Normal wear is off limits as you say. And only Chrysler will determine if the damage is normal wear, poor car, or a real drivetrain defect.
I disagree that cars get tossed due to engine failure if maintained. This is extremely rare. I agree transmissions do fail and can be the cause to throw out a car. However there are many more reasons not covered by their warranty that owners get rid of their cars.
andrew j wrote: “The ONLY way Chryco will EVER be able to do that is to actually BUILD a better quality car…Not just give it a Paper warranty.”
Isn’t that the way they all do…Try to avoid the hard work of building consistently better cars and try everything else?
This subject reminds me of a conversation (true story) a friend of mine had a few years ago with a manager from a big American car company (which shall remain nameless)…And I paraphrase here because I don’t remember the exact figures, numbers, or details:
Mgr: We can pay $100 for an alternator with a 1% failure rate during the warrantee period or $50 for one with a 15% failure rate.
Friend: Doesn’t the customer with a failed alternator on a new car get upset with that?
Mgr: No because we fix it for free as long as it’s under warrantee.
Friend: What about the inconvenience to the customer and the lower resale or trade-in value because the car keeps breaking down?
Mgr: We don’t build for the used car market; we build for the new car market.
I wish I were in on that conversation.
I would’ve added: “Well, how’s that working for you? You just laid-off like 50,000 employees because you slipped even further in market share…”
I have found it interesting that much advertising has been given to powertrain warranties. I believe Kia came out with one for 100k miles a number of years back but I’d always thought of it as a self-defense measure. As pointed out in several posts, it’s about defects, not wear and tear. Also look out for exclusions and deductibles. I have purchased several (non-Chrysler) warranties for less than $1000 (7 years, 100k miles, bumper to bumper, zero deductible). I always figured that if the manufacturer could build a car that would exhibit no defects in that period, I would gladly pay - if not, they get to eat the difference. These days the non-power train components (computers, A/C, ABS, etc.) can cost far more than powertrain repairs.