2008 T&C limited with 4.0 always bought used at roughly 100k but always used mobile1 oil and filters and did other maintenance items with the exception of a few that we knew were done just before buying it. anyway we bought the van and a aftermarket warranty deal and now at 204k as the wife was driving to work she realized it didnt have power steering and thought it stalled out. we had it towed to shop they said it was the engine and they didnt r&r them so had towed to another shop. they tore the engine down and said that the cause was a timing belt tensioner. if they would have said timing belt it would be covered by warranty but now its not because i believe they got paid off to say it this way. Anyway what are the chances of the tensioner going over the belt and causing the blown motor? the company is also wanting to charge us 1800 for labor! this seems excessive to r&r the engine. is it? please advise with any info!

TIA

 

Welcome to the forum. An "aftermarket warranty" is best thought of as a "prepaid service plan". The company offering it is only doing so to try to make money. Since you are the person paying the money, they are trying to make money off you. That means, they are betting that you will pay them more money than they will have to pay in repairs for your car. If that wasn't a good bet for them over the long haul, they would have gone out of business a long time ago.
The terms of the deal (what is covered and what is not) are set out in the fine print of the contract. You will have to read it carefully to determine what your rights are. If. after a careful reading of the document you believe your repairs should be covered, then press on and demand they live up to the bargain. There are attorneys who specialize in this type of work who could help you if you have a good case. But in the end, it will be the document itself that will spell out who is right, not somebody here on the forum who has never read it nor some guy in the shop who likewise has no idea what the "warranty" says.
As for $1800 for labor to pull an engine, that's probably not out of line when you consider labor rates are about $100/hour these days. Pulling an engine is a very big job.