Toyota Extended Warranty is it worth it for a 2010?

For sure an extended warranty •might• pay for itself, but it almost surely won't. Here in Northern California, I can take my Prius to Luscious Garage, so I'm not concerned about getting ripped off by a Toyota dealer on out-of-warranty work.

 

As I stated in the other thread, after reading the warranty/maint guide, it is confusing on whether the 150k warranty applies to the inverter. The maint guide on pg. 19 that the inverter is covered for 8/100k under the hybrid component warranty. On pp. 23 and 24, it mentions coverage for components which affect performance on a smog test, and also, a small footnote which states that the hybrid battery is warrantied for 150k. Nowhere does it mention explicitly mention that the inverter is covered under the extended California Emissions Warranty provision. So, while it may be covered, I certainly would not bank on it since it does not state so explicitly.

 

Yup, inverter would seem like an item they could wiggle out of given that it doesn't have a direct effect on emissions.

 

So an extended warranty is worth it if you buy one for more than 100,000 miles AND the inverter fails during that period AND the repair cost exceeds the cost of the extended warranty. Possible, but not likely.

 

Consider taking a longer term financial view and ask yourself:

1. To what extent do you plan to purchase warranties on all your future cars?
2. What is your risk tolerance?

Warranties are priced so that they are profitable to the warranty company for an entire market, not the consumer. You may get more than you pay for on a particular warranty, but the more warranties you buy, the more likely you are to lose money.

Warranties give a false peace of mind. If you can get past that and increase your risk tolerance, you can take control of the situation and make a better financial choice.

If you calculate the total purchase cost for waranties on a lifetime of cars you come up with a large number; the vast majority people will not recover this amount in warranty claims. The odds are always much higher that the warranty is a bad deal, so the rational and best economic choice is to self-insure and not buy a warranty on any of the cars you purchase in your lifetime.

I learned this academically in college in Business Statistics 101, but more importantly, I have experienced it to be true over the past 40 years of car ownership.

 

Hi all,

I'm happy to have found this forum, and could use your advice since this is my first car purchase ever and I really don't know anyone who knows anything about cars who can help me.

I just bought a CPO Prius III with 34k miles on it and am mulling over the two Platinum VSA extended warranty options the dealer offered (8 year/100k miles for $1600 and 8 year/125k miles for $1850) and a maintenance plan. I'm heading into the dealership tomorrow and will need decide on at least the extended warranty options then.

All the servicing for the vehicle has been done at this dealership and there is a new battery (the original battery was defective in 2011). I calculated that at most, I'll put on about 12k miles per year. I hope to have it for the next 5 years at least.

1-From previous posts, it looks like the extended warranty plan just isn't worth it or if I do it, I should go for the 125k plan in case something happens after 100k. I can afford to cover repairs if needed. I did see that the inverter ("Inverter Assembly with Converter") is covered under the platinum VSA if this is the part referenced? Certified Used Vehicle Service Agreements. For my particular situation, do you think I should pass on the extended warranty?

2- The dealership also offered me a maintenance plan for $985 (down from $1250 supposedly) which offers free oil changes, tire rotations, and servicing for the lifetime of the car. I will be super diligent about maintenance. What are your thoughts on a maintenance plan and does it matter if I get it serviced at the same dealer?

Thanks for any advice!

 

The dealer is there to make money. Do not do any of it.

 

Ext. Warrranty paid for vibrating driver side mirror, rear brake squeal (car around 39k miles), passenger side rpm based rattle (started around 42k miles, fixed @44k miles), and oil maint. Cover. 8/100k for $1k. Guess it already paid for itself in my case.

 

So you paid over $1,000 to fix a vibrating mirror, squeal on your brake and a passenger side rattle.

You got a great deal!!!!

Imagine if something on the car really broke. You would have made out even more.

 

Paid Over 1000? What are you talking about? Yeah, side mirror change alone is like 300, oil door 200+ and the tsb for the passenger side rattle 300, brake tsb 300. Still have 7 years 55k miles of warranty left, Great deal? Heck yeah!!

 

I have always been aware that the Prius Hybrid battery pack is not covered but when researching I found this:
How long does a Toyota Prius battery last? How much does it cost to replace one? - Yahoo! Answers

Note the second paragraph!
“In the US, the entire hybrid system (which includes the hybrid battery pack) is warrantied for 8 years/100,000 miles.”

What am I missing?

 

There is a factory warranty that comes free with the vehicle.

There is an extended warranty that cost between $1,000 to $2,500 depending on how bad the scum bag dealer wants to rip you off.

