New Prius Prime Advanced owner - extended warranty/ Toyotacare plus?

Jerry Johnson @ Midwest Toyota sells extended warranties.
I purchased one from him in 2013 and he is 100% legit.

Here is the Price for your 2018 Prius Prime Advanced

This warranty is 100 Percent Toyota Factory warranty from Toyota and honored by all Toyota Dealer service centers including California, Florida and all the USA and Canada

T4-TOYOTA PRIUS PRIME,

4 YEAR 100,000 MILES $1,120.00, 4 YEAR 125,000 MILES $1,250.00

5 YEAR 60,000 MILES $975.00 5 YEAR 80,000 MILES $1,030.00,

5 YEAR 100,000 MILES $1,215.00 5 YEAR 125,000 MILES $1,390.00

6 YEAR 75,000 MILES $1,085.00, 6 YEAR 100,000 MILES $1,385.00,

6 YEARS 125,000 MILES $1,650.00

7 YEARS 75,000 MILES $1,180.00, 7 YEAR 100,000 MILES $1,540.00

7 YEARS 125,000 MILES $1,775.00



8 YEARS 75,000 MILES $1,300.00

8 YEARS 100,000 MILES $1,655.00

8 YEARS 125,000 MILES $2,070.00



9 YEARS 100,000 MILES $1,835.00

9 YEARS 125,000 MILES $2,315.00



10 YEARS 100,000 MILES $1,945.00

10 YEARS 125,000 MILES $2,470.00

 

Sorry to say this, but you were ripped off by your dealer. Try canceling it if you can, then set up a rainy day account and start saving into it. For $2795 + $2000 you would be paying for next 5-7 years will come up to be $60-80/mo payment. If you save that much every month, although it is very unlikely there will be anything you will need to spend large money after first 36 month, you will already have saved ~$2500 by then. Keep saving after that, you will have enough fund for most maintenance/repair, and as added bonus, if nothing major happens you will have very good chunk of downpayment saved for next car purchase after 7 years.

 

What you say is correct. Unfortunately few people have the discipline to save that way. If they did everyone would pay cash and the credit card companies would go broke.

 

NO, I don't think so. I use my credit cards for almost everything we purchase, from daily grocery to one time large appliance and get 1.5 -3% cash back. Heck, if the dealer have let me, I would have bought my PRIME on my credit card. BUT I pay off balance every month. I have never paid a penny for those ridiculous interests and credit card fees. But credit companies are not complaining. In fact they are happy that I am using their cards, and keep increasing the limit on them. THAT'S BECAUSE THEY MAKE MONEY EVERY TIME SOMEONE PAYS BY THEIR CARD. 1.5% to 3% of purchasing price goes back to credit card company. Use credit wisely, it saves you a bundle.

 

The point I was making is few people have the discipline to put money aside for future repairs versus purchasing an extended service contract. They end up dipping into the $$ and they are not there when needed. It's human nature I guess.

PS. You do realize you are paying generally 7% more for things because of the prolific use of credit cards. But that's a different story.

 

I understood the point of second sentence in your reply #4 perfectly.

Most people make this huge mistake by not saving enough and wasting hard earned money unnecessarily, that's exactly why I suggested what OP should do. IMHO, extended warranty is an unnecessary insurance plan most costing way more than actual cost of repair. Of course in very rare occasion, someone with an extended warranty comes ahead of game by saving big, but I think that very, very rare. Otherwise they would not be offering money losing warranty options. The reason most dealers push for those warranty and service contract is because it's very easy money for them make.

I was just responding to your last comment in red. As for the higher cost of everything due to credit card use, that's all true. But that is the society we live in, so why not take advantage of it instead of being disadvantaged by it. BTW, I do pay cash sometimes, if the vender discount more than what my credit card cashback.

 

I guess the point is, if everyone (or even most people) had the discipline to use the card for cash back and pay off every month, the CC issuers would be in trouble, and we wouldn't get any cash back. The CC issuers can afford to give cash back *because* they have so many cardmembers who carry large balances and pay a lot in interest. They are subsidizing those of us who pay in full each month and reap the cash back rewards.

All that said, going back to the original question, in some sense purchasing an extended warranty is like an insurance policy, albeit an expensive one. And Toyota wouldn't sell it if they didn't make money on the average policy. That means in the average case, you're better off saving the money, setting it aside as part of an emergency fund (or some such), and tapping into it for repairs as needed.

 

That's perfectly fine. Instead of saving $80/mo from the start. After you finish paying off your loan at 53 months, continue to pay the monthly amount into saving for extra 7 month. Chances are, you will not need any major repair money before 60 months. If you are DIY type, you can save tons by doing most of routine maintenance after your free 2 year/25Kmile Toyota Care runs out. If you are not DIY type, make sure not to take your car to a dealer and ask for "routine maintenance" for whatever the mileage the car is at. Dealer will throw in whole bunch of unnecessary things into the work. Make sure to ask for ONLY THE ITEMS LISTED IN THE MANUAL and nothing more. That should not cost you $2000 for the additional 36 months after 24 months / 25000 miles.

 

You can save even more, if you can find a trusty independent mechanic/shop rather than relying on dealer for regular maintenance. But again, do not ask for "routine maintenance", only order the list of things on the manual. You will save on the labor cost of ~$110/hr for Toyota dealer vs. ~$70 depending on your local.

 

As far as what the dealer said about the extra cost involved in hybrid components, keep in mind that the factory warranty is already at least 8 years and 100K miles on the hybrid system (maybe more depending on state). Since your extended warranty covers up through 8 years/75K miles, your extended warranty doesn't extend coverage of your hybrid components at all. So it sounds like smoke and mirrors in selling an extended warranty.

 

Yap, OP lives in CA, so the hybrid battery is covered 10 years/150K miles.

Many independent shops are also Toyota certified, though I am not really sure how the certification works. I would ask around here in PC. There are many Prius owners in CA, some has to be near where you are. At the least do some research like talking to friends for referral or looking up on internet review sites before taking in your car for the first time. Good relationship with a good mechanic will go a long way. That said, there are times when you do have to take your car back to a Toyota dealer, so keeping a good relationship with a dealer service department is also a plus. Remember you do not have to take your car to the dealer where you purchased your car, though they may give you some incentive to bring you back to their service, so shop around if you have more than one Toyota dealers near you.

 

I personally would not buy an extended warranty (and didn’t purchase when I picked up my Prime 3 weeks ago). I purchased one for my ‘08 Prius that I purchased as a lease return. In the 5 years that I had it, the only thing the warranty covered was a water pump. IMO it would be better to have a savings account to cover potential expenses. The truth is that these cars are very reliable!


iPhone ?

 

Just about any ECM etc. is big bucks and not all covered by the hybrid warranty. How much do you think that 11” touch screen costs?