FNG w/2015 Wagon

[adeluca73]

Yeah man, I need the info. I keep getting these mysterious emails & letters that look all Chysler & MOPAR official , but also have that random "you've been selected for a special one-time no-cost mortgage refinance if you call in the next 10min" kind of feel.

So let's hear the real deal---cost, deductible, coverage, gotchas, the BS. It will help out a lot of guys on here...

[joshet89]

Really the Mopar vehicle service contracts themselves are pretty simple. They have 4 levels of coverage 1. Powertrain care, very basic just internally lubricated parts in major mechanicals. This would be the basic 5yr/100k factory warranty. They will have 2 middle levels of coverage, added care and added care plus, my opinion on these 2 if you are considering covering as much of the truck as possible skip these two. These are the warranties that you go to the dealer and they will be constantly telling sorry that part isn't covered. The top level of coverage is going to be the Max care coverage. This would be the same type of coverage that you have as you drive a new truck off of the lot with a factory warranty. The reason I stay away from presenting the added care plus coverage vs the max care is the added care has around 800 covered components vs the max care at over 5000 and at the most you will typically pay is around $500 more for the max care vs the added care plus. For all the different levels of the coverage they have 3 deductibles $0, $50, and $100. Again when I present the deductibles it is almost always $100 for the cost difference. On my truck (new 2014 PW) the cost difference between a $100 deduct and a $0 deduct is almost $1500! The way these trucks are built we aren't looking at 15 covered repairs at $300-$1000, more than likely it might be (hopefully) 1-2 covered repairs at more than $1000. In my service dept our average customer pay repair order is around $1500. No need to explain that parts and labor can be done cheaper locally or yourself, these numbers are just used to show that a $0 deduct svc contract is not worth the money.

Once the decision has been made on the level of coverage there are about 14 levels of years and mileage. The years come in 5, 6, 7 and 8 years. The mileage is 60k, 70k, 85k, 100k and 120k. The 5-7 year plans are available with the 60k-100k, but you can only get the 8yr with 120k. After that are the lifetime plans. Chrysler is the only manufacturer that has the lifetime option and it is great policy for someone who hangs on to vehicles for a long time. The thing to remember with the lifetime plans vs the other policies is it is NOT transferable. You want to give your truck to Jr when you are done with it then you better keep the title in your name of that lifetime plan is voided. If you have a 5yr/100k plan and you sell it to your neighbor then you can transfer the policy to him for a small cost of I think $150. I know there might be a few guys poking around here than are running CTD and those are ineligible for the lifetime plans.

As far as the gotchas, BS and all the other things that go along with warranties, my recommendation is to talk to the dealer that will be doing the warranty work on your truck. The service department that will be making the claim will typically have around $6000 they can claim before a factory rep has to authorize the work. This means that they will be seeing the mods (if any) on the truck before any one from the factory will, and typically if the mod does not have to do with repair in question then no big deal. So if you run a set of 37's and the A/C stops working then no worries it should be covered, however with the same set of 37's you get bad ball joints then more than likely they won't cover the ball joints. Those are pretty clear examples, but if you start having diff issues or similar with the 37's then it becomes a little murkier and that could be more up to the service department whether they are going to claim the repairs. If you are talking to the dealer about purchasing the warranty talk to the service department manager, don't talk to the finance guy who gives you the prices. As a finance guy I have no control over what is covered or not, so me telling you that brake pads are covered under a warranty is silly because we all know that it wouldn't be covered. I wouldn't even recommend talking to the service writer or tech because again they aren't making the claims, you want to talk to the service manager.

Cost...I am not going to post the pricing for the plans, because they change and I don't want to have an outdated price list out there. Besides that some states have non-negotiable selling prices and some guys will just feel more comfortable dealing with the local dealer to purchase the warranty. I will be happy to provide a quote for anyone around here if they want, but I feel more comfortable doing that through a PM. The reason for that is to give the most accurate quote I have to input the VIN and miles.

Hopefully this helps out and answers some questions!

[yagovomaltmoor]

Thank you for taking the time to write that up. It's really helpful to understand the options.

In your experience, will Chrysler cover the Power Wagon-specific equipment like the disconnecting sway bar and axle lockers? I didn't see these listed on covered components and they are ones that I worry will fail and be expensive to replace. I saw that winches are excluded but that alone doesn't deter me from purchasing Maxcare.

[joshet89]

Thank you for taking the time to write that up. It's really helpful to understand the options.

In your experience, will Chrysler cover the Power Wagon-specific equipment like the disconnecting sway bar and axle lockers? I didn't see these listed on covered components and they are ones that I worry will fail and be expensive to replace. I saw that winches are excluded but that alone doesn't deter me from purchasing Maxcare.

Yes the PW specific components would be covered, that is one of the great things about our trucks is we get all the fun stuff guys add aftermarket wise and still get to keep factory coverage.

[adeluca73]

Thanks so much for all that info. I guess I'll call them & see what's the lifetime cost. I bought a 6 or 8 yr warranty through USAA when I financed the loan, so I'll have to call them & see if I can sell it back. I think I read the MOPAR lifetimebran like $3200, yikes.

[loveracing1988]

Thank you for taking the time to write that up. It's really helpful to understand the options.

In your experience, will Chrysler cover the Power Wagon-specific equipment like the disconnecting sway bar and axle lockers? I didn't see these listed on covered components and they are ones that I worry will fail and be expensive to replace. I saw that winches are excluded but that alone doesn't deter me from purchasing Maxcare.

Yes the PW specific components would be covered, that is one of the great things about our trucks is we get all the fun stuff guys add aftermarket wise and still get to keep factory coverage.

