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Opinions on Getting Platinum Warranty for Used 2007 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by LAguy, Jan 3, 2011.

  1. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    That and you might have to pay capital gains.
     
  2. Jhrizz

    Jhrizz New Member

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    I just purchased a CPO '08 package 6 and sprung for the platnum warranty. It is only usefull for another 45,000 miles, but my logic is that I drive 60 miles a day (at least) and if I am going to break it, it will be before the 100,000 mile mark. My cost was $1995 with $0 deductible. After the warantee is up I am considering a 4Kwh plug-in conversion.

    FYI - I purchased Apple at $16, Siris at $0.50 and gold at $400/oz. All are still good long term buys. I would wait a few days on the stock, as people will most likely sell to make some profit, and the price will dip a few % points, then buy (and be sure to diversify).
     
  3. LAguy

    LAguy Junior Member

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    So you thought it worthwhile to get the platinum warranty, which is what I'm grappling with. The warranty I'm looking at would cover me for 60 months/60k miles for about 1 k more than you paid, which would cover me until 135k. Did you feel like there was a reasonable chance that the car would encounter problems before 100K to justify the expenditure?
     
  4. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Extended warranties, like all insurance policies, are priced to make a profit for the seller. It is almost certain that you would get back less than half what you paid for it, and quite likely nothing at all. Both financially and for "peace of mind" it would be far better to spend that $3K to get a newer and/or lower mileage car, or put it in the bank.
     
  5. PabloPrius10

    PabloPrius10 New Member

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    Mike,

    I bought an 07 a couple of years ago. Low miles then (28800). The middle screen went bad. Dealer replaced for free, but informed me it would have been $400 when out of warranty! Hmmmm... better get the Platinum Package. Which I did from a Toyota dealer on PriusChat. I never had to use it, but also just sold that car for a 2010 Prius. ( I am getting a very nice refund on that warranty) What I am suggesting is that there are a LOT of unknowns about Prius yet (costs ahead). I felt it was worth the piece of mind for the "what if's". Now if I can just find a new home for a recent 07 bra.

    My best,
    Pablo
     
  6. waynetc

    waynetc Junior Member

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    For what it's worth I bought a certified 06 last week at a toyota dealer with 7/100,000 on the power train. At time of purchase the car had 27,500 miles on it. After negotiating, I upgraded to the platinum certified warranty (with zero deductible) for $590.00 It came out to $19.00 a month. Normally I never buy the extended warranties for anything, but in this case I think I got a great end of year deal. Opinion?
    thanks
    Wayne
     
  7. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    ^Nicely done u two.
     
  8. PabloPrius10

    PabloPrius10 New Member

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    You may WELL be in for a refund.... I got one! Call the warranty folks at Toyota. I paid $1000 and am getting $771 back next week!
     
  9. PabloPrius10

    PabloPrius10 New Member

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    Good job, Wayne!
     
  10. Akron1

    Akron1 New Member

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    I bought my 07 with 41,000 miles on it a month ago (Read out of dealer warranty as per your statement above). Platinum warranty offered to me at the time was $957.00. That was for 7 year total and 100,000 miles. I declined but thats my choice. My Point is I think you could have gotten a better price.
     
  11. LAguy

    LAguy Junior Member

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    Sounds like you got offered a good deal. But it's hard to compare warranties because they are very specific and dependent on the number of miles on the used car. They seem to run in 10k ranges. If my Prius had had 74999 miles on it (and fallen into the 65-75k range) instead of 75200 (and thus in the 75-85k range) the warrant would have been considerably cheaper. I imagine your warranty price range, having 35k fewer miles ,would have been far less. After 85k you can't get a Toyota Platinum warranty at all. So it's tough to do a straight comparison unless I can find someone in my exact miles/year range. My quandary isn't about whether I could have gotten a better deal, but whether I need a warranty at all between now and 135k. Who knows?
     
  12. booger

    booger New Member

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    which is a whopping 15% on the gains if long term or just taxed at your regular rate if short term. Of course interest is short term. And it is only on the gain, if you lost you get to deduct that come tax time. But I digress.
     
  13. tnthub

    tnthub Member

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    My humble opinion is that 3K is too much money for the coverage of the platinum plan. I'm not sure what we paid for the platinum coverage but I know it was less than a grand, three weeks ago, on a 2007 package 5 with 56,000 miles.

    The HID lamps have already been replaced and the dealer is tracking some small intermittent issues. With dealer labor prices I suspect we will come out ahead in the long run. Had the platinum plan been more than a grand we would not have sprung for it.

    I do not anticipate significant problems with the Prius or we would not have purchased the vehicle. It was sold originally by the dealer we bought it from and traded in by the elderly couple who were original owners. We have a print out of all service performed on the vehicle which I reviewed prior to purchasing.

    The only reason we went for the Platinum is that it covers the more expensive items excluded from the basic warranty and I tend to be a bit rough on vehicles sometimes... :D
     
  14. LAguy

    LAguy Junior Member

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    As far as the cost goes, I checked with Troy on here -- he's the "warranty expert" who offers the very low priced platinum warranties for new cars but not for used. Anyway he told me that given my car's mileage, 3 grand was a very fair price for the platinum coverage, and was even below Toyota's normal asking price.

    But anyway, I cancelled the warranty yesterday and since it was within 30 days I got all my money back. The issue for me wasn't really the price, but whether a Prius is likely to have major problems before 135k. And I felt that it was highly unlikely so I felt like a warranty, at any price, would have been a total waste of money.

    Thanks to everyone who gave me advice -- especially the comments about Prius reliability.
     
  15. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    Now that you have some extra cash and don't have the warranty, time to blow some money on MODIFICATIONS!
     
  16. LAguy

    LAguy Junior Member

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    Considering that the Prius I bought is Package 6 -- and the fact that my car prior to this was a 1995 Jeep Cherokee with roll-up windows and no air conditioning -- this has far more gadgets than I can figure out (and far more features than I probably ever need) -- I'll hold off on Mods for now. At my sophistication level, just having cruise control is completely mind-blowing.:whoo:
     
  17. jmooney

    jmooney New Member

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    Just saw a post of a guy with a bad hv battery at 105k miles. Those are $3500 or somewhere around that. Its really up to you. My wife bought a used 03' escape a few years back and they pressured her into agreeing on a $3000 service plan. I had her cancel it. I was furious. I can understand a little better on a prius but not a regular (American made) smal suv. The main problem you may have from your decision is after 30 days, you may owe a considerable amount over what your car is now worth and you will be stuck with it for at least four years. I never sign for stuff like that but its because I've got enough money to cover any expenses that may arise. A lot of folks barely have enough money left over to replace tires, let alone major repairs. If you fall in that bracket, you are better off paying that extra $80 per month for the warranty. You also have to factor in the interest charges on that $3k. You'll wind up paying closer to $4k when its all said and done.
     
  18. LAguy

    LAguy Junior Member

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    As far as the battery goes, the one thing the Toyota Platinum Warranty DOES NOT cover is the battery!!! The dealer pointed that out to me when they were selling it to me and I confirmed that in the warranty literature. The battery would be my biggest worry anyway and that's gonna be out of pocket no matter what (after the basic 100k factory warranty).

    You are right -- the only reason to insure anything is if you will not have the money to cover replacement/repair in the unlikely event something goes wrong. If you can cover it, then warranties for unlikely occurrences are a waste of money. I, like most Prius owners I would guess (since the average income/educational levels of Prius owners are on average higher than the norm) , can handle the cost of repairs so I feel quite safe in self-insuring.