Chrysler raises the bar? New lifetime warranty!

[311Hemi]

Doesn't sound like it comes with the Cummins trucks...but all other vehicles....seems like they just raised the bar.

Discuss!

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Chrysler today leapfrogged every other car maker by extending its powertrain warranty on every new car and truck it sells to the life of the vehicle. The warranty will apply to the entire powertrain including the engine, transmission/transaxle, drive shafts, and axles. The new warranty goes into effect today, July 26, 2007 and applies to all new 2007s that are on the dealer lots as well as 2008 models.

The warranty covers all parts and labor as long as the owner brings the car in to a Chrysler dealer at least once every five years for a free powertrain inspection. Apparently, the only fly in the ointment is that the new warranty applies to the original owner and is not transferable. If the car is sold within the first three years, the warranty reverts to the previous 3 year/36,000 mile coverage for subsequent owners. The press release is after the jump.

* The New Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Warranty – the first from an OEM and the longest in the industry – is a statement of confidence in the reliability of Chrysler products

* Warranty covers the cost of all parts and labor needed to repair covered powertrain components – engine, transmission and drive system

* Provides worry-free ownership for new Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge owners

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[Jeremy airjer W]

Looks like they are playing the game well!

Who keeps there car for a lifetime? I would bet they did some serious number crunching and realized that most of there cars are sold as used before most of the major drivetrain issues happen!

Nothing more than a marketing gimmick! If they built a top quality reliable vehicle people would have figured it out and would be buying them regardless of the warranty offering (my opinion)!!

On the other hand I have been impressed with Chrysler's recall and extended coverage of known problems.

[311Hemi]

Yea...just posted the info for the heck of it. I am sure they have crunched numbers....and I have not looked into it any more.

Also wonder if the fine print specifies what an average life expectency is....like say 100000 miles?

[bucketmouth64]

This would sway me to buy another dodge. I have a 93 dakota with 350,000 miles on it. One reason I bought it was the 7/70 warranty. Used it once during the warranty period. A warranty like this would have been great since I had one tranny overhaul since the one done during the warranty period. Engine is getting weak now and a new engine would be nice .

[Rost]

That may not work for most drivers in this day and age because people tend to trade every 4-5 years.

However, this wouldn't be such a bad deal for some. I know a few sales people that put on 50k miles per year. My brother has 140k on his 04 Dodge Truck. I am the type of guy that likes to get his money's worth when buying a truck. If I were to buy a new vehicle, I'd plan on owning it for 10 years.

So, for the guy that trades every other year- doesn't help.

For a guy like me- Sounds like a good deal.

[Rost]

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Nothing more than a marketing gimmick! If they built a top quality reliable vehicle people would have figured it out and would be buying them regardless of the warranty offering (my opinion)!!

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Since you are a mechanic, I am sure you know more about trucks and their known problems than I do. However, my brother has been nothing but impressed with his Dodge 1500 Hemi. He works for a company with a fleet of full size trucks (all brands) and the Dodge trucks have held up very well. And they beat the heck out of them! As stated above, he's got nearly 150k on it and the only thing that has been replaced is the alternator.

[JohnMickish]

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Who keeps there car for a lifetime?

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Well, I usually keep mine for 10 years or so racking up 150,000-250,000 miles before they get sent to pasture, and I'm not the only one here that does that. There not worth anything after a few years anyway so you might as well get your moneys worth.

Yes, it's a marketing deal but it will work well and move vehicles off the lot.

[cold one sd]

It will be interesting to see if Ford and GM come up with the same thing or close.

[Jeremy airjer W]

GM has the "100k warranty". I haven't read up on the specifics of that one myself but I would guess that it is similar in that it doesn't transfer and probably doesn't cover any of the known issues that they currently have.

So much for the "best warranty in the industry"!

[JohnMickish]

I'm sure that there is a huge loophole to get out of paying. Much like the aftermarket warrenties I'm sure they don't cover things "oil related issues" or they will just cover the block, heads and crank but not the other parts.

[Scott K]

I know one thing for sure you better keep a good record of all service maitenance done to your vehicle, and do it on schedule!

[Whoaru99]

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I'm sure that there is a huge loophole to get out of paying. Much like the aftermarket warrenties I'm sure they don't cover things "oil related issues" or they will just cover the block, heads and crank but not the other parts.

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"Loophole" is a point of view.

Warranty policies have very specific legal requirements and usually are pretty well defined in black and white terms.

It's just that most people never take the time to actually get the full warranty policy document and read the details of what's covered. They assume "warranty" means everything is taken care of and then are [PoorWordUsage]ed off when they find out otherwise.

[Slyster]

I always keep my cars from the cradle to the grave.

[pulsar_nx]

I've head that you need to take it in every 5 years for a checkup to keep the warranty.

I bet the resale on dodges will take a dive because of this.

[DTro]

While it's good marketing. Chrysler will probably end up making more money with this.

I'm sure there's a disclaimer that you need to have it serviced, per the schedule. All the work will have to be done there and they will generate quite a bit of revenue this way.

It's just like the last vehicle I just bought at Walser. I got free lifetime oil changes.......I threw it away. I guarantee you those oil changes would have ended up costing me a ton in the long run.

[Whoaru99]

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While it's good marketing. Chrysler will probably end up making more money with this.

I'm sure there's a disclaimer that you need to have it serviced, per the schedule. All the work will have to be done there and they will generate quite a bit of revenue this way.

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Servicing the vehicle according to the maintenance schedule is a condition of EVERY warranty on a vehicle. They cannot force you to have the service done at a Chrysler dealer unless that service is free (read Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, re. tie-in sales provisions).

OEMs, just like every business, is in business to make money. If they thought they were going to loose money doing this, I guarantee they wouldn't be doing it.

By the same token, and contrary to popular opinion, most businesses are not in the business of screwing their customers because it doesn't pay in the long run.

[DTro]

That might be true, but why is it that I already envision innocent people getting the shaft because they didn't change their air filter in time or some fine print that disqualifies them.

[bucketmouth64]

I would definitely look over the warranty. I believe that if you do miss a scheduled maintenance they will void any warranty work if it is related to the work being done. They will want proof of all maintenance done if warranty is used to prove you did do the scheduled maintenance. I hope it wouldn't matter if you have your maintenance done at a non-chrysler/dodge garage just as long as you can prove it was done.

[Whoaru99]

I believe the company that is going to reject a warranty claim has the burden of proof to demonstrate what you did (or didn't do) is the cause of the failure.

In other words, they can't just categorically reject warranty claims for things non-related to the nature of the failure.