2005 Chrysler Town and Country REPLACEMENT OF ENGINE

Tiny
SAINTIVY
  • MEMBER
  • 2005 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 80,000 MILES
I'm faced with having to pay out of pocket to replace the engine in my '05 Town & Country Limited if I can't find all of my service records, which I really didn't keep! I have an extedned service plan through Geico and they have said if I can'y provide them with all of my records I will have to agree to pay for the engine to be broken down and examined up front. At that point and time if they decide to cover the replacement I'll be reimbursed for that. If not I'm stuck with it and a van that I can use. Are there any other tesy that can be done that aren't so costly to prove that it oil changes were consistantly done? I'm in need of some help, insight or anything that you can advise on. Naturally they don't want to pay for the replacement.

Desperate for help
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 AT 10:54 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,831 POSTS
Hi SAINTIVY. Welcome to the forum. What is the problem with the engine? What are the symptoms and what has been checked so far? Extended warranties, especially aftermarket ones, are never a good investment for the vehicle owner. While working at the dealership, I heard over and over again, "what you need isn't covered". Also, the dealers are so used to failing to get reimbursed, they now make you pay for covered repairs up front, then let YOU argue with the insurance company.

Most service plans have a deductible for each service, not each visit to the shop. If you show up with an engine problem and an electrical problem at the same time, you might be surprised to have to pay two deductibles. Also, some dealerships, GM dealers in particular, have a one-hour minimum labor charge. Not sure how the guys down the road from me can get away with that but warranty companies don't care about that. They only cover the actual repair time. If that was less than an hour, they only cover the parts and actual time minus the deductible. You are expected to pay for the remainder of the hour.

At my dealership, there was a computer record and a paper folder for every customer. In them was a copy of every repair and service done to their vehicles. It will take just a few minutes to find and make a copy of every related invoice. If you look at the top 1/3 of the computer-generated repair order when they write it up at the service desk, you will see a listing of the work performed during your most recent visits. Mechanics use that for reference when working on your vehicle. That's just a partial list of the total records.

Chrysler did not require any proof of maintenance when covering drivetrain problems under warranty at least up through 1999 when I left the dealership. I can't say if that's true about extended warranties. My experience has been they will do whatever is necessary to keep you happy within the warranty period, but every insurance company will do whatever it takes to avoid paying a claim after that. Good record keeping is essential when it comes to proving your claim is entitled to be honored. Chrysler will even cover most problems after the warranty has expired if the dealer has documentation showing the problem occurred during the warranty period.

If you had oil changes done at a different shop, they might be able to find it in their records but you will have to provide at least the approximate dates. Some independent shops keep a record of each vehicle similar to what the dealers keep, but many do not.

As a final thought, you should be able to request a partial refund of the premium you paid for the extended service contract. That money could be put to better use paying for the repairs.

Caradiodoc
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Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 AT 1:46 PM

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