The free warranty covers the Hybrid battery pack for up to 8 years or 100,000 in all states. In other states it covers it even longer. Again this coverage comes free with the car.

The extended warranty never covers the battery. If by some very slim chance the battery died between 100,000 and 125,000 miles it would not be covered.

The worse thing is scumbag dealers tell all customers that if the battery dies on the car after 36,000 miles it will be a large out of pocket expense. They pray on people not knowing it is covered 8 years or 100,000 miles. When I bought my car the scum bad dealer feed me that line. I called him a lier and asked what other BS do you want to try to sell me. It helped get out the door faster.

I am now very close to 100,000 miles with zero repairs. My last Toyota did not have anything what would be covered by any warranty until I hit 170,000 miles. Toyota’s are amazing cars.

 

Is this a joke? Or is this a salesman posing to try to boost sales on extended warranties?
The dealership charges to do TSB repairs?
I bet the service advisers just pencil whip the "prices" they print on the invoices for covered services with ultra high made-up numbers as a way to reinforce the decision to buy and extended warranty so the customer will be guaranteed to buy one again on the next car. I doubt the warranty service company is really paying the prices you see on your invoice.
If I had those minor issues and the dealer wanted to charge those prices at that low mileage I would not wish I had an extended warranty. I would just feel ripped off by the dealership. It would simply be my first an last Toyota I would ever buy. I would not reward the company by buying another Toyota plus an extended warranty on the next vehicle.

 

I bought an extended warranty for $1900 for a new 2011. Two things: 1) given the statistical reliability of the car, it is likely a mistake. I did not research just how reliable this car really is, so I think I bought a warranty that is not necessary. 2) I think I paid too much for it, based on what I have read on this forum. They say I will receive a refund if it is not used, but unless I blow a transaxle, compressor, or some other major league, low probability event, it is highly likely not to be worthwhile unless it is refunded.

 

When people post things that do not make sense, usually they are made up or wrong. I do not belive he had all those issues with the Prius.

 

I think that's a lot of money for what they will be doing. However, I'm too old to be crawling under my car to do oil changes, etc., so there's a price to be paid for having somebody else do it. I purchased some kind of extended maintenance plan (4 years, I think) so I don't have to crawl under my car for 1.5 more years. Don't get too fooled by just the costs for the oil and filter, but maybe go to your local car repair place and see what they will charge to do it all. I have to admit that I like the convenience of just dropping off my car at the dealership and having them do the maintenance, then picking up my car at the end of the day.

I like to keep my weekends open for chasing my girlfriend around the living room, not for doing car maintenance.

Mike

 

For many, doing an oil change is a form of relaxation while taking personal pride in caring for their vehicle.
And.....in many cases.....it just might be more satisfying than chasing a girlfriend around the living room.

 

I let everybody decide their own medicine on what they believe is relaxing. I did all of my oil changes prior to owning my Prius, but I never considered it to be relaxing. Satisfying? Yes, as I saved money and was taking care of my car. But it was not relaxing for me. And I take personal pride in caring for my Prius by taking it to the dealer for its timely maintenance. I hope people here think that having the dealer do the maintenance is considered caring for their car.

But more satisfying that chasing my girlfriend around the living room? Not even close for me. But my girlfriend is considerably younger than me, so catching her can take a little effort on my part. But after that, it is very satisfying! Are you telling me that your results differ?

But my bigger point was that some people don't want to crawl under their car. I see nothing wrong with them paying the extra money to have the dealer (or whoever) do it for them. The corollary is that just because you don't crawl under your car to do the maintenance doesn't mean that you don't take personal pride in caring for your car. I think that was what the poster was getting at.

Mike

 

Reading things like this really bug me. I wish more people would start realizing that all dealers are scumbags. 99% of what they tell you is a lie. Toyota does not offer a maintenance package for the life of the car. The dealer made that up. The largest package is 5 years or 75,000 miles. It sounds like the dealer wanted $985 for that.

If you open your owner’s manual and read what needs to be done up to 75,000 miles this is what you will find.

The Prius comes with a free 25,000 pre paid maintenance.

0 to 25,000 miles cost $0
30,000 miles oil change $50, replace cabin and engine filter $30
40,000 miles oil change $50
50,000 miles oil change $50
60,000 miles oil change $50, replace cabin and engine filter $30
70,000 miles oil change $50

Total $310 (You wasted $675 buying extended maintenance)

You do not have to crawl under the car. Any local Lube Shot will replace the oil with 0W20 for $50. Just spend a little time and do some research. Math is a good thing.