2010 Extended Warranty?

Extended warranties are always a bad idea in the general sense. Think of them as casino gambling: the house always wins in the long run. You may get lucky, or unlucky in this case, and have an expensive failure covered by the warranty, but spread over all of the subscribers the price will be greater than the cost.

This is true with all insurance (that's what an extended warranty is - insurance). You should only buy insurance to cover expenses you can't or are unwilling to bear. Some people are willing to pay more just for the peace of mind. That's okay as long as you realize what you are doing.

Instead of an extended warranty, my suggestion is to invest that money and save it for future repairs, in other words, self insure.

Tom

 

Never did get the extended warranty. I lucked out with the $89 spent on the MFD replacement, but $240 on a wheel bearing and $260 on the water pump aren't bad for a 5-year-old car.

My plan was to get the 5yr/100,000 mile extended warranty because I'd been averaging 20,000 miles per year for quite a while, but now that I'm only at 82,600 after 5 years I realize that the 7 year plan was more appropriate.

Next time I buy a car, I'll have an idea what a (fingers-crossed) 10-year-old Toyota sucked up in maintenance costs, and if most of them would have been warranty-covered, I'll consider it...

 

I shouldn't bother, see my signature.

 

extended warranty is not the same as new vehicle warranty - i am pretty sure that most of your issues would not be covered by extended warranty.

 

Of course, when you're buying off of PC/negotiate below MSRP, that's significantly improving your odds. Add in the potential value during resale and it can still be a good deal.

 

If it's going to break (which it probably will since it's a first year car...no automaker is perfect) it should break within the first three years. I don't see the point in buying coverage beyond that.

 

The cost of the warranty and the money you save paying cash are two separate issues. One has no bearing on the other, except to say you are money ahead paying cash.

Tom

 

I own a 2004, delivered in January of that year. I.e., an early build of the first year. I considered waiting for the second year, but decided I didn't want to give up a year of driving this amazing car. I had to have a broken cruise-control stalk replaced and there were two recalls to re-program the computer and a TSB for the gas tank filler pipe, all done under warranty. I've had no repairs since the warranty lapsed except for a couple of fender-benders, which obviously an extended warranty would not have covered. My CAN-View malfunctioned and caused a dealer visit, but that would not have been covered either.

The problem is that the insurers have more data than you do, and set their prices accordingly. When you buy insurance, you are really trying to out-guess the insurer, unless you are insuring a loss that you could not afford to pay. Fire and health insurance are examples where the odds are against your coming out ahead, but a loss could be so catastrophic it would wipe you out, so you accept a bad bet to prevent an economic catastrophe.

 

Wow. I had completely forgotten that little adventure. Just like I'm going to forget the passenger door lock that still can't make up its mind to break completely or start working regularly again. I'm hoping warmer weather helps it recover...

 

My two cents:

I think that it is reasonable to consider getting an extended warranty, even for proven reliable cars like the Prius.

Electrical systems have always been the weakest link or Achilles Heel of otherwise mechanically reliable cars like Toyota, Volvo, Saab, Mercedes Benz, et al. Even more so now with the advent of electronics and computers.

Typically, a middle class American and/or her employer will spend more than $10,000 per year for health insurance, life insurance, homeowner's insurance, auto insurance, etc. Granted, these insurance policies cover potential losses that the insured couldn't otherwise afford to pay. Nonetheless, as insurance products go, I think that as a general matter if one were to purchase the extended warranty here, it will instantly become the policy in your insurance portfolio that you're most likely to put a claim on and recoup your premium.

I think that at the one-time purchase price of $1850 MSRP (or higher price charged by dealers) for Toyota's best and longest extended warranty (Toyota Extra Care Platinum Plan - 7 years/100,000 miles/$0 deductible), I wouldn't get the extended warranty for the Prius.

But at the $1055 price offered here, it's well worth considering. With the high prices charged by dealers for OEM parts and labor, the extended warranty can pay for itself one or several times over with just one claim for the most ordinary and common of repairs. At minimum, I think it is a good insurance buy.

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If one is thinking of purchasing the extended warranty, I'd recommend waiting until the car approaches 3 years or 36,000 miles before making the decision. That way, you will have all that experience with the car and be better informed as to (1) whether you need the extended warranty, and (2) which extended warranty policy to get in terms of years/miles to fit your anticipated future car usage (you can pay a couple of hundred dollars less than the $1055 now charged for Toyota's best and longest policy, by buying the same policy with fewer maximum years and/or mileage).
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