Extended Car Warrantees

[FC]

My 2006 Jeep Commander has the standard 3 yr./36000 mile warrantee. I got one of those postcards again, this one saying that this was my last chance. Well, being a Chrysler, the Jeep has its problems. I went ahead and called the warrantee company, asked how long they'd been in existence, etc. They wanted too much for the 5yr/ 100,000 mile warrantee. I told the kid what I would expect to pay for it, he put me on hold. When the finance guy got done with me, they dropped their price$800, and changed the $100 deductible to a $50 deductible in exchange for money up front for the warrantee.

[karlunity]

Outstanding FC.

People forget that you can bargain with these people.

I am not good at it but the Hippy is sudden death in a price negotiation.

 

Karl

[Horsefly]

Same here Karl.My wife does our car buying.I get mad and walk out,but she sets there and digs at them.I've watched her over the years and do know that she walks into a dealership with the price she'll pay in her hand and stays until she gets what she wants.Our car insurance provider a few years ago said they were going to drop us if we didn't buy our homeowners insurance from them.She told them that would be the best thing to do because we were thinking about dropping them anyway.Man they got to dealing and dropping prices,and she called all the other companies getting prices,and after burning up telephone wires with all the deals other companies were offering she saved us hundreds of dollars a year on a new provider.The last time the original company called that was going to drop us,she told them of the new deal we got and thanked them for making her aware she was paying too much.Jerry

[AzRednek]

I used to bring my mother!! She worked several years for a Dodge and later a GM dealer and knew how to read the codes on window stickers. She had a pretty good idea of their bottom line. She used to do all my talking and insisted that when she gets up and walks out I follow. One thing she taught me is to never believe what the window sticker says. Dealers often print their own making them look the same as the factory sticker.

 

Carefull of what you say when the saleman walks out of the room. Dealers used to bug the room and may still be doing so. Always lie about your down payment being alot smaller than you intend to pay, or of if you're paying cash, don't tell them untill the deal is cut. Dealers do get kick backs from banks and finanace co's. The dealer may expect a large kick back by stepping up interest rates a point or two. Doc fees and new car prep is horsesh!t, don't let them add it on after reaching the bottom line.

 

NEVER leave your trade-in and take the new car untill you know for certain the loan is approved. Best to do business during banking hours. Dealers love to send you home thinking it has been approved. If the loan is denied they make sure your trade-in has sold forcing you to take a loan at a higher interest rate. Read the fine print if the loan is denied your trade-in is no longer your property once you leave the lot.

 

If you leave a deposit paid with a check and the deal falls through. The checks always go to your bank at opening making it impossible to stop payment. Every morning the dealerships send employees to banks to cash checks. You will be forced to fight like hell to get it back. The dealer will offer you credits in excess of the payment but just add it on to the bottom of the next deal.

 

If the dealer ever can't find your keys after taking your car to determine the trade-in value, call the police. The cops get fed-up with the calls and eventually take somebody to jail if they keep getting calls.

[FC]

Good stuff; thanks.

[fritz]

I hate haggling with car salesmen, especially those at the big mega-dealerships, where the young kid who gets the first shot at you don't know schitt from shinola about anything automotive. He is only there to save time for the big shots who have the authority to lower the price.

 

The last new car I bought, I let mrs fritz chit-chat with the kid, told her what the bottomline was, and that I was going to the men's room and when I came out if the dealership wanted to haggle anymore, we're gone.

 

We bought the car. As to the extended warrantees, read what Consumer Reports says about them (in fact, read what Consumer Reports says about the car before you shop). They may not be perfect, but they know more than the average consumer (with money to burn) does.

 

Extended warrantees? Forget them.

 

"If the dealer ever can't find your keys after taking your car to determine the trade-in value, call the police. The cops get fed-up with the calls and eventually take somebody to jail if they keep getting calls. "

 

I know of a case where the deal fell through, and the guy who had appraised the trade-in threw the keys on top of the roof of the building. Bad business.

 

fritz

[Horsefly]

Dang fritz,if a saleman throwed my keys on the floor,I think he'd pick them up when he picked up his teeth.I'm a more of a get even type peckerwood,but that would require an ass-whooping.Jerry

[FC]

The warrantee I had on my Plymouth Grand Voyager easily paid for itself. I went through 5 CD players, and a serious electrical problem. I think there was some other stuff too.

[fritz]

"The warrantee I had on my Plymouth Grand Voyager easily paid for itself. I went through 5 CD players, and a serious electrical problem. I think there was some other stuff too. "

 

 

Well, that's because you bought a Dodge product. Haven't you heard the old sayings about Dodge products? In one it mentions that a Ford is just a "F---ing Old Recapped Dodge".

 

Yes, with those you need all the warranties you can get. But let something go wrong with your powertrain, and unless it runs in oil, you are screwed. Lifetime warrantees, if they were worth the paper they were written on, would bankrupt the automakers.

 

But, there is a market out there for consumers with money to burn, and they will keep these automakers out of bankruptsy by buying their inferior products.

 

fritz

 

 

 

 

 

[FC]

The Jeep Commander was my wife's idea. It is a large, comfortable vehicle, but hey, it's a Chrysler!

So what I'm reading here is I stupidly spend money on buying a Chrysler, Ford, and a warranty?

[fritz]

Well of course we all do things like this sometimes. Karl mentioned his experiences in shopping for a car for him and the hippie. He was impressed by the foreign cars, and said they were better built than the American counterparts.

