Has anyone USED Troy's extended warranty?

Well, I see a lot of people reading, but nobody replying, so I'll say this... I would be interested in purchasing one, but before I'd be comfortable buying it, I would really need to hear from a few people who have actually used them to know their experiences. No offense to Troy (?) for making them available, but...

 

I bought a warranty from Troy way back in 2003 for my 2003 Prius.

I did end up using it when my water pump went and was completely covered. I don't remember what my mileage was at the time, but it was only a couple of years ago.

I also don't remember what I paid for it 7 years ago. I don't think I quite made back the money I spent, but it was certainly worth the peace of mind.

I intend to to it again for my 2010.

 

If the only repair you had from 0 to 100,000 miles was a water pump you did not benefit from the extended warranty except piece of mind. You lost money on the extended warranty.

If anyone is thinking about buying an extended warranty go to the Gen I and Gen II forums and ask people how much they spent on out of warranty repairs before they hit 100,000 miles. I will be hard to find someone that spent more than $1,000 dollars.

 

I wish I could profit on your loosing proposition.

 

Extended Warranties are generally just for profit and you probably won't ever get your money's worth back. Also, take into account that your driving a toyota, which rarely ever breaks down. (After all Toyota is #1 in reliability) according to JD power and well its just common knowledge.

I would just advise you not to get it. I doubt it'll be worth the money, even if you get it at a good price. Extended warranties are only good if the dealer throws it in for free.

 

I have a 2004 and a few months to go on the extended warranty that I bought from Troy. So far it has covered a water pump replacement a little over a year ago (about $340). My dealer did the repair and submitted the reimbursement request to Toyota with no need for me to show evidence of the warranty, so its use from frictionless to me. I believe that Toyota actually has the records.

Within the full warranty period, I had to replace the multi-fuction screen. Those are the only warranty covered repairs that have been done during my ownership of the car.

 

I just purchased the 7 yr/100K mi warranty from Troy. It was $145 cheaper than the 3rd party 6 yr/100K mi warranty the Dealership sold me (I've already cancelled the dealer warranty and gotten my refund). The decision for me was strictly peace of mind. This is our first Hybrid, and there is a huge amount of technology in these cars. If all I have to use it for in the next 7 years or 100K miles is a $340 water pump, I will be thrilled! But, if the A/C goes out, a power window fails, the wiper motor dies, or... I'm covered! The way I look at it, the $1000 dealer incentive I received went to cover the warranty, so it's about a wash...

 

Extended warranties never pay off for the average owner, which is how insurance companies make money. You buy insurance to cover unsupportable or catastrophic losses, and for peace of mind. Repair costs for an automobile seldom fall into the catastrophic category, which leaves peace of mind as the only real reason to purchase an extended warranty.

Tom

 

It's not quite that simple. A car dealer's service department usually can't get away with bending the insurance company over like they can an individual customer.

It is entirely possible for the insurance company to profit and the customer to come out ahead, with the loser being the service department that doesn't get away with overcharging and selling unneeded repairs.

I'm not saying that it normally completely works out that way, but I am saying that a big hunk of the insurance companies profit is coming at the expense of unscrupulous service departments. :rockon:

 

I bought the extended warranty, and based upon my first 8 months of ownership, with many problems, I am sure that it will come in handy. Those that think that Toyota is reliable are kidding themselves.

 

Toyota has been in production withe Prius since 1997. This is the third generation. It is a hi-tech car but it been proven to be a reliable car.

 

Your the first person that claims they have had issues with their Prius. What has gone wrong? How many miles?

Mine is 11 months old, it has over 33,000 miles and I have had zero issues. I will be at 100,000 miles in 18 months and I predict zero repairs. That will be the true benchmark of spending $1,000+ on a warrenty that goes to 100,000 miles is worth the money.

 

As long as what you are purchasing is a genuine Toyota factory warranty, it doesn't matter where you buy it. Troy is just a guy who works for a dealer that sells discount warranties on the Internet. You can buy from him...your dealer...some dealer in CA...or FL...doesn't matter. Your servicing dealer must honor it.

Um, do you read the forums?

Plenty of people here have described issues with their Prius vehicles. My Prius has had several repairs done, most under the original warranty...some out of warranty that an extended warranty would have covered. I paid $1,600 for the extended warranty on my old Lexus...and it paid for itself several times over.

We did not buy the coverage for the Prius, but in hindsight we should have. I paid out of pocket almost $500 for an inverter water pump failure that would have been covered. The clips on the passenger side of the dash pad have failed causing the dash to slightly buckle and impede the top glove box from opening. Cost to repair? $1,300...I am just leaving it alone but if I had the extended warranty it would have been covered and I would have had it fixed.

Thats great...but meaningless. My new Lexus has 1,000 miles and I've had no problems, so for sure I will say the same thing at 95,000 miles right? Any new car should be trouble free for 11 months...my God. What you have to do is look at the kinds of failures people are seeing on the Gen II car, MFD failures, inverter water pump failures, A/C compressor failures. All these things are expensive...and covered under the extended warranty.

They wouldn't sell warranties if they didn't make money off people buying them and not using them. Its an insurance policy...but for under $1,000 which is what this guy charges for it...I would absolutely buy it without hesitation. I've been a Toyota owner for 12 years...I've owned 5...and all but the brand new one I just got have needed repairs that cost money. Its a reliable machine...but not perfect.

 

I did not consider an extended warranty for my '05, second year of production for the Gen2, and no expensive options. Frankly I considered it a foolish waste of money.

Now I have a 2010, first year of production, equipped with Adv Technology Pkg, and several quality control related issues. I am seriously considering an extended warranty.

If the Nav System, DRCC or PCS failed it might be quite expensive. I wouldn't want to buy a new radar or a variable speed AC compressor and the new electric water pump which has failed on several of the earlier cars (such as mine) is going to cost a lot more than a conventional belt driven pump.

 

Normally this is why I don't get them. If financially stretched such that a major event would ruin me, I'd pay the money for a warranty, though. I do like predictability of budget, too, but typically extended warranties are a waste of money. Certainly for things like tires they are.

 

This is true with all service related insurance, especially medical insurance. In this respect the insurer may negotiate reduced prices, but other than that no insurance company adds value. Consumers could do the same if they were willing to band together. Insurance companies increase the overall cost. Think of it as friction in the system. The owners of the insurance companies make money, and it doesn't come out of thin air.

Tom

 

I thought you were "Judgeless"?
With all the electronic components and complexity of the hybrid system, if someone wants to have the peace of mind, then so be it. It's a gamble, and for some the peace of mind is worth it to not have to worry. I've had the warranty on 3 or 4 cars so far and I think on one it paid itself off, but still plan to get one on this one "just in case" -- at least at this point. I may change my mind down the road but I still have some time.