Strange Extended Warranty Question

[dsg03svt]

I had the previous owner of my car buy me a new extended warranty for my 04 viper. He stated in the listing and in person that the car came with a transferable warranty. After trying to transfer the warranty with no success, (they said it could only be transfered once and this was the second time) he agreed to buy me a new warranty.

He purchased a 1yr Chrysler Max Car warranty for $1737 from Lander's Dodge in Tenn/Miss. However, I spoke with the finance guy over there today and now he's saying he can't get me the Chrysler one since the car is no longer under an original manufacturer warranty... What he wants to do is for the same price give me a 1yr Nissan Quality Guard Plus Service contract.

I'm already hesitant enough on needing a warranty on a car that i'll probably drive 2000 miles a yr and it only has 14k on the odo right now. And with now the warranty being a different manufacturer's warranty makes me all the more skeptical that I should even get it.

What do you guys think I should do?
Take the $1737 the previous owner paid and pocket it for if it needs repairs down the road?
Go with the Nissan Quality Guard Plus Service Contract?
Look elsewhere for a warranty?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cop Magnet]

An original 5 yr 70k manufacturers warranty is under 2k. I know this is down the road for you, but your deal sounds ridiculous. I would pocket the money.

 

[viper78]

i put the same exact chrysler warranty on an 02 rt/10 that had been out of factory warranty for 3 months.the finance guy probably has more profit built in to the nissan warranty.

 

[viper78]

must be southhaven ms.i see your in texas.one nice thing about buying warranties across state lines is no sales tax.

 

[Venomiss]

Pick up a phone and start calling around. Get at least three quotes.

http://forums.viperclub.org/dealer-...-dealerships-post-good-first-time-buyers.html

 

[dsg03svt]

After thinking about it, I'm probably going to take the money and start looking around at other dealerships. My question is, will most of the dealerships ask for the car to be inspected before granting a warranty?

Reason I ask is because the whole point of the warranty was to be sure that since I purchased the car used I wanted to be assured that no major problems where already present on the car. By having what I thought was a "transferable" warranty on the car I didn't think this to be a problem. However, if I had to take it in for an inspection to be granted a warranty and they found something wrong and didn't cover it, that would defeat the purpose. I don't believe anything to be wrong but I believe you can see my position.

The warranty I was going to receive with the current dealership did not require an inspection prior to granting the new service contract due to the fact they where the ones that transferred the service contract to the previous owner.

I'll start calling some of those dealerships in that thread linked above but are there any advice on the price I should be looking to pay for one.

 

[Steve-Indy]

I worry about your expectations of getting a "Dodge" warranty at this point, realizing that my concerns are based on info/enperiences PRIOR to the bankruptcy .

That said, you are not able to buy Dodge's extended warranty on a car that is out of original warranty...and, if the car had an extended warranty, you can not get a second extended warranty...with one exception. Dodge would sell you a "Used car warranty" IF (AND ONLY IF) you purchased said car from an authorized Dodge dealer. No deal if you purchased the car from an individual or another non C-J-D branded dealer.

Please note that there were allegedly "willing dealers" that "sold" warranties that seemed to cover Vipers... but said "warranties" were later denied in the claims process by D-C, and later Chrysler.

So, be cautious. There has been much info posted here...try a search. Remember, things are "different" today in many aas. Call Bill Pemberton at Woodhouse...go with a "pro" and not with an "amateur" !!

Finally, as I tell everyone looking at a 2004 Viper...check the crank damper bolt BEFORE you do the deal.

Good luck.

 

[dsg03svt]

I worry about your expectations of getting a "Dodge" warranty at this point, realizing that my concerns are based on info/enperiences PRIOR to the bankruptcy .

That said, you are not able to buy Dodge's extended warranty on a car that is out of original warranty...and, if the car had an extended warranty, you can not get a second extended warranty...with one exception. Dodge would sell you a "Used car warranty" IF (AND ONLY IF) you purchased said car from an authorized Dodge dealer. No deal if you purchased the car from an individual or another non C-J-D branded dealer.

Please note that there were allegedly "willing dealers" that "sold" warranties that seemed to cover Vipers... but said "warranties" were later denied in the claims process by D-C, and later Chrysler.

So, be cautious. There has been much info posted here...try a search. Remember, things are "different" today in many aas. Call Bill Pemberton at Woodhouse...go with a "pro" and not with an "amateur" !!

Finally, as I tell everyone looking at a 2004 Viper...check the crank damper bolt BEFORE you do the deal.

Good luck.

Very insightful post! Thanks! This even more supports my thoughts of just pocketing the cash and crossing my fingers.

Could you elaborate a little more on checking the crank damper bolt? How do I go about doing this?

 

[Mr Hemi Head]

Glad to hear that you did not purchase the Nissan Warranty...the exclusions are many. The car must be inoperable before they will pay for repairs.

