Dodge Durango Forum II

The way the owner of my dealership explained it...

is that the overhead comes in processing the warranty claim and also in putting up with the inevitable audits. My dealer just had a major audit and the auditor was in the place for three weeks straight! Also, there are audits on individual cars. Sometimes, DC will make the dealership hold off on the repairs until a DC rep can come and look at the car. These are random events, or are events that flag suspicion. Therefore, the dealer has to keep the car on the lot, or actually on the lift, until the rep from DC comes. This is a problem, especially for my dealer, because it's such a small shop. Every square foot on the lot can be equated to $$$.

Now, you may be right about service contracts being pure money makers. However, I am certain that I will get my money's worth out of the warranty. I have never had a DC car that hasn't accumulated significant repair bills between 36,000 and 100,000 miles. And since my family's owned and leased a LOT of DC cars (actually never owned anything different), I believe I'm speaking from experience. Even if I don't get my full value out of the contract, I look at it like insurance against a major problem. With that being said, the $3500 that DC wants for a 7/100 MaxCare contract is outrageous. My dealer will give it to me for $2200. That's $200 over invoice. While it's individual preference, that's worth it to me.

Wed Nov 1