Toyota Extra Care Platinum or Gold

I challenge anyone to find someone that made out on an extended warranty on any Prius. The car has been shipping for over 10 years. There is a boat load of history.

 

Thank you. Yours too.

Great.

Agreed. We're at a further disadvantage because they know both numbers and we can only guess at them.

Interesting. How did you find that out? Was it published somewhere when they announced the recall?

I admit freely that I'm just guessing at a lot of this based on how I expect the world works, but I have no specific information. That's why I couched much of that post with words like "it's possible" and "I believe".

Oh, and of course you're right, Toyota doesn't repair the cars, the dealer does. I oversimplified. But I'd be surprised if part of their contract didn't include dealers being required to do warranty repairs at some heavily discounted rate. To be honest, the $300 you cite surprises me.

I'm not sure that's an advantage, but okay.

True. I know I've written that also, elsewhere in the thread. I've already written way too much here, probably driving many other PC members nuts, so I didn't want to repeat it.

Never had the experience of arguing over whether a repair should be covered. My only experience with an extended warranty was a used Infinity that needed a new seat motor about 2 weeks into purchase. I don't remember why we had bought the extended warranty, but what we saved on the seat motor repair was more than we had paid for the warranty.

I had a Toyota Corolla, (as well as other cars), that I didn't buy a warranty for. It went almost 200,000 miles before finally giving out, bearing out Judgeless's faith in Toyotas. I considered buying a used Corolla this outing, and if I had I would not have even thought about buying an extended warranty. It's not that I expect the Prius to be less reliable, but that if it does have problems it will be more complicated and expensive to repair. My trusted mechanic told me so.

As a counterpoint to your final point, I like Mainemanx's example of the Honda dealer. If I have an extended warranty, I can be confident that any repairs being recommended are needed and are not being added in just to pad the bill.

 

I've never purchased an extended warranty on any of my Toyotas over my 30 years of owning them, until I just bought my 2010 Prius III. My wife was more comfortable with buying it since the Prius has so much technology. I bought an 8 yr/ 100k mile warranty but the nice thing is that if I don't use it I get the cost of the warranty back toward another car from the dealer. :rockon:

 

Nice discussion! Thanks to all contributors.

AndreUccio, regarding warranty work discounting: people have posted about the bill they receive, showing the amount the dealer is charging and (presumably) Toyota is paying. Others have remarked that labor hours charged are different when the the work is warranty related. Probably fair to say though that none of this prevents Toyota from receiving additional discounts not evident on the receipt handed to the car owner.

You are more trusting than me. The dealership's interests are not particularly aligned with the consumer OR Toyota, but towards dealership profit. Mutual self-interest is in there -- somewhere. I'll readily agree though that Toyota is looking over the dealership mechanic's shoulder to avoid 'padding' as you say.

Consider the recent recalls and warranty work surrounding mat and SUA. Toyota authorized two repairs, cutting the go pedal and attaching the mat to the seat hardware. The dealerships were elated to have the warranty income even though it is *cough* debatable if either make much sense.

Another example, this time the inverter coolant pump: Toyota is picking up the tab for the work and consumers get a 'free' coolant exchange thrown in, even though it is often reasonable to just deal with the problem if it crops up or warning signs occur.

Both examples are meant to point out that dealerships will do warranty work and not ask questions. Somewhat tangentially I'll add that consumers tend to do the same when someone else is paying.

 

Can someone advise what's up with the inverter coolant pump? A search in GenIII hasn't turned up any results about that. (Or is it for another Generation?)

Thanks,
Eric

 

Sorry, I was unclear. What I should have said was I don't much care if they pad the bill since I wont be paying for it, (making me the proof of your last sentence).

 

That makes little sense. You've never purchased an extended warranty in the past 30 years on any of your Toyotas yet you bought one this time because of the hybrid technology, which has been around in the past 10 years and proven to be extremely reliable. People act like the Gen III is so much more complicated than the Gen II but that's far from the truth.

