7/70 Powertrain Extended Warranty

[aydu]

I just took delivery of a 2003 Galant ES with the Sun & Sound Package. Great ride so far!

I bought the car on 4/28, which qualified me for a $3000 rebate on the car.

I noticed on the Mitsubishi web site that the 5/60 powertrain warranty is extended to 7/70 for Montero Sports and Galants purchased between December '02 and April 30, 03.

The owner's manual shows the normal 3/36, 5/60. 7/100 warranty periods. What "paperwork" should I have to show this extension in the powertrain warranty?

I called the Mistubishi Customer Care hotline, and it was a joke. I got some idiot that had never heard of the warranty extension. I had to give him Mistubishi's web address so he could look up what I was talking about. He did confirm, after seeing the web page, that the coverage applied but had no idea what the customer actually got that confirmed that the coverage existed. So much for customer care from the Manufacturer.

Naturally when I asked him to find out, he pointed me back to the dealer.

The dealer is equally in a fog as far as paperwork. The agree the warranty is extended for the car I bought, but have no clue as to how the service department would know this in 7 years.

Their theories include:

Keep a copy of the web page for proof.

When Mitsubishi does the paperwork to register the sale, the model and sale date will mark the Manufacturer's service records that the 7/70 applies to this car.

Mitsubishi will send me a letter thanking me for buying the car and will likely send me replacement pages for my warranty book that shows the extension.

These guesses come from a dealer that only sells Mitsubishi cars, which is a bit scary.

Do any of you real people have any insight into this?

[Auto-9]

If you take it to the dealership for service, they should be able to ID the extension. I know for sure that my dealership can pull up the full history of my car from purchase date to the last time they tightened a lug nut. It has the exact date of purchase, the model and package, mileage when serviced, etc all in a long printout.

[aydu]

Thanks! I plan to do this at the first service. This extension applies to anyone who bought their Galant since December of '02. Just wondering if anyone else got any kind of paperwork.

[HeadAche]

Keep all your paperwork homie, even print out the page its on just incase the page gets changed later on..

[aydu]

I got my answer to the extended warranty question. I received a thank you note from Mitsubishi yesterday in the mail. Included was a personalized extended warranty booklet - showing my name, car, vin, etc.

It also showed that I received emergency road service free for 3 years, and a couple of other minor services. None of the extras were even mentioned by my dealer as sales points!

When I was dealing with the "finance guy" at the dealer, I mentioned the 7/70 warranty issue, as they had 7/70 painted on the windshield of several of the Galants on the lot.

He told me that the standard 5/60 applied, as stated in the car's manual, but that it could be extended to 7/70 for about $1000.

Never buying extended warranties, I passed.

I suspect that the finance person would have gladly taken my $1000 for a warranty extension, knowing full well that I get it free from the manufacturer.

I am still really enjoying the car. Although the manufacturer's call in service is totally worthless, it does appear that they have a system in place to match the cars they sell with the offers they have extended.

It appears that car sales operations are, well, car sales operations. Willing to lie and cheat at every turn. "Service" ends as you drive the car off the lot.

I am still waiting for my "call me anytime" sales person to return my call with information about the extension of the warranty. Experience tells me that I needn't hold my breath.

I did receive a call from the dealership "customer service rep" asking about how I liked the car, etc. I did give the poor girl an earful on the lack of product knowledge and follow-up I received from the sales staff.

Again, my experience is that as long as they sell you a car, they could care less (any dealer - any line).

I found the current offer of 0% financing on Galants and the 7/70 powertrain warranty is now in effect. From my understanding of previous Mitsubishi financing "deals" you have to have excellent credit to qualify for the best rates offered. Most don't and get something that is more in line with bank or credit union rates, jacking up the overall price.

Extending the loan term gets the monthly payment down, and the dealer wins again - big finance charges on an advertised 0% loan and another car sold. I wish I had thought of this scheme!!!

[Auto-9]

Again, my experience is that as long as they sell you a car, they could care less (any dealer - any line).

Not really...it depends. My Mitsubishi sales rep still calls me to this day asking how I like the car. He usually calls once a month. It's just too bad no one at my dealership can do anything about the policies...they hate them just as much as I do. Saturn is another nice company. My neighbors receive a free oil change ever year on their car as a "birthday present" and my personal experience with them is great as well. Too bad I don't like their cars.

[aydu]

I did have a good Honda sales person one time. The dealership was out of town and he would always arrange for a loaner car when I brought mine in for service. Knew the product and was friendly to deal with. I ended up buying a couple of new cars from him.

I really should say through the sales person as he didn't actually have the authority to make a deal. Just ran papers to the sales manager for approval.

I once bought a Suburu from a "real nice" sales guy. Part of the deal was to have side moldings put on the car to avoid chips in the paint from other people's door. I bought the car while the Service department was closed, so they couldn't be installed immediately. We wrote it in the deal and the sales guy promised to make an appointment with the Service department first thing the next day and call me.

I took the car and promised to get a check for the purchase price from my credit union. I'd bring in the check when I had the molding installed.

No money had changed hands, but I did take possession of the car.

One day turned into a week. A week into two. Not a word from the salesman. I had the car and a big check, so I wasn't too worried.

One day I get a call from a nice lady in the finance office, asking about my paying for the car. I informed her that I'd had the money for 2 weeks and was just waiting for a call from the salesman to get my side molding installed. She thanked me and we ended the conversation.

Within 5 minutes I had a call from the salesman. He had my appointment set and they could do the job that very afternoon. I brought the car in, got the installation done, and paid for the car.

All my car buying experiences - except for the Hondas noted above - have been similar. I've bought a fair number of cars, so I don't think it's just bad luck.

[Auto-9]

All my car buying experiences - except for the Hondas noted above - have been similar. I've bought a fair number of cars, so I don't think it's just bad luck.

Indeed...but they gotta make a living somehow I guess. Last year we picked up the very first 2003 Altima V6 fully loaded sold in Houston...for 23 grand. The salesperson had screwed up and made us a deal for the car at 23, but he had the wrong car in mind. When we were financing the car we found out it was 29k total but the manager agreed to keep the price at 23 grand because in his words, "a deal is a deal," but requested we purchase the optional extended warranty. We did so out of sympathy.