 

I have had just about every make made, except the luxury sports cars of Europe. I have never been disappointed in the foreign cars after around 1970. That was when American automakers began pushing their junk on the market when Germany and Japan were sending us better cars.

 

The same goes for farm tractors----some of the best farm equipment was (and is today) being made overseas. I have two England made David Brown tractors that were the best on the market. And still would be except for the fact that the factory closed down years ago. Reason----American mega-manufactury bought them out and then closed them down so they could sell their junk to us instead.

 

Now we are buying green tractors with "John Deere" on the hood, but made in Germany and France. Much of the green painted implements are made in Italy. I have a hay rake that says "John Deere" but is made by Tonutie in Italy. The European companies make much of our hay equipment, because they had an idea that is just now being realized here as being a better way to put up hay. They have been doing it for a long time.

 

Hell, the Ford truck I bought in 1968 had Canadian parts, so did the Dodge truck I bought later. Both were the sorriest trucks I ever had. But they pale in comparison to the Ford Maverick car I bought for mrs fritz. Many was the time she was "FOUND ON THE ROAD DEAD" ford.

 

fritz

[AzRednek]

"FOUND ON THE ROAD DEAD" ford.

 

fritz

 

You got it wrong Ford stands for, First ON Race Day!!

 

The biggest problem with foreign made industrial or farm equipment is parts supply. Ford, GM and Chrysler have a service support that is second to none. Japanese parts supply isn't to bad but Europeon, especially British and Italian are a crap shoot. I haven't been in the parts business since it went over seas but best I recall parts for farm equipment was always available for US made, most of the drive train parts were interchangable with automotive. The majority of the foreign made tractors weren't even listed in the catalogs for anything other than spark plugs. Wait untill the Chinese stuff hits the market, I imagine their spare parts supply will be on par with Yugos.

[FC]

On Mustang Forums, the guys there all say that the new Fords are far more durable and take far more punishment than a Toyota or Honda under the same circumstances. U.S. cars from the 70's - 80's were junk, but seem to be getting better.

[724wd]

You got it wrong Ford stands for, First ON Race Day!!

 

or, in real life...

FORD:

(backwards) Driver Returns On Foot

Frigin' Old Rebuilt Dodge

Fix Or Repair Daily

Found On Road Dead

Fast Only Rolling Downhill

First On Recall Day

Fabricated Of Refried Dung

Fails On Rainy Days

Fault Of R&D

Finally Obsolete Racing Device

Fireball On Rear Denting

First On Road to Dump

First On Rust and Deterioration

Fix Or Recycle Dilemma

Flipping Over Results in Death

Flipped Over Roadside Disaster

Follow Our Rusty Dogsled

Forced On Reluctant Drivers

Formed Of Rejected DNA

Forward Only; Reverse Defective

Forlorn, Old, Ratridden Dustbin

Fork Over Repair Dough

Fouled Out Re-done Dodge

Frequent Overhaul, Rapid Deterioration

Free Or Reduced Drastically

Frequent Opinion: Really Disappointed

Fumes and Odors Readily Detectable

Funny Old Rattling Dump

Forget Out Running Dale

[Horsefly]

Yep,Fords are junk.My 93 F150 has a week cylinder,and at only 280,000 miles.I need to look around for something more dependable.I have a 2003 Supercrew with 60,000 that has never been for warranty work with the same battery and tires.My wife only drives GM,and for 30 years,every one she's had has been good cars or suvs except for door hinges wearing,window motors,oil pressure sending units that Chevy can't seem to live without,gear position sensor on trans,that went bad on a S-10 blazer and Cutlass,My 93 Ford too,and a A/C orfice tube that was moved to the condensor for some reason and everytime pulls the threads when the metal hardline is screwed off the aluminum.Her cars were still all very good and trusty cars except for the little stuff.She now has a '07 Tahoe that's the finest ride we've ever owned.Wonderful unit!! Jerry

[AzRednek]

U.S. cars from the 70's - 80's were junk, but seem to be getting better.

 

US autos from the late 70's to early 80's were beyond junk. Foreign autos were not perfect either but the safety and emissions standards set up by the Carter admininstration were tougher on US makers. Carter gave the Japs a break. Remember you'd step on the gas and the engine would crap out or die and the Jap cars left you at the intersection. I'll never forget the fiasco with GM cars in the early 80's. It was a crap shoot when ever an owner tried to buy parts. His Oldsmobile may have a Chevy, Pontiac or Buick motor in it or visa-versa and if he was lucky it was an engine from the same year as the car. Chrysler products from the late 60's to mid 70's were really built, forged and machined engine parts that usually out lasted the car. BTW!! My 73 Ford F-100 4X4 is still running strong.

[fritz]

Farm tractor parts always seem to run higher than auto parts, but wait until a tractor make is no longer being made (like David Brown), and you will pay even more. And have to wait longer for the parts, because they come from what is known as the "slow movers" warehouse.

 

I recently paid $50 for a decal the size of a bumper sticker, $48 for a rubber boot that goes over the gear shift, and $47 for a little headlamp bracket. These were for a David Brown tractor of the 80's. And the cost of the parts will not be quoted until they arrive---and then you are stuck with either paying for them or getting put on the dealer's schittlist.

 

Restoring tractors is much more expensive than restoring old rifles, my friends. Or old cars.

 

fritz