Read more about Do Powertrain Warranties Matter? at AutoGuide.comWarranties are often advertised as a fix-everything safety net, but are they actually useful?
Recently, there have been some changes with the powertrain warranty coverage on new vehicles from General Motors and Fiat–Chrysler Automobiles. Both automakers have dropped their powertrain warranty coverage to five years/60,000 miles from 10 years/100,000 miles.
Powertrain warranties only cover a limited selection of items on your car, specifically components that only have to do with providing the vehicle power and making it move. Only Kia, Hyundai and Mitsubishi offer 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranties following the changes by GM and FCA.
See Also: What is a Powertrain Warranty?
In the past, those long warranties were offered to help get new buyers into showrooms, but now companies are realizing that such coverage doesn’t seem to impact new car buyers. Even Kia and Hyundai put some heavy restrictions on their warranties, like how they can’t be transferred to second owners.
Wait... is Dodge SHORTENING the Basic Warranty on 2016 models? I was just at the dealer last week and I thought he said (and perhaps I mis-heard him) that rumor had it that Dodge was INCREASING the Warranty on the 2016s...?????...I ordered the 2015 Challenger instead of 2016 in large part because of the longer warranty.
Only if you're talking about EXTENDED warranties. I've never purchased one and I figure all of the money I've saved over the years can be used to pay for whatever happens someday.:wink3:...another rip-off proposition.
I normally do NOT purchase extended warranties, but if I buy a Challenger, I may have to rethink that. With all the seemingly numerous quality issues on these cars, I would want the peace of mind.
When you buy a "lifetime warranty" you may not be getting what you expect. AFAIK the Dodge lifetime warranty extends only as much as the present value of the car. If you keep your car 15 years and the engine blows costing $8000 to replace and your book value is only $6000. They will write you a check for $6000 and take your car.
The other issue is if your car breaks, you better know which dealer you trust to work on your car. Just because some dealer will work on your car does not mean they know what they are doing. Some are great, some not so great. The point here is that you must go to a dealer to get your repair done and hopefully you are confident they are competent.
Good luck!
cR