Extended warranty of basic coverage worth it?

Put $1200 in an interest bearing account or stable investment and odds are 8 years from now your car will still be without any expensive repair issues and that pile of money will be way bigger than it is now. As in they don't design extended warranties to benefit the customer, they offer them to use fear to boost profits.

Historically, Prius (especially 2004-2009) have consistently been some of the most reliable cars on the road and whenever there's a known defect Toyota has a great history for issuing a recall and doing the repairs at no cost to the owner, even on older models.

 

Unless you drive a lot, like ride share or delivery, it's not really worth it. Even then, the dealer will just argue that something broke because of wear and tear and deny coverage.

 

If you are on top of your maintenance the car should last. My 2005 scion tc hit 219k miles and still going.

 

Toyota gives you a 5 year 60K miles power-train warranty and an 8 year 100K miles on the EV drive components, 10 years 150K miles on the traction battery.
Toyota Battery Warranty
This web sites states that if the traction battery remains below 70% of original capacity; they'll replace it????

 

Nope

 

My opinion:


With Toyotas that are purchased new, there are a couple fringe cases where the extended coverage might be worth it.

1. Money is easily accessible now, but you'll incur significant tax penalties if you have to unexpectedly withdraw multiple thousands a few years from now. By purchasing the extended coverage now, you're basically prepaying for repairs.

2. Money is no real object to you, and you hate the idea of negotiating with the service department or searching for an independent mechanic years down the road if major repairs are needed. In this scenario, you're paying for future convenience.


For the other 99% of us, the extended coverage isn't worth it. Toyota's extended coverage is probably the best in the industry, but most don't need it. And you can always revisit your decision right up to until the original warranty is about to expire; you don't have to commit to getting the extended coverage when you first pick up the vehicle. The extended coverage is a little more valuable if you're buying a used car and aren't 100% comfortable with the maintenance history from the previous owner(s), but if you're buying new, that isn't a concern.

Also, it's very important to estimate your annual milage. Say you expect to put on 150k miles in four years, then that extra coverage isn't really going to cover much. Make sure to consider if the milage and time of the coverage match your usage of the vehicle.

Finally, the very best insurance is simply to do more than just the basic maintenance. Change your oil and filter every 6 months or 5k miles, whichever comes first. Check and replace your air filters when they need it. Change your coolants every 5 years/50k miles(you can go a longer on the original coolant, but do it 5y/50k after that). Change the transmission fluid every 6-7years/60k-75k miles. Test the brake fluid every year and change it when the moisture content gets above 2%. Rotate your tires at least every 10k miles and don't let them get older than 7 years according to the date code on the tire. If you have the HEV model, it's critical you regularly check and clean the HV battery air filter under the rear seat. All of this will cost less than the $1200 and give you a much better chance of the car not needing major repairs over the first 8 years/150k miles.

 

Extended warranties are really nothing but insurance policies with specific exclusionary clauses.

Cash has no exclusionary clauses.

Extended warranty claims have to be approved by the insurance company. Your car might be in the shop and the repair may be delayed for days waiting for the approval.

For example, the warranty may pay for replacing suspension components but not the necessary wheel alignment.

All those commercials cost a lot of money. You, the buyer and previous buyers pay for them on top of what they pay in claims.

If you don't use your savings for repairs, you keep all of your self insured "premiums" with any accrued interest.

 

It's insurance like any other kind of insurance - you probably won't need it but its peace of mind. Make sure its a Toyota warranty, bumper-to-bumper with no deductible or forget it.

 

I'm gonna go against the grain here and recommend the extended warranty, but it is entirely dependent on your situation, and it also MUST be the Toyota-administered zero deductible "Platinum" warranty. This is a true bumper-to-bumper warranty with no deductible, unlike other third party services that others here seem to conflate.

Yes, if you do all your scheduled maintenance and take real good care of your car, then it will last a long time. I do all my maintenance meticulously. I've had and still have European cars running 200k miles strong. However, nowadays cars are loaded to the brim with technology and hardware that is pretty expensive to replace. Issues due to long OCIs aren't what I'm worried about - it's the cost of replacing things like a faulty ECM, display units, or sensors that I have no control over. When I got my '23 Tundra, I opted for the 10yr/125k mi Toyota warranty. It has every option you can think of, and I'd rather spend the 2k up front for that peace of mind for the next 10 yrs. The fact that it was a new generation and being twin turbo was also a big factor.

Our '24 Prius XLE is nowhere near as loaded as the Tundra, but we still opted for the same 10yr/125k mi warranty at a slightly cheaper price than the truck (~1.6k). The standard warranty seemed too short and given this was our first Prius ever, we figured it would be worth the peace of mind.

Pricing is also CRITICAL. Your local dealer will almost always rip you off as much as possible. Mine sold me a much shorter warranty service for more than what I paid for the 10yr/125k mi. You're also allowed to purchase it from ANY Toyota dealership (it's just another Toyota product like the cars), which my local dealer also blatantly lied about to my face. So, I immediately canceled it and went with someone else in Kansas (you can easily find this person in many online forums, but I can PM you if you're curious).

This is why most people think the extended warranty is a complete rip-off, because it really is 99% of the time due to greedy finance managers. At the right price, it's absolutely worth it to me, especially because I plan to drive these Toyotas for well over 10 yrs.

 

The dealer I bought from wanted $3600 for the ext warranty. Lol
He tried to sugar coat it by saying it's only bal bla per month..

 

It was a really eye-opening experience for sure. I know dealerships run on sales, but I didn't expect the finance person to flat out lie to my face about so many things (ie, you can't buy the warranty anywhere else but here, you must get the warranty today, you must finance it, etc etc...)

For anyone who is serious about getting the warranty at the lowest prices in the nation, hit up Jerry at Midwest. I went to him for both Toyotas.

 

Oh if I could have had mine for half the price I'd have done it. But amortizing the cost of nearly 3,000 Canadian for the 7 year warranty I was not gonna have it. I did the math in financing if I did the full 5 years, and the difference between my planned above minimum payments with it on and off, and the difference was stark. Instantly not worth it. It went from 2700 plus tax to nearly 4000 over 3 years... At which point I'd rather pay out of pocket for an unexpected repair. As 4,000 goes a long way to fixing a lot of things.

 

Yeah I would not have done it at 3k either. It's definitely not too late to add it - I think you have up to 3x,xxx miles after purchasing the car new and the cost is prorated a bit. Not sure about the rules in Canada, or whether or not dealers in the US can sell you the warranty. If yes, then it's not too late to call Jerry

 

Extended warranties have a pretty bad reputation, even the Toyota-backed Platinum warranty, because of the way it's sold to you using predatory sales tactics. Don't fall for the dealer/finance manager games - you can always do better on the price they claim is "the best".