Irn

Back in July I purchased a 2007 JK Unlimited X from a dealer who I'd bought a Chevy Trailblazer back in 2004. They were good to me so I figured I'd come back even though it's a GM dealer. I instantly fell in love with a used JK they had just got in. Sales Mgr and I go through the usual haggle and finally get them down to $19000. They offered me an extended warranty but I've never bought used before so I was going to hold off. My exwife had to fly down from DC to sign our trade in title and I figured I'd make my decision at that time once the deal was finalized. Well she didn't show up for about 2-3 weeks. Here is where everything went to shit.

Took the Jeep to my mechanic, had it checked out and he said the water pump was leaking and found a few minor details that needed to be fixed. I went back to the sales mgr and he suddenly became really irrate about fixing what was wrong and just pushed as is. Finally got him to agree on paying for the water pump. Red flag, I didn't see it. Later while waiting on the ex to sign off I drove the Jeep 2500 miles/28 days. It was due for an oil change so I take it to a Merchants Tire. The mechanic literally pushed my Jeep back into the parking lot after I had waited to get serviced and said "NO WAY AM I TOUCHING THIS THING. The engine is about to give out."

He gave the gas pedal a couple light taps and there was a knocking sound I'd never heard before. My gut sank and my chest tightened. What do I do? I took it back to my mechanic. He checked it out and sure enough, the Jeep had burned through 4 qts of oil in between the time he looked at it and the dealer sold it to me. It barely had 1 qt. Rod knocking.

I am not a mechanic and I have no idea what any of that means so I took it back to the dealership. The sales mgr was almost delighted in washing his hands of me in my face. Fist clenched, I was boiling. I asked for his boss. He wasn't there. I then spoke to the Service Manager. He offered to look at it and gave me a loaner. I went home and wrote an email to the president of the dealership explaining all of this. The best he can do for me is charge me for parts ($3000) and replace the engine (that was after some more haggling, he originally said too bad so sad $6700). I bit my tongue but agreed to the deal. NC has no lemon laws, I had no way to prove there was anything wrong with the Jeep prior to me buying it and we argued over me not getting an AS IS booklet. Whatever. I didn't have $3k laying around and after going back and forth with my retirement plan I finally got a loan on my 401k. It's now September and I'm getting the engine replaced.

So I keep going back and forth on whether I should buy an aftermarket warranty once I get my Jeep back. The engine is going to be covered for 3 years / 100,000 miles regardless. But the rest of the Jeep...

President of the dealership quoted me:
3 year / 36,000 miles
A comprehensive coverage (highest coverage) with a disappearing deductible ($0 deductible if work is performed at their shop, normally $100) = cost is $ 2403
standard coverage (powertrain coverage) with a disappearing deductible = cost is $ 1716

I don't care about the deductible. I can afford $100-200 whenever.

So I called the service departments at local Jeep dealers and they gave me a couple companies to try. I got the best deal from Chrysler extended warranty, Factory backed extended warranties for Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler vehicles.

For $1757 4 years / 60,000 miles
Engine
Transmission
Driveline
Steering
Air Conditioning
Engine Cooling and Fuel
Front Suspension
Rear Suspension
Electrical
Expanded Electrical
Instrumentation
Brakes
Anti-Lock Brakes
Power Group
Luxury Group

Plan Benefits
$0, $50, or $100 Deductible Per Repair Visit
$100 "Sign-and-Go" Towing and Roadside Assistance*
$35/First Day Rental*
$35/Day Car Rental Allowance*
$1,000 Trip Interruption Protection*
One-Time Plan Transfer (except Lifetime plans)

So I passed this along to the dealer asking if he can match or beat that. The only snag (I didn't mention this to him) is that the vehicle needs to be returned to stock so I'd need to get rid of the big tires and lift and put it back to normal. It isn't a huge deal and I can recoup some money by selling the parts but then it wouldn't be a sexy beast and just normal like all the other ones I see when I drive. The other alternative is that I just don't buy any warranty since the engine is covered, I pocket the money I took out of my 401k and put it in savings and let it collect some interest and use it if I ever have another problem. The engine was the most expensive thing to work on, everything else major runs about 2-3k to fix (transmission, a/c, etc). Unless something happens time and time again then the warranty won't pay for itself. If I buy the warranties offered I've just paid ~$24000 for a Jeep I could have bought new with an unlimited warranty and the new 3.6 engine.