 

I could not agree more. People think the Prius is a like a space ship and only 5 were ever made. 95% of the car is just like any other.

 

I did a search on PC for "extended warranty" and came up with a couple of threads that might provide some useful data.

First, this one is Prius owners who have hit 100,000 miles. They talk about their experiences, including needed repairs, if any:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/29373-100-000-mile-club-4.html

The second thread led me to this site:

TrueDelta Car Reliability and Gas Mileage Information

He keeps a database of car repairs from all different makes and models, and offers free access if you agree to participate.

(BTW, we need to keep in mind while looking at data on both the thread and the database that they're not random samples, just anecdotal reports from self-selected groups of Prius owners, which could skew the results either way.)

You might be right. The only thing I have to go on is what my "trusted mechanic", (who is also my brother-in-law, not sure if that makes him more or less trusted ). When I started looking at the Prius he said repairs, if needed, would be a lot more expensive than in the Sentra I was driving, due to the advanced electronics. in the Prius.

 

Anyone thinking of buying an extended warranty should read both those links. There are a lot of people with over 150,000 miles with zero repairs. It seems that a wheel bearing is what broke most on the cars. That is $200 to $300 and most people replaced it over 100,000 miles. Past what would be covered by and extended warranty.

I bet your brother-in-law would be shocked on how much he could fix on a Prius. A lot of what I read is wheel bearings. That is the same on an EV, Hybrid or combustible engine car.

 

Very true for OEM parts, but the Prius is in the very enviable position of having a lot more good, lightly used parts in junk yards from accidents than are needed for repairs. Add to that our access to reputable sources and casual expertise from forums like this one, and the *reality* of Prius ownership cost can be quite a bit less than a mechanic would guess.

 

Anyone that is on the wall of buying an extended warranty should look at Consumers Report reliability list of the Prius. The car is never going to break.



The brakes received a bad rating because of a software recall. The recall is covered for the life of the car.

 

So I just purchased my first Prius and the dealer wants to sell me a 6 Year 75000 Mile extended warranty for $1295. He will also extend the current 2 year 25000 mile Toyota Maintenance Care plan out to 4 years and 45,000 miles. Is this a good deal? I'm really unsure what to do as I had kinda talked myself into not taking an extended warranty but sometimes the peace of mind is kinda nice. Plus I got a 0% APR so I wouldnt be paying any interest on the extended warranty either. What do you guys think?

 

Welcome to the forums.

On the extended warranty: Look at the chart above. The Prius is not going to break. I have 52,000 on my 2010 with zero issues. Toyota has a new ad campaign were they claim a Toyota with 100,000 has less repairs then a brand new Ford Fusion.

On the Toyota Maintenance plan: Here is what needs done from zero to 45,000 miles



Inspections you can do yourself. Here are the items that cost money on that list.

10,000 miles – Oil change and oil filter (Covered under your 25,000 plan)
20,000 miles – Oil change and oil filter (Covered under your 25,000 plan)
30,000 miles – Oil change and oil filter ($50-$60), Replace engine air filter ($10)
40,000 miles – Oil change and oil filter ($50-$60), Replace cabin air filter ($12)

The total is $122.00. If they want more than $122.00 they are ripping you off.

 

take the platinum covers everything and 0 deductible

 

Tires? Brakes? Belts? Road Damage? Broken windshield?

There are many items not covered. It only covers things that do not break. Again it is a Toyota, the most reliable cars in the world.

 

Sounds like expensive peace of mind to me. Want peace of mind? Self insure. Put the $1,295 in a money market account. It'll be there when/if you need it.

 

This is the video I mentioned.

I do not understand why people would pay money for an extra warranty on a Toyota when they are more reliable after 100,000 miles than most new cars.

 

Really? Is this guy still posting? Talk about a blow-hard that loves the sound of his own voice (or keys typing)...