Toyota's Vehicle Service Agreement (VSA)

Just hope the infotainment computer doesn't up and quit on your 2023 Prius with the 12.3" screen. (I don't think it will, but I just found out the price and am currently laughing tears - because that's what I've got.)

$11,238.24

RECEIVER ASSY, RADIO & NAVIGATION


edit: If you've got the 8" screen, that's a bargain at $5,825.71.

 

they say ten years because it sounds like a better deal. in all insurance policies, the fine print states that they only pay if there isn't other coverage.
the only thing i would say about extended warranties is that you should read the whole thing before signing, and ask the sales person questions as you go through it such as, 'where does it state that the touch screen is covered and for how long?'

 

there have been a few reported here on gen 4, and dealer quotes around 10k.

 

FWIW The FTC has stepped in to this scam market especially considering the shady dealership practices at time of sale.

And again, the only place problems like this pop up is PC (aka “The Sky Is Falling Forum” ( which seems to happen a lot in certain localities in certain parts of the Eastern United States and Canada . ))

 

All I know about extended warranties is a friend of mine got a 2019 (or there abouts) Ford Escape and an extended warranty. The extended warranty ended up saving him because the Ford was out of its normal warranty (it had just over 100k miles on it)

and three months...

THREE MONTHS!!!...

Three months after purchasing the used vehicle the transmission suddenly died. They were quoted $9,000 for the repair. But the extended warranty took care of it.

As far as infotainment centers go, the two vehicles I've had with infotainment touchscreens have both had problems with them. This includes my current car, the 2013 Avalon hybrid. The biggest problem about the touchscreen failing for me is I'm not sure I could fix it myself. I can't find anything online that explains how to diagnose and fix the problem. So I am at the mercy of whatever mechanic I take it to, which probably has to be a Toyota dealership.

 

Setting aside the silliness of the infotainment prices and getting back to the Toyota VSA.

My opinion(quick version): Is it a scam? No. Is it worth it? No - for the vast majority of people.


Expanded opinion:

(this is all looking at a new Toyota situation - an extended warranty on a used car is a different conversation)

Looking at VSAs in general, there are a lot of things to consider. What is the build quality of the manufacturer? What exactly is covered under the VSA? How long do you plan to own the vehicle? How many miles/km do you put on a year? What are your needs? What is your financial situation?

Now, if I was buying a brand new Audi or BMW and planned to keep it beyond the factory warranty, and if the VSA from them was as good as Toyota's, I would seriously consider getting one. Those manufacturers are currently infamous for producing vehicles that start to fall apart quickly after the warranty period is up even if reasonable maintenance has been performed. (But that's also why I wouldn't consider buying from one of those manufacturers unless I planned to replace it within 3-5 years.)

But that's not the case with Toyota. While it's possible to have a major failure not long after the standard warranty expires, it's not that likely as long as reasonable maintenance was performed. So the odds of you getting your raw monetary value out of the VSA is pretty low.

On the flip side, Toyota's VSA is one of the best ones in the car business. Sure you always need to read the fine print, but it's actually pretty good(which they can afford to do because they probably don't have to deal with tons of claims). So it's not a scam, just probably unwise for most people.


So when would it be a good idea? I can think of three cases. There are probably a couple more, but all of these are fringe cases.

1. The buyer has fluid resources at purchase, but will have fixed resources a few years down the road. They may expect their assets to be very tied up after the standard warranty expires, and they would take a significant financial hit if they had to pull out money for an unexpected major car repair. In that case, it might be worth it to basically buy the VSA as insurance.

2. The buyer often travels and has a critical need for the car to work and be fixed quickly with no additional hassles after the standard warranty expires. The Toyota VSA would work at any Toyota dealership and comes with a set amount of car rental days. The ability to be somewhere very unfamiliar and just make a phone call to have the car towed to the nearest dealer where you are taken care of with minimal hassle could be very valuable if it is critical to your life/work to be able to quickly keep going.

3. The buyer plans to travel regularly and put on significant miles, wants minimal hassle if something goes wrong, and the money for the VSA isn't an issue. Hey, if I were a retiree that planned to travel the country and was in a financial position where the VSA was pocket change, I'd probably go for it. It's a lot like case #2 where you'd have to worry about a lot less in the unlikely event something went wrong with the car. That might be more valuable to a person who can easily afford a few thousand dollars of piece of mind. Instead of calling one number for the tow(AAA), another number for the dealer(Toyota), another number for a third-party service(insurance), having to set up a rental car yourself, pay for the car and hotel, and then deal with all the negotiations and payments to the dealer for the repairs, you would just call the ToyotaCare number, hand the keys to the dealer, have them get you the rental/loaner, then be on your way until you come back to pick up the fixed car and sign some papers. Hey, a person's time and aggravation has value; it's up to each person to decide what that value is for them.


Now, I doubt any of these three cases apply to 99% of new Prius buyers. They certainly didn't for me, so I didn't hesitate to turn down the VSA. But I also wouldn't automatically tell a person to never get one without finding out a bit about their situation. Maybe they're the one in a hundred where a VSA actually makes sense.

 

I believe Hammersmith hit the nail on the head (no pun intended)! The one caveat in Hammersmith’s statement was “REASONABLE MAINTENANCE”. Which I would say is a rare commodity within the PC Community. Assuming a definition of “reasonable maintenance” being; “Preventative Maintenance that goes above and beyond the scope of the initial reading of the Toyota Maintenance Schedule to include the footnotes (which most here choose to ignore) AND to interpret said footnotes in a conservative manner (ie: assuming you meet the requirements of said footnotes, if there is in any way, any doubt at all) (which again is rare on PC)”.
Now, having said all of that, IRONICALLY, the said extended warranty wouldn’t pay out due to the failure of maintaining the vehicle in accordance with the said condition.

 

Me: My used Prius has galled cylinders! The rings have been frozen too long! Someone didn't do the oil changes on time! They must have thought they could do yearly oil changes even if their driving conditions don't meet the yearly oil change requirements! Now I need another engine block!

Prius owners who aren't going to keep their brand new Prius for more than 5 years: I change my oil once about every year. I won't have to worry about it once I upgrade in a few years. Who cares if the manual says do it every 6 months if I live where there's winter or hills or use it in city traffic.

 

if i were buying a ford, i would buy the extended warranty

 

One of the better reasons not to buy an up-optioned, clean, late model used car.

 

Just curious, if anyone knows, if the infotainment did quit, say at 200,000 miles, could you just continue to drive the car without the computer features?

 

Or one of the better reasons to maintain it properly, keep ALL maintenance records (even the receipts for the oil, filter, etc that you do yourself) and even the records of the results of fluid inspections and filter inspections.

 

Our ‘10 CDN Touring’s dash looks like this:



And I’m grateful; already more than enough LCD dreck. By ‘12 they ALL had the damn iPad-in-dash.

 

Right now I've seen too many used cars with problems and repair bills never before heard of.

IMO, cars nowadays are only as good as their warranties.

No warranty? Then expect the car to have a $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 failure.

 

Mine has kind of failed twice. It mainly just has glitches. The car still works, but since it's connected to the HVAC system the car is phantom changing the HVAC settings as I drive. It's not the end of the world, but it's kind of annoying. There are also music functions that don't work.

So yes, the car will still drive, but you might not have music or heat or A/C, or maybe the heater on all the time, or the A/C, or maybe you won't be able to turn off the radio or change the station.

 

This is a very important question. I guess I better ask this at my next visit to dealership.