Chrysler’s Extended Warranty: More Bang for your Buck?

When your vehicle's factory warranty expires, you may want to purchase an extended warranty, also known as a vehicle service contract. Chrysler's extended service, under Mopar Vehicle Protection (MVP), is often the next step once the bumper-to-bumper warranty on your new vehicle comes to an end.

Mopar Vehicle Protection lengthens the coverage for relatively new models with a near-expired warranty. The Chrysler umbrella also includes brands such as Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, which offer matching extended warranties through Mopar. Check out our review of Chrysler's vehicle protection plans.

Uproar.car will cover your car for less, protecting you against expensive repairs from bumper to bumper. With a focus on customer care and no middleman to complicate repairs and claims, you’ll get easy coverage you can actually use. The plan even pays for itself — Uproar.car’s warranty coverage gives you exclusive access to discounts, auto concierge service, and a 100 percent online claims process. And with clear, upfront price quotes, you’ll know exactly what to expect when it comes to the cost. It should also be noted, however, that this coverage does not extend to some luxury vehicles, cars over 120,000 miles, and cars more than 10 years old.

The Chrysler extended warranty provides more comprehensive service and repairs than the manufacturer's standard bumper-to-bumper and powertrain warranties. This extra service specifically provides mechanical protection beyond the factory warranty on hundreds to thousands of components, depending on which plan you choose. The repairs are carried out by certified, factory-trained technicians and involve genuine Mopar parts. 

The extended service contract can be activated on Chrysler vehicles covered by a five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty within four years of the in-service date and 48,000 miles. It's intended to help out with maintenance and routine part replacements after the original warranty expires.

Many car owners choose to wait to purchase Mopar Vehicle Protection when their factory warranty nears the end. Chrysler’s two main coverage protection plans are Maximum Care and Added Care Plus.

The Maximum Care plan is an exclusionary extended warranty, meaning it covers everything except specific components listed by the manufacturer. This is helpful because it lets you know exactly what to expect should a problem occur. The only parts and labor not covered by the Maximum Care plan are:

The plan covers 5,000 components and items as well as heated seats and steering wheels, power liftgate motors, power sliding door motors, navigation systems, factory-installed remote start systems, in-vehicle wireless charging stations, and backup assist cameras.

Maximum Care is available with a variety of terms, from two to eight years and 60,000 miles to two to eight years and 125,000 miles. Coverage continues for the length of time and mileage you select.

The Added Care Plus plan is inclusionary and extends powertrain and component coverage on over 850 major components related to the engine, transmission, drive system (rear wheel, front wheel, and AWD), steering, air conditioning, brakes, suspension, electrical, instrumentation, etc.

Coverage on the Added Care Plus plan ranges from five to eight years in the following mileage terms: 60,000 miles, 75,000 miles, 85,000 miles, 100,000 miles, or 125,000 miles.

Both Mopar Vehicle Protection plans provide a $100 per occurrence roadside assistance package. It includes towing, a flat-tire change, a battery jump, fuel delivery, and lockout services. The caveats are the tire change only includes your spare (one will not be provided for you), and fuel delivery maxes out at two gallons.

The plan covers towing and roadside assistance in situations where your vehicle is not covered by the factory warranty. The Maximum Care plan also includes a $600 key remote replacement and repair. 

If your Chrysler is rendered inoperable due to a component failure covered by the service contract, both plans will pay up to $1,000 for lodging, meals, and car rental expenses. However, this feature only kicks in if the vehicle breaks down in an area that's more than 100 miles from your home.

It should be noted that rental, towing allowance, roadside assistance, and trip interruption benefits expire at 100,000 miles.

Both plans also have a rental car reimbursement of up to $35 per day (for a maximum of $175), as well as a $35 first day car rental allowance or taxi reimbursement for any dealership repair or service (not including bodywork) if repairs take overnight.

In addition, the Mopar Vehicle Protection plans are transferable one time to another owner as long as the remaining warranty is also transferred. This makes your Chrysler more attractive to potential buyers. Most states require a $50 fee for the transfer.

Additional MVP plans include auto appearance care, which covers dents and dings on your vehicle’s exterior surfaces, and road hazard tire and wheel protection, which provides replacement tires and wheels damaged as a result of a road hazard conditions.

The allure of an extended warranty such as the Mopar Vehicle Protection plan is due to its coverage of components and added benefits such as roadside assistance. The Maximum Care plan is pretty extensive when it comes to inclusions, while the Added Care Plus plan is pretty standard when compared to many other manufacturer's extended warranties.

The Mopar Vehicle Protection plan perk that is particularly compelling is the roadside assistance. If you are a frequent traveler and not mechanically inclined, the service can come in handy, particularly on long trips. It's good to have that peace of mind in case your car fails to start, you run out of gas, or you accidentally lock your keys inside your vehicle. 

It's also helpful to be reimbursed for an Uber, Lyft, taxi, or rental car if your vehicle breaks down and repairs take more than one day to fix.

One of the problems with the Mopar Vehicle Protection plan is that services must be provided by the dealer that sold you the plan. There is an exception if you cannot return to the selling dealer for service, but you have to request it from another FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) dealer. This can be problematic if your vehicle is far from an FCA dealer and towing exceeds the $100 occurrence limit.

Also, the four-year, 48,000-mile limit forces you to overlap coverage with the standard factory powertrain warranty. If you buy an older Chrysler vehicle that no longer has its powertrain warranty, your options are limited.

Some of the most common issues and repair costs with Chrysler vehicles:

A. It's a personal choice. If you have an older vehicle or one that tends to have a lot of problems, an extended warranty may help save you money in the long run.

A. The MVP Maximum Care plan covers 5,000 components and is exclusionary, meaning it covers nearly everything with a few exceptions. Most of the exceptions are maintenance services, body and paint surfaces, and wear items. The Added Care Plus plan covers 850 components. 

A. You have the option of purchasing an extended warranty from a third-party provider. It pays to do your research because they provide a variety of options that you may find more appealing.

A. Typically, an extended car warranty can cost several hundred dollars per year. However, each policy is different, and the plans cover different things.

People have mixed feelings about extended warranties. Some avoid them because they don't want to pay extra for the coverage. This makes sense with basic extended warranties because they simply lengthen the defect repair coverage of manufacturer warranties. However, Chrysler's MVP plan, particularly the Maximum Care plan, has some rather compelling benefits.

The Maximum Care plan covers 5,000 components and has additional perks, which is appealing if you don't want to wear out your credit card over unexpected repairs on your vehicle. The MVP plans may be less attractive if you're into wrenching your own ride or drive your vehicle less than the average person. Ultimately, it's up to you if the coverage and perks are worth it.

Here are a few more resources you can use:

Uproar.car will cover your car for less, protecting you against expensive repairs from bumper to bumper. With a focus on customer care and no middleman to complicate repairs and claims, you’ll get easy coverage you can actually use. The plan even pays for itself — Uproar.car’s warranty coverage gives you exclusive access to discounts, auto concierge service, and a 100 percent online claims process. And with clear, upfront price quotes, you’ll know exactly what to expect when it comes to the cost. It should also be noted, however, that this coverage does not extend to some luxury vehicles, cars over 120,000 miles, and cars more than 10 years old.