I recently ordered a new truck and paid 500.00 deposit. I thought they offered lifetime powertrain warranty but found out yesterday they do not. A nearby dealer does but I have to cancel current order and go thru them to get it. They would likely make allowances for my 500 loss with the other dealer. The other dealer claims it is a gimmick and not worth offering. SO IS IT WORTHWHILE? I do not mind dropping the 500 though I hate giving up my build date and VIN number. It is RIDICULOUS that you can't have the order transferred to another dealer but apparently you can't do that. Any opinions appreciated!

 

Generally those are their dealership only warranty with plenty of ways to escape paying out. Better off investing in more frequent than recommended powertrain fluid changes than those warranties, or get a real Ford extended warranty.

 

No, start saving cash now, for future repairs.

 

You really have to go over the fine print and see what is actually covered and what's not. What's required to maintain that coverage, what kind of use voids the warranty(such as towing) etc etc. The hoops you have to jump through are usually not worth the hassle.

 

The only Lifetime warranty that was worth anything was the Mopar MaxxCare Lifetime warranty, which was discontinued in 2019 and only covered Mopar vehicles. It covered EVERYTHING from a function standpoint. I had it on my Power Wagon, and is something I miss.

Anything else that claims to be Lifetime is, to my knowledge, either a gimmick or has a way out for the warranty company.

My inlaws bought a Cadillac some years back, with the Northstar, and were sold an extended warranty from the dealer (they could use it at any mechanic). At about 110k it sucked a headgasket. Diagnosis was that one of the threaded inserts in the block, that was there by GM design, pulled out of the aluminum. The warranty company considered that a fastener and denied coverage - it was in their fine print, that even factory-installed threaded inserts were considered fasteners, and fasteners weren't covered.

If you want an extended warranty, get a Ford ESP. For Ford vehicles, it's the only one worth the money. It's more of an insurance policy because there is a deductible and they can be pricey, you may never need it, but if you do it doesn't take a lot to make it pay for itself.

 

a local dealer here offered that on radio so looked into it, read the fine print, basically if they can tell it's been down muddy lease roads maybe even wet gravel roads they can void it....among other things, basically needs to be a pavement queen or best of luck, just read the whole thing when you get a chance, i promptly wrote off the idea and bought from my normal dealer...i do too much hunting and fishing in forestry stuff so i'd get screwed for sure, they have a lot of 'outs' built into the fine print

 

Thank you everyone for the information, sharing your experiences and replies. I do plan to buy a Ford ESP warranty at some point. I have about talked myself out of losing my build date and switching dealers. If I had it to do over, I'd get it just because it was free but I don't think I am ready to move my build and restart all that. Plus, that dealer is a 30 mile drive for servicing versus less than 10. So there is that..lol.. Any opinions as to best time to buy the ESP warranty? I don't get my truck til probably July or August.

 

If it's not the Ford backed warranty (ESP/Ford Protect), it's not worth the paper it's printed on.

There is a guy that works for Granger Ford that posts over on Tremor Forums, he is pretty open about pricing and when it changes. And they sell at a decent rate.

 

I agree with what others have posted. One of my local dealers offers this and it seemed like a good deal on the surface until you started reading the contractual boiler plate which was loaded up with every kind of CYA you could think of. Examples would include "not doing any service yourself" and " not driving the vehicle for any distance after a defect is discovered." You can use your imagination but it seemed to me that warranty was worded to be enforceable at the arbitrary discretion of whoever was handling the claim. I wouldn't call it worthless, but hardly worth canceling an order for it.

I have heard good things about Ford's warranty but in the one instance I have used it still ended up leaving a few hundred dollars at the dealership. That was several years ago. In that instance I was told that "only the parts on the list" are covered in effect, they were willing to replace a defective water pump but not the leaking t-hose that was connected to it. I am kind of on the fence about whether or not I am going to buy the Ford warranty with my next truck. I think having at least an extended powertrain warranty might be a sensible choice. A/C components would likely also be a smart thing to have covered based on internet gossip which of course, might just all be hype.

 

One item I'm always curious about is how do they define "Lifetime" because lifetime does not equal eternity. It's often the anticipated lifetime of the product.

 

Wait for approval on repairs.
Misleading coverage language used.
Customer-pays repair work getting priority in scheduling over lifetime warranty work at dealer?

No thanks....

 

My understanding (which may be wrong..lol) is that it covers so long as you own the vehicle. Not transferrable. Probably if they can't get the parts that would also be a zinger. I have determined that if my NEW F-350 does not measure up, I plan to sell it and go completely retro with SOMETHING that can pull my horse trailer. I could pay for a lot of repairs for 100K.

 

Why in the world would a hose essential to function of the pump NOT be covered. That is some hair splitting right there and why people don't trust so called warranties ..

 

I have used them twice. The first time it did not cost me anything. The second time on my 2023, it costs a percentage and upfront cost. SO, now I am going to shop around before buying next time. I will check Grainger because they have been good to me in the past but I was hoping for the same deal I got in 2017! I have looked into a place called FLOOD and there is one more to check. I am trying to decide whether to get the warranty right after I get the truck or wait a year.

 

And I'm over here waiting for my warranty to RUN OUT so I can start doing stuff. I've never heard of a lifetime powertrain warranty, but it sounds like a time share. You take a 200k mile truck in for some lifetime powertrain related issue, and they won't let you leave without buying a new truck.