Extended Warranty Expiration notice... From Toyota?

There are a lot of "warranty is expiring" scams. This company sends out a few million postcards a year. They will sell you an "extended warrant" insurance policy that may or may not be worth its cost.

 

Yep, I get these scam offers for cars I had years ago. They're a few steps below the "We need your trade in" mailings from dealers. They all get torn up.

 

The 102 year old, bedfast lady whom I look after at the local nursing home got these calls regularly (even after engaging the "no-call" listing). She hasn't owned a car since her stroke 15 years ago, and she can't get to the phone to answer it, so it just rang and rang unless there was an attendant in the room. We actually called the state attorney general's office about it. I think they have finally stopped. b*&^$rds!

 

The entire extended warranty business is a scam. It does not matter who sells it you will lose. It is a calculated profit center for any one that sells them. The consumer always loses.

 

Though there are lots of warranty scams out there the above statement is not necessarily true. The only two times that I have purchased an extended warranty for a car has paid off with covered repairs in both cases exceeding the amount that I paid for the warranty. In the first case the pay-off on the factory (Chrysler) extended warranty exceeded my cost by 3x. In the 2nd case the 3rd party (GE) warranty (on another Chrysler product) exceeded my cast by 2x.

The legit ones should be viewed simply as an insurance policy.

 

An insurance policy exists to cover catastrophic damage of things like a car, house or medical expenses. You pay a small monthly or yearly fee to cover replacement of a vehicle, major damage of your house or medical bill that might exceed your yearly income.

An extended warranty is a pre calculated business plan for the dealer and the manufacture to make money. It does not have the consumer’s interest in mind.

There are a few people that might make out on an extended warranty but it is not the norm. It is like gambling in Vegas. The house always wins. Some people claim they came home with more than they took. I never believe them.

 

My feeling with extended warranties has to do with your personal acceptance of risk.

Yes, the warranty is setup to on average make money for the company selling it, otherwise, they would not offer it.

The Prius extended warranty, if purchased wisely will cost ~$1000. We are at about $500 in covered repairs each, on our two cars. Was the $1000 worth it, from a pure $ perspective, no, not at this point. From a piece of mind / worry that the cost of repairs will be over inflated perspective, you bet it was worth it. We had the blower motor die for our AC in our 2007, Turned out to be a $145 part with $150 in labor, but we of course did not know that ahead of time.

The way I deal with extended warranties is that the $1000 covers me for the 7 years, 100,000 miles against non-wear repairs, which are an unknown cost to me. In general, it will cost more then not having it, but it also puts a limit on what I will be paying for that period of time, which is worth it to me.

 

IF you buy an extended warranty, ToyotaCare is the only way to go, because it is totally backed up and supported by Toyota and their dealers. You don't need to mail receipts for reimbursement or haggle with someone on the phone. With ToyotaCare, any American Toyota dealer will repair your car, without any hassles.

There are several Toyota dealers on PriusChat who will sell you a discounted ToyotaCare contract.

Don't buy an extended warranty from anyone else but Toyota.

 

Toyota makes the most reliable cars in the world.

My 2010 Prius has over 70,000 miles with zero repairs. I predict there will be zero before I hit 100,000 miles. I put 305,000 miles on my last Toyota and nothing broke until I hit 170,000 miles. Over the 10 years I owned the Toyota I had less than $1,000 in repairs excluding tires.

 

Or save your money and drive the most reliable cars in the world.

 

I agree, I did not buy the extended warranty on my Prius. If you think about it, on the surface, it's a rip-off: About $1,000 to go to 100,000 miles, give or take.

Now, the engine/transmission are warranted to 60,000, and in California, the traction battery and emissions are warranted out to 150,000. It's very, very unlikely that you'll have a warranty failure that costs over $1,000 that isn't engine, transmission or traction battery. So the $1,000 only buys you 40,000 miles of coverage!

True, it's •possible• that your transaxle can fail at 80,000, costing you maybe $2,000. But the odds are much less than 1 in 100. Maybe closer to 1 in 1:000.

