Hi Everyone,

Longtime Mopar fan here, but this is my first time on the Dodge Forum. My wife and I just bought a new '07 Durango SLT Hemito replace her Caravan. After putting the purchase off for quite a while,we decided it was time to go for the Hemi Durango since Chrylser was offering Lifetime Powertrain Warranty on all Chrysler and Dodge vehicles, plus the 0% for 72 months financing adding up to a great deal.We finalized the deal last night andwill pick it up on Monday. Before looking at this one, the last time I drove a Durango was in 2004 when I had one with the 4.7L V8 for a week as a rental. It was that Durango that left a good impression on me, and I like the look of the '07's subtle changescombined with the more powerful Hemi which I opted for not only performance, but for occasional trailer towing. The only coloron the lot with the optionswe preferred (Moonroof, Leather, Trailer Tow Group, Runing Boards and 6-CD Changer) was Inferno Red. Red wasn'tour first choice, but whenwe saw it in person, we both really liked it alot.

The good news about this purchase is if we find it handles the duty of pulling our RV Travel trailer comfortably, then I can look to replace my Pickup next year. Since the Durango is primarily for my wife, I think I'll need a Hemi of own to cruise around in. ;-)

-Dennis

 

I meant to ask in my original post, what are the opinions out there for extended warranties as they pertain to the late-model Durangos. Has there been any Bumper to Bumper items prone to repair after a certian time that would justify the warranty? We have to decide before Monday to buy one or not.

Their most comprehensive (Bmpr2Bmpr) coverage they offered us was 10 year/ 120,000 miles for $2,795.00 or a 7 year 100,000 miles Bmpr2bmpr warranty for $2,195.

I'm usually one to pass on extended warranties, but with shop labor rates always going higher, repair costs never going down, and sinceit comeswith theLifetime Powertrain, I would think we would keep the car past 120k so in this case it may make sense to go for one. Any opinons on the warranty itself and/or theprice?

Thanks,
Dennis

 

Well, we made our decision yesterday as we went with the 10/120 ext warranty after negotiating the price of it down several hundred dollars yesterday. Since we don't replace our cars too often and the powertrain warranty is signifiant, have the b-2-b added for a mere $30 more per month is affordable peace of mind in that is rolled into the 0% finiancing in case anything unexpected comes upa fter the 3/36 passes by.

 

Hemiden:
Congrats on the new ride. The 10/120 deal must be something new that DC has come out with. I compared your figures with a 7yr/100k Maxcare plan from eservicecontracts.com. and they want $2500 for that with a 0$ deductible. Sounds like you ought to be covered really well for a long time as long as the plan is a good one or is factory backed.

Question? Was it the dealer who told you that you had to decide by Monday?? My experience has been that with the DC extended plan you can purchase anytime with in a 4 yr/48k miles window. I recently upgraded my wifes 05GCV from its 7/70 powertrain warranty back to full b to b through ESC for $1320.

Don

 

Hi Don,

Thanks for the reply and kind.Actually the dealer has been terrific. The only reason I needed to let them know is so I could put the cost of the ext. warranty into the 0% APR loan. I figured as long as Chrysler was offering a free loan for 6 years, I may as well put the ext. warranty into it and make 72 payments instead of laying out the extra couple of grand up front. After reading so many horror stories of 3rd party warranty companies leaving customers holding the bag, I would only go for a Manufacturer's warranty. I pretty comfortable with the cost versus the coverage on this 10yr/120k bmpr2bmpr offered by Chrysler. I just didn't know how much off the price to negotiate for, but from your example of eservicecontracts.com, it's look like I did Ok.

The only hold up there might be is that we had noticed 3 impressions on the top edge of the rear bumper, but the dealer said that they would take care of it before delivery. Well, tomorrow is delivery and we took adrive over to the dealer today to see if it was tnded to (they are closed on Sunday), but the Durango was still outside and the bumper still had the 3 small dings in the bumper. My concern is the bumper seems to be a plastic composite, and the paint in the dings has tiny crinkles in it. My guess is because the Inferno Red was a special extra charge $ paint, that they just can't fill it and use touch up paint from a touch-up bottle, but that it may have to either be completely painted again, or at least air brush/feathered. What do you think?

Thanks again,
Dennis

 

Hi Dennis:
I understand about the time frame now that you splained it as Ricky Ricardo would say. Sounds like a good deal, and I am sure you will enjoy the new ride. A new car is one of the great things in life. The smell is like no other, and the feeling of driving a new set of wheels is priceless IMO.

That being said, I have never purchased a brand new vehicle with low, low miles. I just can't get past the thought of that 1st year of depreciation. We picked up the wife an 05 Grand Caravan last September that had 13k. Still smelled new and we got it for alot less than new price.

Re the paint question. Paint is not my forte so I will defer to those here who are in the know about paint.

Don

 

Hi Dennis I did the same traded in a 05 Grand Caravan SXT. For a 07 Durango SLT for$2500AutoNation has a lifetime bumper to bumperwarranty as long asown the carand included12 free oil changes.The only thing I have pay for is brakes and tires. But in July thay did not have 0% financing on the Durango.

 

Don, Nothing wrong with buying used to avoid the initial depreciation a good move actually. My wife and I have purchased "Certified Pre-Owned" cars in the past becuase they were good values. In this case, we wanted new and Chrysler made it an easy decision. The way things worked out, we are delighted with the purchase. The unprecedented lifetime warranty which allowed for a bumper to bumper lifetime upgrade was the icing on the cake. Needless to say, we'll have this Durango for as long as we can.

Dennis

 

Cloud9,

Sounds like you are happy and did well. I found out tonight that those who bought their Chrysler/Dodge autos before July 26 can upgrade their vehciles to the lifetime warranty for a fee. Sounds like you have it covered already with Autonation.

Dennis