NEW 8 Yr / 125,000 Mile Warranty?

I know it is non prius related, my father purchased a 2009 Toyota Sienna mini van and purchase a 7yr 100,000 mile extended warranty for as he put it "around $2500" The dealership said if he did not use the warranty what so ever, he would be refunded the amount after the warranty was exhausted.

He isn't sure if he will get a check, or if it was towards a trade in, but said he would dig it out and see.

 

what if I buy an extended warranty and I total my car - is there a prorated refund?

 

Yes. Toyota prorates the time left for refund, regardless of reason if you cancel (less an admin fee of $25 if I recall last time). So if you buy a 7 year warranty and total or trade the car in 4 years, you do loose money having paid up front during the first 3 years. But I personally don't think that the 7 year 100,000 mile warranty with 0 deductable will be available for $1,055 in 2 or 3 years.

Thus, I bought the Platinum (dealer did not even offer gold) with my car (esp since I saved 8.5% sales tax due to hyrbrid exemption). Labor charges at the shop keeping going up (fluctuates of course on locaiton; $92 here and $78 in ID). As for 8 year/125,000 warranty - keeping it 7 would be a first for me so its enough. The battery is covered for 7 years, so I bought it for the silly stuff like bluetooth, CD player (friends ate some and it cost $300 to get it fixed), AC, door handle (mom's fell off on her Camry : )

Not being mechanical, a 0 ded also encourages me to take it in anytime I think there is a remote chance of a problem, unlike if I was paying. I am 95% sure I would spend $1,050 in 7 years and if I sell early, will entice a private buyer to purchase since transferable.

 

I seriously doubt that Toyota will reimburse you the cost of the premium if you make no claims after the warranty expires. That's like Geico giving you all your money back after ten years when you haven't made any claims and you decide you don't want to drive anymore. Makes no sense whatsoever.

 

Some third party insurers will do that but not Toyota. You can get a refund for unused portions if you cancel.

If you know you are going to get it then one advantage I see in getting it now rather than later is the extra protection it give you for car rentals and motel expenses if travelling.

The longer term and higher milage limits should make the car much more valuealbe to a second buyer when you are ready to let it go. I've never kept a car long, but if I were looking for a used car with 50,000 miles on it, finding one with a factory warranty for another 75,000 miles would give me peace of mind. I never considerd a 75,000 mile warranty as very useful and the 100,000 is probably a crap shoot, but I think there are decent odds that before 125,000 miles you may need this, even with a Toyota. If you don't then at least you've spread the loss over 125,000 miles rather than 100,000.

 

I read an article a few years back that suggested something similar to this. However you would take, for any purchase, the money that you would have spent on an extended warranty and put it into a savings account. Over time, the money you would have spent on the washing machine warranty, the big screen TV warranty, etc. would end up with you having way more money than you would imagine.

Makes sense considering the likely hood that all of those items will fail and require extensive warranty work. Even if you needed something kind of spendy for something like a car, you would probably have more than enough to cover it.

Just an interesting concept I guess.

 

Just my opinion -- the extended warranty is worth it to people who will sell their cars before the warranty is up. I know that if I was buying a used car, I would jump at a well maintained single-owner car with 6 - 12 months of bumper to bumper warranty.

Me -- I prefer to the save the money, adhere to a good maintenance schedule, and shoot for 20 years of ownership.

 

Actually Don, I agree with what you read. They make a great point! I don't generally purchase extended warranties; and maybe I should've been setting money aside in lieu of the extended warranty, but I haven't.

In the case of a Prius, each has to decide how much peace of mind they'll have without the extended warranted, i.e., do they anticipate or will they be able to afford to fund any expensive out-of-warranty repairs in years 4-7. For everyone the determining factors will be different, e.g., past repair experience, anticipated future earnings, knowledge of Hybrid technology (or lack thereof), experience with Toyota, etc. There really is no blanket right or wrong answer

Anyway, your point is well taken. Most of us, though just don't have the discipline to set aside all that cash! It would be nice, though, to have $10,000 setting in a unexpected repairs account!

 

My two cents. Before I bought my Prius I owned at 2005 BMW 325 Ci. I never believed in extended warranties, always thought they were a waste of my money. Besides, this was a BMW, supposedly a top-flight machine built by those German engineers.

Two months after the four year warranty expired, my air conditioning went out. Took it to an A/C specialist (because I was going to be smart and not take it to the dealer where they would empty my pockets). The bill? $2,100.

I've learned my lesson. The Prius is filled with advanced electronics, all run by an onboard computer. Anyone out there have a computer? Those little boxes that you have to reboot again and again and again....

Buy the extended warranty. And you can get it for $1,055...don't pay any more.

See the following post:

http://priuschat.com/forums/sponsor...rius-extended-warranty-service-contracts.html

 

Yes, he's right. The risk for any car above 100K to 125K is higher. And, with the possibility of maintenance being cut or lax by a 2nd owner... the risk is greater.

