Is the Toyota Care Plus worth it? Extended warranty?

After reading these posts, I was having buyers remorse for getting the extended warranty at the time of purchase. I know that the chances of anything major going wrong with my new Prius is probably slim. I purchased one on my 2005 xA and never used it so I felt buying it was probably a waste and wasn't going to make the same mistake this time around. Guess what, after seeing how expensive and specialized many of the components are on this car compared to the xA, I am now looking at it as a peace of mind purchase for at least the time period it is valid. Like any insurance policy, I hope it won't be needed but if it is I'm sure I'll be glad I have it. One side note, the finance guy told me that since it was in my 0% for 60 month finance package, the purchase of the warranty would be credited to that total amount and would only change the duration of my payments and not the amount. In other words, if I cancel now, I will just be paying a few payments less on the end of my contract instead of less each payment. Since I keep my vehicles until the wheels fall off, I will keep the warranty for the peace of mind I feel by having it at least until after it is paid for. Each of us has to decide what works for them and their own situation and everyone's is different.

 

I just did the same thing two days ago... I was thinking at the time if I really needed it.

SCH-I605 ? 4

 

I don't buy things where the dealer's take is 70% and only 30% goes to parts and labor. Think of who makes money on these extras. Salesperson, sales manager, dealership manager, dealer, warranty company, etc. Then figure sales expense, administrative expense, etc.

So where did I get the 30% figure...why Consumer Reports. Even if they are 100% wrong the statistics say on average don't buy one. Casino odds are infinitely better.

 

My wife's [previous] car was a 1999 Volvo S-80 which we bought new. At 95,000K, it needed work that was going to cost several thousand dollars so she went to the dealer and traded it off on a 2013 Prius III. Because she doesn't know any better, she didn't negotiate and ended up paying close to MSRP and then got bamboozled into buying every kind of warranty that the stealership(sic) could find. When I found out about it the next day, I scheduled a meeting with the sales manager. Long story short, we returned that car, chose a different one(a 2013 Prius IIII) canceled all the warranties and because I had done some on-line research, ended up getting a (price matched) 8/75,000K EW for $770.00 rather than the $1900.00 8/100,000K EW the dealership had convinced my wife she needed. And as I explained to her, what she was really buying was a 5 year EW that would cover her up to the remaining mileage up to 75,000K. Since the majority of her driving (~90+%) is short trip, city driving, I felt it was a good idea, if for no other reason than her piece of mind, to go ahead and kpurchace the EW. In the end, we were able to get 'more car' , the EW and some piece of mind for $50.00/month LESS than what she would have had to pay for the original car deal. Now, if I could only resist the urge to do some mods (which I can't )............. For what its worth, I drive a 2009 RAV4 and put on a lot of highway miles. I bought an EW for it too and was able to purchase it for about half of what the stealership wanted. One last thought. If your're not sure if you want to purchase an EW, yopu don't have to buy it at the time you purchase your car. You have until the either side of the original 3/36K warranty expires. If you wait, you're betting that the price of the EW won't go up. I chose to wait with the one for the RAV and disciplined myself to put $50.00/month into a savings account(for me that was one less fast food meal two days a week which was a good thing...). I literally bought the EW when I had 35,975K on the trucklet which occurred at the 18 month mark. I had calculated correctly and had exactly enough money in the savings account, plus a bit of interest, to 'painlessly' purchase the coverage.

 

Please please do _not_ buy the warranty. Just think about it. 66$ extra for 5 years, that amounts to US$3960/-. You already have a 3 year, 36k full warranty (plus the power train for more time, plus the battery for a lot more time). If some manufacturing flaw were to there you will see it soon enough & it will be covered. I just bought a PriusC (the poor man's Prius) and they tried HARD to sell it to me. They even told me if I do not buy it now it will cost most later, however they will keep the offer open for a "few days" and I can still get the same rate. Finally they showed me the print wherein I could sell the warranty back in a few days (I think a month, but I am not sure). When you go to sell it back they will try to persuade you to keep it, it is strange when they want to sell the car they talk about is excellent quality, once the car is bought they scare you to buy the extended warranty. Do not keep it. They they will reduce the price, do not accept it. Take care, keep your money with you, you worked for it and need it for you and your family. Just my strong opinion. Take care. Regards.

 

A huge part of the reason I bought another Toyota is their legendary reliability. It would seem counter intuitive to me to buy an extended warranty for it, and I did not. Of course I got the shaking heads and serious looks from the dealership, but I would not even discuss it. They generally make 50% profit on those, so it's no wonder they push them so hard.
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My 2 cents as a Prius mechanic: Don't buy an extendend warranty!, a Prius is very unlikely to fail until well over 100k miles and the factory warranty covers all the big stuff, especially in California and other CARB states. Extended warranties are simply profit centers for dealers and salespeople. They are not pushing them to make your life better, they are pushing them to make a profitt. You are better off to buy 2-3 shares of Google than an extended warranty.

If your car ever fails and the dealer says it costs more than you think to fix it, get a 2nd opinion from an independent hybrid shop.

And read the fine print, a lot of warranty companies (like the ones that solicit you via postal mail) don't even cover the Hybrid specific parts!

 

I didn't buy the warranty, but since I know they will bargain with their packages, I got them to bundle the maintenance up to 75k as well as the lost key/road hazard/cracked windshield/dent removal for $20 a month. I thought that was a good deal. I lose keys like nobody's business.

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