Warranty - Standard vs MOPAR Extended

[Raven65]

I just bought a new '22 in October and have been contemplating buying a MOPAR extended warranty... but the standard warranty supposedly covers the thing "bumper-to-bumper" for 3 years/36k miles - and the powertrain for 5 years/60k miles, so I'm thinking that may be good enough. If I bought a MOPAR warranty, I'd probably only go for the 6 year/75k-mile tier anyway just to make sure it's covered until it's paid off - though I'll likely pay it off much sooner than that.

Anyway... what are you guys' opinions/experiences? Is the standard warranty "good enough" or is it worth the money to buy a MOPAR extended warranty?

Thanks!

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[Rahkmalla]

i've done enough minor modifications that I'm sure i'll have a fight on my hands with stellantis if i actually try to use my warranty for anything other than a busted infotainment, but 8yr 125k coverage for under 3k seemed like a no brainer to me around the time of purchase when i thought I'd be able to control myself with the accessories. (No idea what the price is now, i'm sure it's gone up in the last 6 months.)

 

[SnazzGlad]

I bought the Mopar 6 year 75k warranty. Like you, I know I want to be covered for the term of my loan if I’m unable to pay it off early. Nothing worse than having large repair bills on a vehicle with a loan out of warranty.

 

[Raven65]

I bought the Mopar 6 year 75k warranty. Like you, I know I want to be covered for the term of my loan if I’m unable to pay it off early. Nothing worse than having large repair bills on a vehicle with a loan out of warranty.

Yeah, but that's the thing... I'm thinking I'll have it paid off well before the standard 5/60 powertrain warranty expires... I ASSUME that will cover anything truly catastrophic. Just don't know if the MOPAR is better enough to be worth the cost. I understand that like any insurance, it's only truly "worth it" if you have to use it. It's just a matter of how much risk you're willing to accept vs how much you're willing to pay for the peace of mind. Still interested in others opinions/experiences.

 

[Mr._Bill]

If you plan to keep it beyond the 3/36 warranty period, then the Mopar Extended Warranty is a good plan. The price goes up with mileage, so don't wait too long. There are some threads on where to buy it at a discounted price. I bought the Unlimited Mileage Max Care through Tom Winkle.

 

[Bonanza]

If you keep it 100% stock, and have absolutely no automotive repair knowledge, only then is it a marginally good idea.

I've had an absolutely terribly warranty experience on the last 3 jeeps I've owned that I bought new. Terrible. I am very grateful I have access to a shop and can perform any repair that comes up. Short of an engine blowing up on its own, I think the warranty on Jeeps is completely worthless.

 

[Hootbro]

Anyway... what are you guys' opinions/experiences? Is the standard warranty "good enough" or is it worth the money to buy a MOPAR extended warranty?

Depends how risk adverse you are. The mere fact they offer it and at the pricing they offer it, FCA/Stellantis has already done the actuary analysis of probable failure rates and is betting and making money you will not need it or not use full paid value when you do use it.

As a general rule, I stay away from extended warranties as I can cover most expenses if needed. Has been money in my pocket saved. I can understand why others see the need for them.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I would suggest reading the “fine print contract” for said warranties and highlight the words “warranty does not cover wearable parts” or any other words that say similar.

Question to ask is ‘what part on your vehicle doesn’t wear’?

I’ve been down this road concerning extended warranties because, like you, I wanted peace of mind while I’m paying for the vehicle. At the end of the day (with my last vehicle) and a gear going out in my manual transmission, corporate deemed the broken gear “a wearable part” and the bill was mine. Before I had the chance to put the vehicle in for this repair, an elk ran out in front of me, writing off the truck.

In cancelling my extended warranty, the manufacturer owed me $1000 for the 4 years, 65k kms left. Corporate refused to cut the cheque saying, “because the approved warranty repairs over the last 3 years amounted to more than what I paid for the extended warranty, they were not reimbursing the $1000.”

I called it corporate theft as I was sold “TIME and MILEAGE” warranty, not assumed repair cost warranty.

The dealership cut me the $1000 but corporate would not pay it.

That was Toyota.

I’ve learned it doesn’t matter who’s offering the warranty. They are also in the power to refuse based on their own interests and can claim your broken item, a wearable part, to get out of approving repairs.

 

[Rahkmalla]

Depends how risk adverse you are. The mere fact they offer it and at the pricing they offer it, FCA/Stellantis has already done the actuary analysis of probable failure rates and is betting and making money you will not need it or not use full paid value when you do use it.