Advice?

jk_sea

I'm not a fan of extended warranties. I'm much more a fan of saving for a vehicle "emergency" fund, i.e. having cash on hand to fix anything that goes wrong with your vehicle, and being very in-tune with the maintenance schedule and overall health of your Jeep. Some stuff you just can't predict or see coming, but other stuff you can. The warranty expense (~$1700 you said) is a great start to that fund, so just set that money aside now. As an added benefit, if something else in life quits or needs cash, you've got it at your disposal.

You've already covered your vehicle's biggest repair/replacement, the engine. Hopefully it's good to go for a while and won't need much else.

okie

I've bought several extended warranties and never used any of them. Not sure if it was money wasted or piece of mind having one.

Irn

The engine failed because of a carbon build up in the pistons. The oil never leaked anywhere, it just burned off. I don't have any more details past that and I'm not sure they know or want to tell me. They pointed back to the owner manual saying that 1qt of oil per 1k miles is normal (HOW THE HELL IS THAT POSSIBLY ACCEPTABLE???) and that I'd need to check the oil level every time I get gas. Do people actually do that? Check their Jeep oil every gas stop? I've never seen anyone with their hood up checking. The engine comes with new gaskets and water pump and the warranty.

I want to put the money I borrowed from myself in a fund that I can get to whenever something might come up but does anyone have any experience with any other components that might fail after replacing an engine? Does this affect the tranny? Anything I should be weary of since the engine failed? Anybody else been in a similar spot after having replaced an engine? The service manager said he'd do an oil consumption test after they replace the engine to be sure this doesn't happen again but I'm just worried about other parts. To the naked eye, everything else is impeccable. It drives great, I can 4 wheel on the beach and the body is super clean (no dents/scratches/scuffs). I need to replace the top and brake pads maybe next year are the only things I know for sure. It's also my DD now which is another consideration.

familytime

Since you are not mechanical capable,i'd say get the extended warranty.

Rubi_Chill

Oil consumption is fairly common on all newer vehicles, not just jeeps. Lighter oil tends to burn off quicker, but give better mpg. My friend just fried the engine in a 2010 subaru because he didn't check the oil once over the course of 5000 miles and it ran dry. Everyone should be checking thier oil every 1000 miles but nobody does it. I would pass on the warranty and just keep an eye on the oil level.

scooby snacks

It's a gamble... your betting $1700 you will have a problem that will be greater than $1700, they are betting that your issues will be less... Guess you have to decide for yourself and your comfort level for out of pocket expenses. I personally would put the money in a 'car account' where you can access it for repairs, tires, oil changes, etc. and add to the account monthly. I add $100 per paycheck so that I will have cash for tires and such when needed for any of my vehicles. This way, I don't have to put these items on my credit card.

Good luck.

PS. Welcome to the forum!!

Mark Doiron

Sorry to tell you this, but they are right. Or, at least check oil once a month (assuming you drive 1K miles or less/month). The standard of 800-1000 miles/quart of oil has been around at least as long as I've been driving--nearly half a century. Do most engines do that? Heck no--I don't burn a quart of oil in even 6K miles. But some always have and some still do. You must have one, sad to say. BTW: Not sure, but a CarFax may have helped you to avoid this misery. It may even help you now to decide whether an extended warranty is justified. Normally I'd say no, but ...

jk_sea

This is one of those things where knowledge is power. It's really not a bad idea to get in the habit of regular checks, even if you continually find nothing wrong. It doesn't mean a problem won't suddenly develop, and if it does, you're more likely to catch it early, OP, your story being a case in point.

You need not be mechanically inclined to have a car in good maintenance or to tell when problems are arising, and just because you don't see people with their hoods up checking oil at a gas station doesn't mean they have a better, less-problematic car than you, or that they even know how to open the hood Most of them probably don't.

skippyrock

I have one on my jeep that I got for free. (A friend hooked me up) but its normal cost is 2400 I believe. It is from Zurich or some crap like that. I used it twice totaling 2500. I paid the 100 deductible. Plus the taxes. The company doesn't pay the taxes. I dk why but whatever. For me the issues weren't major stuff I woulda left be but I had the warranty. It expires at 100k which will be in about 3 months.