and a Golf. The Range Rover we bought at 7 years old. Plenty of people will tell you it’s financial suicide to run a RR without a warranty. Well, we service it annually at an indy and it’s been fine. Recently we had a stuck float in the fuel tank, leading to it running out of fuel when the tank said it had 1/2-1/4. The fix: fill it up. The aggro was grinding to a halt and being towed. An extended warranty wouldn’t have helped much. It’s now 14 years old so we really are in potential nightmare territory, but fingers crossed.
The AM I bought at just over two years old. I’ve had just over two years extended warranty which comes to an end today. From tomorrow I will be in free fall. My view: the engine and the gearbox are the killers, and if they go, they will go early. I had an exhaust issue (a stuck flap making a squealing): no sir, exhausts are consumables, so kindly fuck off. But the flap aren’t! Please see my previous answer. And the AM extended warranty is supposed to be one of the best. Similarly Porsche: bumper to bumper, except when they find ways to wriggle out of claims for lots of stuff between the bumpers.
The Golf: I kind of wish I had one here because it has a ton of tech on it and VW garages are implausibly expensive.
So for the most part, unless you’re totally up against the wall financially such that a big repair bill will put you underwater for a few months, I say self insure, and service regularly.