Owned a CPO Pathfinder with a leaking catalytic converter that thay would not cover.

Why?

They changed the name of the Cat Converter to Tube and a Tube is not covered.

Use the money to start a self insurance fund.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Well, I cheated and searched my old posts!! ALL Vipers EXCEPT the 2004 and maybe some EARLY 2005's have a "big dog" of a crank damper bolt...that should be checked periodically, especially if running high HP. For whatever reason, 2004's and MAYBE some early 2005's have a "teeny weeney" sized crank damper bolt, which was torqued to MUCH lower specs...and, in my opinion (as well as that of several of the better known Viper Techs' opinion) was prone to getting loose with potentially disasterous results. There IS a fix...but I personally worry about the loose ones that were "owner-fixed" as well due to their potential propensity to "rear the ugly head" of delayed failure down the road as it is hard to estimate likelihood of damage from the harmonics that could have been unleashed. For bolt specifics, see my post below:

"Actually, the search key reveals a lot:

From this thread in which Dan lays out the problem: " Re: My Crankshaft Damper Bolt was falling out. "

http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/sho...mp;o=&vc=1

The Text in part that I posted says: "Earlier in this thread I posted:

" You decide..."the year MAY matter"...

03 Manual says "250 ft-lbs"

04 Manual says "130 ft-lbs"

05 Manual says "130 ft-lbs"
---------------------------------------

Now (thanks to Tim in Parts at Indy's Champion Dodge) here more info taken straight from the Dodge computer (with a little extra effort).

Crankshaft Damper Bolts:

2003 part number 6036207AA size 0.75x16x2.250 (inches)

2004 part number 6506340AA size M14x1.5x102.0 (metric)

2005 part number 6506340AA size M14x1.5x102.0 (metric)

2005 part number 6036207AA size 0.75x16x2.250 (inches)

2006 part number 6036207AA size 0.75x16x2.250 (inches)

LOOKS TO ME AS THOUGH THERE WAS A RUNNING CHANGE SOMETIME IN THE 2005 MODEL YEAR.

By the way, I have ordered one of each just to compare.

Hope this helps !!!"
-----------------------------------
So I ordered BOTH varients of the bolts and posted: "Both sizes of bolts arrived this AM...the BIG difference in the two jumps right out at you when holding them side-by-side in one's own hand!!"

and, later in that thread I posted:

" JUST completed the "bolt inspection" of a beautiful 2006 Coupe (blue/white)...#30 of 200...at Indy's Palmer Dodge North...Viper Tech Phil Honeycutt did the formal inspection and AFFIRMS that for 2006 the crank damper bolt has the 1.25 inch( 1 1/4" ) hex head ("big bolt"), with a small blue dot on center of this bolt which, otherwise looks like the same bolt as found on the 2003 Vipers....THANKS, Phil & Palmer !!!

While Kurt and I were at it, we visited the nice folks at Indy's Champion Dodge...and looked at the bolts on a red 2005 SRT-10 and on a 2005 Copperhead SRT-10....in BOTH cases, the crank damper bolts were the same as on the 2006 Viper...with the same blue dot....THANKS, Champion !!!

So, the REAL QUESTION is...when did the running change occur ???(most likely in 05 by MY guess).

Bottom line:
Owners of 2004's and early 2005's SHOULD have this checked out (in MY opinion) at one's dealership to be safe and sure."

Hope this helps !!"

 

[dsg03svt]

Glad to hear that you did not purchase the Nissan Warranty...the exclusions are many. The car must be inoperable before they will pay for repairs.

Owned a CPO Pathfinder with a leaking catalytic converter that thay would not cover.

Why?

They changed the name of the Cat Converter to Tube and a Tube is not covered.

Use the money to start a self insurance fund.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly on warranty coverage. I think the warranty would be more hassle than it's worth, especially at $1737.

Thanks.

 

[SublimEd]

I found this while doing a search when I was looking for a 2005.
"05's up changed the damper bolt to 3/4" vs the smaller 13mm in 03's and up"
Hope it helps!
Ed

 

[Camfab]

Trust me on this, years ago I bought a used Vette. I tried to buy the extended warranty from a bunch of dealers and they all gave me the same story..........If you'd bought it from us we could have sold you the GM warranty, but because you bought it private party, we can't. I went to a bunch of other dealers, and finally found a finance manager who was more than happy to take my money and write up the contract. Call around, better yet drive the car to some other Dodge dealers and talk to the finance guy. They want your money and the price is negotiable.

As a side note, $1,700 doesn't buy much in terms of parts and labor on a Viper at the Dodoge dealer.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Here's a quick-read....abstract that underscores my worry concerning loose dampers as mentioned above:

On-Line Detection of Vibration Damper Failure in Internal Combustion Engines