Prius v - Extra Care Protection - Is It Advisable?

We purchased one... but it was 8 years, 125k miles, and we paid a lot less than what you've been quoted. There is a lot of room to haggle, so definitely don't pay full price!

 

Do a search on extended warranty and you will find some people pay less than $1250 for that exact Toyota warranty in the US. I assume you must be in Canada since you are talking KM. Not sure how it works there.

 

I listen to an auto show on Sundays and his advice about extended warranty's is to wait until your warranty expires. The reason being is what if you total the car of sell it? If it is transferable that would be a different story. But don'y invest in something you may not use.

 

Toyota warranties are transferable and could help sell a high mileage hybrid ("still has factory warranty at 100k for another 25k miles" would sound good to me if I were buying that used car).

You have to buy a Toyota extended before your existing 3yr/36k mile one expires, not after or else you can't get a Toyota warranty. The aftermarket warranties will make you fight and cry for a new part if needed.

Most items are 36k miles or 3 years standard, powertrain 5yr/60k, some hybrid parts 8 years/100k. See Toyota Auto Warranty and Extended Warranty Information. So because the powertrain is 5 years and most hybrid parts are 8 years then the extended is just adding a little in those areas. But the devils in the details.

 

An extended warranty on any product is generally a bad deal. They are offered only because they have huge profits for the seller. Prius cars have a pretty good reliability record. The main "traction" battery has an 8 year warranty from Toyota (10 years in some states, I understand), so your extended warranty doesn't even provide coverage for what is the most expensive repair you are likely to need. Extended warranties often have major loopholes built into them that make it hard to collect if you ever do have a claim against it. Take the $4000, put it in the bank, and use the money to pay for any repairs as they are needed. After 10 years, I think you'll have just about all of the money still in the bank.

 

There are several companies that offer Toyota brand extended warranties at very low prices. I am not plugging any one dealer but I found a company called Midwest Toyota in a chat forum on Edmunds.com. I bought an 8 year, 100,000 mile genuine Toyota extended warranty with NO deductible for under 1300.00 (about $100 over dealer cost). I have heard of other dealers around the US giving similar deals. It pays to research & shop around. YES, it's a genuine Toyota Warranty...apparently, this company sells volumes of them!

See my message in this column....you can still purchase it and return the one you overpaid on (you will lose a small portion of it based on the amount of time you have owned it)

 

I agree with you whole heartedly. There are no loopholes when you have cash. It will even work to fix your broken TV.

 

Every independent study I've every read says extended warranties are a bad deal.

The cost of the extended warranty covers:
1. The expected costs of labor and parts for the expected repairs over the life of the warranty.
2. The cost of administering the claims (working with the mechanic, paperwork, etc).
3. The costs of selling the warranty.
4. The cost of administering the selling of the warranty.
5. The commission to the sellers (both salesperson, managers and company/dealer).
6. The profit to the warranty company.

By not buying the warranty, you save the costs associated with items 2 thru 6 above. You spare your mechanic the hassle of dealing with the insurance company. And you save yourself any anguish over what is and isn't covered. Nothing is.
By not buying an extended warranty, you accept the risk associated with item 1 above and its associated costs. I've heard repeatedly that is, on average, around 20 to 30% of the total cost of the warranty is paid out in repairs. And that seems reasonable given the other costs. But you save the costs associated with items 2 through 6 which are more than twice as costly as the expected costs of repairs.

Extended warranties are like a casino:

• some who play will win
• a very very few will win very big
• most by far will lose
• the casino will make a lot of money.

Only the casino odds are so much better...there the percent returned to the player is generally more than 80% as opposed to the warranty where it approaches 20-30%. Like a casino, you hear the stories of the people who win big and that persuades you to play. You mostly don't hear about all the many, many more people who lose.