"Lifetime" limited powertrain warranty

A couple of the dealerships in MN offer a "lifetime" powertrain warranty for cars purchased through them. Does anyone know anything about these offers or have you used them in the past.

The dealers' websites claim that the value is "$2200" but I am generally skeptical of any kind of "free" warranty. If anyone has any experience of perspective, it would be interesting to hear.

Thanks.

do you also have to get all the services they recommend done at their dealership to keep the warranty in place?

If they have a lot of things that Mazda doesn't require on their regular service list it could get expensive over time.

The dealers here offer one as well. It basically is an insurance policy that they buy for you. The insurance company pays for any repairs needed. Its "value" depends on whether you are comparing it against comparable policies or the true value of an extended warranty. $2,000 or so is probably close to retail price on similar policies. Would it sway my decision on where to buy, not really.

I don't think a warranty can require you to pay for services or maintenance from a specific provider. I think this is US law. However, they can require you to document the services were performed, even if you did them.

That law may only apply to manufactures warranties. One dealer here that offers it has right on the form that you are required to have all oil, filter and tire rotation maintenance services that are recommended by the vehicle manufacturer performed at their service department within 1,000 miles of the manufacturer recommended service intervals.

And they stress that the warranty only covers mechanical failure of an internally lubricated part. I'd guess failures like that are pretty rare on modern cars that are maintained well. In exchange for the risk of having to do a fairly expensive repair on a car at some point they get a lifetime service customer.
Depending on the exact restrictions as to what is covered for an automatic transmission they could spend a bunch on that but for engines I'd think anymore it is largely all the small controls and computers and things that start to fail and cause all the expense. I read in one write up that the electric power steering rack for a BMW 3 series is around $3500 to replace. Remember when that would buy an engine?

There are probably a lot of different variations on the warranties and the requirements though. I found some online that don't require the service at the selling dealer but most I saw did.

Good points. I don't think it requires service being done at the specific dealer. I do think they require that you document all the routine maintenance and keep on top of the manufacturer specified maintenance schedule.

if it doesn't cost anything and doesn't require any extra spending along the way then it can't hurt.

I'm in the Twin Cities as well. I bought from Morrie's. It is my understanding that you have to comply and document the recommended service provided by Mazda. You do NOT have to do the service at Morrie's. I believe Walser is the same.

The fine print lists the parts that it covers and I'm not sure it covers labor or not. It is a "bonus" but a pretty limited one. Certainly no harm in getting it since it is included, but I wouldn't bend over backwards to get it if another dealer has the deal and car that you want.

crypie said:

Good points. I don't think it requires service being done at the specific dealer. I do think they require that you document all the routine maintenance and keep on top of the manufacturer specified maintenance schedule.

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Technically you have to do this to get any warranty. If Mazda believes you didn't change the oil, they won't fix your engine when it blows up under their warranty.