Let's forget about extended warranty. Let's do this: Give me $1,000, and in two years, we'll roll a pair of dice, and I'd you come up boxcars, I'll give you $2,500. If you wouldn't make a deal like that, then why would you buy an extended warranty on a Toyota?

Still, of you are going to buy one, ToyotaCare is the only one to get.

 

I agree.

I bet the chance of a transaxle failing is more like 1,000,000:1. I have read alot of the Gen I and Gen II forums. There are very few stories of a transaxle failing.

 

And you believe that insurance policies ARE NOT "a pre calculated business plan for the dealer AGENT and the manufacture ISSUER to make money."??????????
arty:

 

Sticker on a transaxle is about $3200 and labor is about $1000, so depending on area probably $4500 or so.

Point is, chances of failure before 125k (max ext warranty) are quite low if and only if you change the transmission fluid regularly. Otherwise a failure after 100k becomes quite likely. This is especially true on the Gen 2, where failures are starting to pop up a lot in the 120-150k range from what I've heard. My independent hybrid shop has already seen a failure on the Gen 3 at 120k due to bearing wear, however.

 

So we agree that the extended warranty makes no sense. Here's what Luscious Garage charges for a tranny swap (low, mileage, used transaxle):

Labor: $1,360
Transmission (Used Unit): $800
Additional Parts (seals, axle nuts, fluids): $89.29
8.25% Sales Tax: $75.48
Total: $2324.77

Now, it makes NO SENSE to buy a $1,000 insurance policy to guard against that, especially since its likely to occur after the extended warranty period, if it occurs at all.

 

Given the amount of electronics and complexity, and the overall quality, of the current Toyotas IMO a factory extended warranty is a must. There are examples on other Toyota forums of persons saving thousands of dollars on problems that have occurred on otherwise out of warranty vehicles.

 

You sound like you work for a dealer. That is the same BS line a dealer claims. If a dealers mouth is moving they are probably lying.

Most of the Hybrid system is excluded from the extended warranty.

"List of Excluded Components

• Accessory Drive Belts
• Batteries
• Body Panels
• Brake Linings, Pads and Shoes
• Bumpers
• Carpet
• Chrome
• Clutch Friction Disk and Pressure Plate
• Dash Cover and Pad
• Door Trim, Handles and Fabric
• Filters
• Fluids
• Glass (including Windshield)
• Headliner
• Heating Hoses, Lines and Tubes
• Hinges
• Hybrid System Main Relays
• Hybrid Vehicle Battery
• Hybrid Vehicle Battery Module/Pack
• Hoses
• Interior and Exterior Trim Moldings, including but not limited to, Cup Holders, Ashtrays, Covers, and Vents
• Lamps
• Light Bulbs
• Nuts, Bolts, Clips, Retainers and Fasteners
• Paint
• Rotors and Drums
• Rust and Corrosion Damage
• Seat Covers
• Service Plug
• Shiny Metals
• Spark Plugs
• Structural Framework and Wells
• Tires
• Vacuum Hoses, Lines and Tubes
• Weather Stripping
• Wheels and Rims
• Windshield Wiper Blades (Rubber Component)"

 

They are both calculated business plans.

An insurance policy exists to cover catastrophic damage and is required if you have a mortgage on your house or owe money on your car.

An extended warranty exists to milk more profit out of the person buying the car for the dealer and the manufacture. On a Toyota chances are very good that over 125,000 miles you will spend less than $100 on service outside the huge list of things not covered by the extended warranty.

 

That sounds almost unbelievable ... do you have any documented evidence of that ? OR that you have to change the fluid 'regularly' against Toyota's recommendation ?

According to Consumer Reports ... there is ZERO evidence of any transmission problems or issues on ANY YEAR Prius. Every single year is a red circle with a white dot (the best rating available).

The only black mark on the Prius for ANYTHING is the 04, 05, and 06 models (Gen II) had some engine cooling issues.

Consumer Reports may not be the best in everything they do, but their lists have always matched my personal experiences, and I would sure trust them more than ONE independent mechanic that happens to work on Prii.

REV