 

That is the reason the 7 series BMW depreciate like rocks because their maintenance is so high after the warranty expires. As to Toyota, I got the extended warranty and never had to use it yet. I have a little more than one year to go before it expires. Only reason I got it was because of the new technology. If it were a Corolla or Camry, no chance would I buy an extended warranty. Toyotas are very reliable and not as expensive as European cars to repair.

 

I seriously doubt that Toyota will reimburse you the cost of the premium if you make no claims after the warranty expires. That's like Geico giving you all your money back after ten years when you haven't made any claims and you decide you don't want to drive anymore. Makes no sense whatsoever.[/quote]

Sorry if my grammer is not perfect but if you had read my entire post; I did not say Toyota would refund the premium after 7 years if you did not use it. My examples said if you cancel after 4, they prorate. The implied conclusion of this would be one gets a pro-rated portion back I pointed out that you loose the 3/7 of the cost, implying thats a reason to wait until right before the mfg warranty ends...but also said that I thought the cost would be higher so chose not to wait.

 

:cheer2:

 

I had a 5 year warranty on my Corolla. That's what was offered to me at the time. In the two years since the warranty has expired, I have paid more in repairs than what the warranty cost.
I think I will be getting the 8 year at some point.

 

With all the upgrades and options people talk about adding on, for about $11/mo you can add an 8 year $0 deductable worry free driving warranty? That looks like the bargain of the century.

It is insurance which means some people never use it and some people use it a lot. It averages out for Toyota but for those that don't use it it at least provides a peace of mind and for that do need it the potential savings is huge.

My daughters Suburau needed a $3500 tranny just after the warranty expired. Should have just thrown it away. The platinum warranty covers a lot of small items that can go bad, especially over the timespan of 8 years or 125,000 miles.

 

Funny how people (who are not mechanical in terms of being able to fix their own auto) will pay $1,800 for a questionable navagation system but think $1,050 is a waste of money for 7 years. With the money I saved on Nav, my next Nuvi was paid for, and the EW, with $500 left for "assessories."

 

"Peace of Mind"

I've never understood that value statement in a discussion regarding the financial decision whether to buy an extended warranty. Might as well include "Mental Anguish" when the warranty cost is not taken advantage of.

I think what people are actually saying is they have not choice, because they are unable to self-insure the rare high repair cost. Of course, this leads to asking why they bought a car beyond their means in the first place ...

 

I have enough money to lease a CRV for my business (first time in years I did not pay cash for a car) and buy the P but why would I self insure when there is such a high probabilty that by purchasing, I will break even or save money (rhetorical Q). Esp. in my state we pay 8.2% sales tax on service such as repairs, in addition to parts.

So why would I not lock in the warranty for $1,055 (0 ded) with no sales tax during the hybrid holiday, not to mention, lock in my local dealer shop rate of $92 an hour (its less in Topeka, etc. - and unlike many of our members, I am not mechanical nor wish to throw darts when it comes to off site shops which are not much less). No probability estimate here - 100% sure the shop rate will not be going down the next seven years (scary to think it will soon cross $100).

Per my earlier threads, my mom's door handle fell off her Camry and a friend's Avalon ate her CDs. Both were costly expenses so its not the hybrid parts I am worried about Based on owning other Hondas, Toyotas, and various american cars, if, I was going to self insure any car, it would be a Honda.

 

There may be a lot of things you don't understand.

I have a choice and I am going to chose to buy an extended warranty soon.

I am financially very comfortable. I can afford to rebuild my Prius if necessary. However I think for many, myself included, $1000 for the "security" of avoiding potentially large repair costs isn't a matter of buying a car beyond our means.

I never buy warranties on throw away items like TV's and appliances, but while I can afford repairing my Prius if I need to, I really don't want to be nickle and dimed to death if by some chance I get a car that does not hold up well. Additionally, I've never kept a car more than 2.5 years and I really think I may want to this time. However if I don't keep it a long time, I think having a warranty like that will be appealing to a used car buyer. I've only bought but a few used cars and one of the issues have always been buying unknown issues. If I were the type to buy a used car, then looking at one with say 50K left on the factory warranty would be something I would find valuable.

If you don't think the "value" is there then look at the "certified" used prices on Edmunds compared to the PPV and Retail prices. The EW effectively allows you to offer a car that has as many or more guarentees than the certified used car.

You are correct about the Mental Anguish though. A lot of people do indeed have that feeling as they purchase a car with a lot of unknown's. Peace of mind can be obtained a lot of ways. For some knowing the past Prius has been dependable will do. For some it's owning a Toyota. Some, it's having the money to pay for repairs. For many it's knowing no matter what happens I can drive this car for 125,000 miles for about $11/mo

 

Can someone tell me - just what is and in not covered in the Toyota extended warranty?