I believe I did see in my brochure that it said the winch was not covered though.

[OMOTM]

Good info, still waiting on delivery of my PW. I don't usually get the extended warranty, but as I get older and technology gets ahead of me, the more I consider it. I am buying from a different dealer than the one that will be doing repair work, they should not hold that against me, we have bought many of their vehicles.

[joshet89]

A few other things to keep in mind as well, you can purchase the lifetime max care up to 4 yrs or 48k. After 12 months or 12k miles there is a $150 surcharge and prices usually change the first of October. In my experience with the service contracts is they typically increase about $100 or so with the new price changes. The $3200 price is going to be the suggested retail price, some states have to sell it for that price. If you call Mopar Protection hotline they will quote you that price as well. Just like any suggested retail price it can be negotiated, but you will have to call the dealer( I will be happy to provide a discounted quote for anyone as well just send me a PM). When it comes to paying for it there are a few different options. If you are buying the service contract at the time of purchase you are able to include it in your finance contract and are able to amortize it over the life of the loan, which is nice since unlike a term or mileage restricted service contract you are under a warranty for the entire duration of the loan. You can always pay for it in one lump sum (cash, check or charge). The third option is you can put a small down payment (10%) and spread the balance out over 12 or 18 months same as cash. The same as cash option is different than a loan or even a credit card in that they will NOT ask for any type of credit information and the payments will not report to a credit report or ever have the possibility of going into a collection account. If the payments are not received chrysler at that point will cancel the policy.

Hope this has answered a few more questions.

[adeluca73]

Helped a lot, thanks. So the key is to get the lifetime warranty before you hit 12K mi, right? When you get a negotiated cost from a dealer cheaper than the standard $3200, are you then locked into that dealer doing all the service?

[joshet89]

Helped a lot, thanks. So the key is to get the lifetime warranty before you hit 12K mi, right? When you get a negotiated cost from a dealer cheaper than the standard $3200, are you then locked into that dealer doing all the service?

Nope, you can take the truck to any chrysler dealer. Just need to make sure that the owner of the truck and the service contract have the same name. Might seem like a no brainer, but if your name was misspelled from reporting the sale or the service contract the claims process can be a mess(not that our minimum wage 18yr old ditz at the front counter never misspelled a name ) . Also if you purchased the truck in a business name make sure the the service contract is registered in the business name.

[14PowerWaggy]

Helped a lot, thanks. So the key is to get the lifetime warranty before you hit 12K mi, right? When you get a negotiated cost from a dealer cheaper than the standard $3200, are you then locked into that dealer doing all the service?

Nope, you can take the truck to any chrysler dealer. Just need to make sure that the owner of the truck and the service contract have the same name. Might seem like a no brainer, but if your name was misspelled from reporting the sale or the service contract the claims process can be a mess(not that our minimum wage 18yr old ditz at the front counter never misspelled a name ) . Also if you purchased the truck in a business name make sure the the service contract is registered in the business name.

Sent you a PM...

[Horseplay]

Good Stuff Josh, I'm waiting to take delivery of my truck as we speak. Seriously considering the lifetime warranty, how far do you think a dealer is willing to bend and flex when negotiating that $3,200 warranty?

[joshet89]

Good Stuff Josh, I'm waiting to take delivery of my truck as we speak. Seriously considering the lifetime warranty, how far do you think a dealer is willing to bend and flex when negotiating that $3,200 warranty?

Depends on the state and sometimes even the dealer. Some states are required by law to sell for the suggested retail price. The rest of it is up to your own negotiation.

[CrittDog]

I purchased a 3 year/ 36K "platinum plus" service contract on my 11' PW a few weeks ago. I was suckered into it not realizing the prices can vary sooooo much! I ended up paying $6995.00 for mine. I am currently looking at a factory coverage from RAM. I am hoping I can get a refund and purchase the lifetime from RAM. UGH...

[olyelr]

I purchased a 3 year/ 36K "platinum plus" service contract on my 11' PW a few weeks ago. I was suckered into it not realizing the prices can vary sooooo much! I ended up paying $6995.00 for mine. I am currently looking at a factory coverage from RAM. I am hoping I can get a refund and purchase the lifetime from RAM. UGH...

Holy taleetha. I think I paid $3000 for the lifetime warranty on mine.

[adeluca73]

I purchased a 3 year/ 36K "platinum plus" service contract on my 11' PW a few weeks ago. I was suckered into it not realizing the prices can vary sooooo much! I ended up paying $6995.00 for mine. I am currently looking at a factory coverage from RAM. I am hoping I can get a refund and purchase the lifetime from RAM. UGH...

Holy taleetha. I think I paid $3000 for the lifetime warranty on mine.

To follow up on an old thread, I ended up purchasing the MOPAR Max Lifetime Warranty through my original dealer. They never sold a complete factory b2b lifetime warranty before, so I did all the leg work for them setting it up, they just passed the direct cost to me, less than $1800ish, in exchange for showing them how to get it to appear in their system, so they can sell it to future customers. I also sold the USAA insurance backed extended warranty back to them when I purchased the MOPAR lifetime warranty.

[Ducky's Dad]

Back on the TPMS question, I just figured out that the reason the TPMS light is always coming on in my wife's GM is because GM sets them to come on if the pressures are either low or high (+/- 5psi). I run 42 in hers and the door tag says they recommend 36, so the light is on because pressure is high. A little research revealed that the dealer and some tire shops (America's Tire) can reprogram the computer to some pressure other than what the factory set. GM dealer wants $140 to reprogram, so maybe a Dodge dealer can do the same on a PW. Fortunately, my PW does not have TPMS.