As a general rule, I stay away from extended warranties as I can cover most expenses if needed. Has been money in my pocket saved. I can understand why others see the need for them.

FCA also has the ability to negotiate shop rates, and everyone knows warranty time for almost every job is less than non-warranty time.

So yes, it may be a money maker for FCA, but that doesn't mean it's a money loser for the owner. Unless you're an owner who can guarantee your local dealership wont charge more than $150/hour and takes a 10-20% discount on book time. If you do have that contract with your local dealer, I'd love to know how you got it. Mine won't even talk to me because they're "so busy"

 

[BearFootSam]

In my mind if you invested that warranty cost and take care of your vehicle you are better off just repairing what goes wrong yourself. Part failures tend to be higher at the start of ownership (defects) and then again at high mileage (wear). Catch problems early to get them fixed under warranty. I’d bet for the most part major failures are uncommon after 60k unless there is a design issue which if prevalent should lead to a recall or limited warranty extension. My old scuba had several warranty extensions for batteries, trunk struts, AC compressor and exhaust. Those were discovered flaws.

 

[Rahkmalla]

I’d bet for the most part major failures are uncommon after 60k unless there is a design issue which if prevalent should lead to a recall or limited warranty extension.

You have a completely different experience with vehicles than I do. 90s and early oughts Fords were famous for their 61k automatic transmission failures. Don't remember a single warranty extension. Components wear. Components with material defects wear quicker. The idea that if they don't fail by 60k they must have been built correctly is a bit out there.

 

[BourbonRunner]

I might be out on the island here but I'd also take a look at aftermarket extended warranties, too. My credit union offers multiple tiers with different deductibles. I'd personally run one with a $100-200 deductible to keep costs down to cover catastrophic repairs.

That being said, the best move we could have ever made when we bought her Scubie was to get the extended warranty. Even though Scubies are reliable, we got more than our money out of it because it would see daily commuting on the DC Beltway. At 50K miles the CVT transmission went. Replaced under the extended warranty. A month later they replaced that due to defective parts. Around 90K before the warranty was to expire it was replaced AGAIN. And then it was replaced a final time around 145K. We're at 190K and the next transmission replacement isn't going to be covered (we were told already) so when it goes, it goes. And it ain't far off.

 

[SPED1]

My factory warranty was useless as no dealer could be bothered to repair my vehicle. Harr motors , who broke my Jeep, stated on the repair order that after the PCM clutch burning reprograming recall that the backup camera and lights were not working. Several months later after figuring the problem out myself and reprogramming the gear position sensor on the manual transmission everything works correctly. I am awaiting my "A" technician Mopar training certification or the $10K the warranty is worth for repairing my own vehicle .................... I assume any added warranty would be just as useless

 

[Raven65]

Thanks for all the replies so far... I figured it would be a mixed bag. I'm 57 years old and have owned lots of cars/trucks - both foreign and domestic - and have had good and bad experiences with both. I have always done my own maintenance and basic to intermediate difficulty repairs and have NEVER paid for an extended warranty, but this is my first Jeep... and reading about some of the issues people are having with the Gladiator have made me a little nervous (yes, I know people rarely post that they're having NO problems - and there are plenty of people like that - but still). I'm leaning toward sticking to my usual routine - rolling the dice and NOT purchasing an extended warranty and just leave that money in the bank to go toward any major repair that MAY be necessary down the road after the standard included warranty expires. My biggest fear was the Pentastar valve train/cam issues - but that seems to have mainly affected earlier engines. Hopefully that has been resolved now - or if it does happen, it happens before the standard 5 year/60k-mile drive train warranty expires. If not, absolute worst case, Stellantis has cranked out a bazillion of these engines and good used ones can be found for less than a grand. I guess I'll do that and just see how it goes. If I have a lot of trouble during the warranty period, I'll just trade it in on something else before the warranty is gone.

 

[mdyucca]

Problem with extended warranties and Jeep Owners is a good percentage of of Jeep Owners are modifying/altering/tinkering with any number of systems/components on the Jeep and in doing so void the warranty for those systems/components on the Jeep.

Recently I talked with a Jeeper that was very happy with his extended warranty. He had several repairs completed under full warranty for his 2017 Jeep, some of the repairs would have been very costly. During the discussion he emphasized the reason he kept his Jeep factory stock right down to the factory tire size was to ensure to not void the extended warranty.

How many of us could keep our Jeeps factory stock?

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