I am in the process of purchasing a caliber Srt with 60k on it. Knowing that these cars are usually beaten on I am wondering about whether I should buy an aftermarket powertrain warranty or not. The price quoted would be around $1000 US. I figure worse case scenario I will have to at some point replace the Pistons and rings. Since it has forged rods and crank I expect they can take the abuse. What kind of job would it be to remove the engine and rebuild?

In my experience with these engines I would say you will have timing chain issues before it will need to be re-ringed. The guides will wear and chains will stretch causing a noticeable rattle from the front of the engine.

The 2.4 is a very solid engine. I would consider doing the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner. Does that warranty cover the transmission? If it's an aftermarket warranty I would put the money aside instead as you would have to fight to get anything covered.

This one has a timing chain instead of a belt which is nice. That is my concern with the warranty as well. I can imagine it would be tough to get anything covered without a fight, although it would cover the trans plus trans axles etc.
I would have to take it in to a shop for oil changes which I'm not keen on, I prefer to do it myself.

The extended warranty is always a good idea if you can afford it as you never know if a problem will happen down the road. But find out how many miles and years you can get and see if it covers timing belts and timing chains as I had a problem getting a timing belt and covered on a customers car because the normal maintnance called for replacing the belt at 60k which the cust did not do and I had the car with just over 63k on it and a broken belt and bent valves. But yours is a chain so I would still make sure they cover it and dont try to say its a normal wearable item. Some are very good contracts and some are plain ripoffs and hassle you all the way when you try to use it. So check into the company you plan to use and make sure its a good one. Ron