I'm on the verge of sending my cancellation letter to Toyota today. I paid the dealer $2,100 on 3/27/2010 for the Platinum Vehicle Service Agreement, but the consensus on this forum seems to be that I'll lose $ on this deal. I'll get about 98.8% of the money back (applied to the loan) if I cancel now. Please let me know what you think I should do... (especially if you are a Prius owner who has gotten at least $2,100 in value from having such an agreement!) Thanks
I bought it and at the time I knew I what I was getting into and I knew I was potentially getting ripped off - but I am still okay with it, because I have realistic expectations and I've done my research. There are much worse ways to use money.
It is going to be very difficult to find a person that made out on a Toyota Extended warranty. They are the most reliable cars in the world. I put 305,000 miles on my 2000 4Runner with less then $1,000 repairs over 10 years.
That's just my problem - due to personal scheduling issues I made this decision hastily on the day of purchase. I hadn't done the research and my expectations weren't realistic because the "no use, no lose" aspect of the agreement was either misrepresented to me or I just misunderstood it. There are definitely worse ways to use money but there are also potentially better ways... the peace of mind is worth a certain price but it's difficult to put a price tag on it. It's good that you're still OK w/ your decision, I wish I was. Will really kick myself if I cancel this and then have a major repair in 2016...
Until this purchase in Feb, I had never considered a VSA (and I have owned a 2003 Prius). However, I was able to borrow a new 2010 prior to purchase and was able to spend a day "under the hood". The vehicle is so much more complex than a Gen I that I opted for the VSA (which was priced at $1200). Probably unnecessary, but I feel a little more secure since this is a new generation in its first year, and I can just imagine what an out-of-warranty repair bill will cost even for the simplest problem.
The Gen 3 is not really so much more complex than a Gen 2 or 1 and in fact has many of the same technologies present in the previous generations. While it may be a new generation, it's more like a Revision C than Revision A in terms of the hybrid system.
Yes I think you should cancel. My understanding is you have until the normal 3yr/36Kmile warranty runs out to decide if you want to buy an extended warranty. If you should decide you want it after all get it online through this site and it will cost quite a bit less. Chances are after 3 years you will decide you don't need it. I have never bought an extended warranty on anything and by now I have saved enough money by not buying them to fix anything that breaks.
The so-called Platinum warranty has been offered here through PriusChat for years, for about $1000 if I remember correctly. I do not know current details, but if I was thinking about a warranty, I'd look to purchase here first if the price was competitive. I personally 'self-insure' but of the many warranties I have scoffed at, the Prius one is certainly one of the best I have seen -- maybe *the* best. If I intended to sale my car before the warranty was up, I would have bought it. addendum - the forum deal:http://priuschat.com/forums/sponsor...-extended-warranty-service-contracts-123.html
I know what you're saying, but in a way, it's like saying you don't know anyone who made out on life insurance. You buy it because, if lightning hits, there isn't enough to help the people close to you. If I were keeping a car past 36 mo / 36k, I'd consider the extended warranty because it trades a known and budgetable loss (cost of ext warranty) for the variability and uncertain costs of failure of a key major component. With all the electrical circuits and computer chips in the Prius, even though it seldom breaks down, it can cost quite a bit to get it repaired if something does go.
I think that, as a composite of views of other posters, the direction is clear. First, cancel FSA you have now & get the $ against your loan. Second, drive the car for the lesser of 35,000 miles or 36 months; determine then if you're going to keep it very long term, and how reliable it has been. If so, strongly consider buying the VSA then (just before MFG warranty runs out) and buy from the connection on PriusChat where you can buy the VSA for about $1,000.
It depends on the level of risk you're willing to take. Personally, I'm not a risk-taker, so I'll spend the money in order to not fret about if/when something goes wrong, how much it will cost. Additionally, as Aegison mentioned, it takes the unpredictability out of the equation.
You have summed up perfectly my strategy. On a related note: I don't understand the price disparity for this plan. If it was just a dealer markup, then wouldn't I expect to only get back from Toyota Financial the "wholesale" value rather than almost the entire price paid? How does the dealer make money by charging double the value for the same plan that can be obtained elsewhere, if all of that money goes straight to Toyota rather than the dealer taking their profit/commission off the top? I was actually rather surprised that I would be getting almost all my money back (knock wood that I actually do)...
Until you hit 35000 miles or 35 month's there is no risk, cancel it and shop at 35K/35mo as advised above. You can get your extended warranty then probably for less than you paid your dealer.
From my recent experience in trading in my Gen II with extended warranty for a Gen III, I did opt for the extended warranty up front because I wanted it in the payment. Toyota doesn't get the upside over the cost-to-dealer of the coverage to sell. So, the dealer has all the incentive to push its cost up as far as possible. Toyota Financial does make the entire refund when that's requested and, as I understand, debits the dealer's account for the amount of their profit which is being refunded. That aside, what I saw, the dealer really does have a very high upside $ potential on it. It's usually the finance guy who sells it, and they can pretend they're getting beaten to death on your demands for a lower price on it. If you haven't looked at this site, or found out otherwise that it can be had for ~$1000, you just may bite at $2000 or $1500.
That is like comparing apples to oranges. Actually that is the worse example you can possible give. That is a fair argument. The Prius has a lot more technology based systems that can break down. Some might say it does not have a track record to get an average failure rate over time. I would recommend that you go to the first and second gen forums and ask how many people has issues over the last 10 year. You will find that every generation of the Prius has an amazing track record and very few people have ever had issues. This is typical for any Toyota. I have been a Toyota owner for many years. I put 305,000 on my 4Runner with less than $1,000 in total repairs over 10 years. My 2010 Prius has 25,000 miles on it and it has had zero issues. I guarantee I will not have issues for many years to come.
