Getting a 2014 Prius with 116k miles on it shipped from CA to AZ. I'm buying through Carmax and I'm wondering if the MaxCare would be worth it? Any insight would be helpful as this is my first Prius and my first time buying through Carmax.
Those extended warranties will always make more money for the person selling it than save money for the person buying it. They aren't a wise investment. Put that MaxCare money in a separate bank account and start finding a reasonably price mechanic via friend or family... If you're DIY or even just a fledgling mechanic this website will walk you or a friend or family member through everything. Prius are very easy to care for if you're resourceful but a huge rip-off if you expect a Toyota Stealership to solve all your problems.
welcome! don't buy a 2014 prius until you know what you're stepping in. isn't carmax going out of business?
Extended warranty? While @PriusCamper may be correct, there can be an upside to them. Years ago, I bought a 2001 BMW Z3 from Carmax. I opted for the MaxCare warranty and it worked in my favor. After 6 months, the AC compressor failed. The OEM compressor was over $1200 just for the part. CarMax sent the vehicle to a local BMW dealership for the repair for a total of $1700 and some change. Since I only paid $1500 for MaxCare, I made out. At about 14 months a camshaft sensor went bad and MaxCare took care of that. As I recall, that was about a $400 repair. Long story short, in my case the extended warranty was worth it. More often than not however, extended warranties are profit centers for dealerships. Make the choice that works for you. Congrats on the new car!
Conventional wisdom on parts and labor extended warranties does not apply to central ac systems and gen3 Prius vehicles over 100,000 miles. If you can get a good warranty, do so. The first thing to do is check the vin for updated pistons. I would pass if they were not updated. If a return is not an option, an extended warranty is justified. You did not mention the cost and extent of the warranty option, which is a key factor in its value proposition. If you have no recourse now, then a 3 year 100,000 or longer comprehensive warranty would be a good bet on this car. The second essential factor is the warranty coverage. It should include head gaskets, blown engines, brake by wire systems, failed electric water pumps, inverters, high voltage batteries and the inverter driven ac. Of that list only the ac is reliable. Inverters are still covered by Toyota but have the potental for sudden stranding without warning. Finally a Prius is not all that easy to work on, routine maintenance on egrs is difficult and a used gen3 at today's prices is unlikely to be a good value. Reliability for your family becomes the wild card even if someone else pays for the repairs. But if you have a good warranty and are smart about frequent oil changes, you could come out ahead.
Yeah, when you buy a BMW, which is notorious for outrageous repair prices a simple repair that would cost a couple hundred on an economy car like Prius can easily be $1700 on a BMW. That's a solid example of the exception to the rule. But with Prius and PriusChat the difference between a DIY repair and what a stealership or reputable shop would charge makes it less likely your extended warranty pays for itself. But that's more of an issue of your skills as a mechanic and the value of Priuschat compared to most anything else.
