Extended warranty...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cyberbro @ Oct 13 2007, 09:43 AM) [snapback]525143[/snapback]</div>

Southeast does not sell the genuine Toyota warranty...they sell a third-party warranty.

Edited to add that Virginia is not part of Southeast Toyota

 

If you're going to buy it, there's no point in waiting. It's 100,000 miles on the odometer. And I believe it's the car being 7 years old, not 7 years from the date you purchase it, so buying it when the car is just shy of 3 years old doesn't cover you until the car is just shy of 10 years old.

And if something beyond the standard warranty but covered under the extended warranty comes up in the first three years and you waited (OK, rare but could happen) you're not covered.

As to the "put it in the bank", I don't know what kind of interest $1000.00 gets but I'll bet it wouldn't cover a major repair of several thousand dollars.

I bought it for peace of mind. This car is more complicated than anything I've owned and even though I have a 2005, there are still some unknowns. I bought the 7 year/ 75,000 mile because I don't drive that much.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cyberbro @ Oct 13 2007, 09:43 AM) [snapback]525143[/snapback]</div>

Two points.

First, heiche, the PC member who asked the question, is located in Virginia, which is located in the Mid-Atlantic, not the Southeast region.

Secondly, Toyota Motors Sales is not the importer/distributor in the Southeast region, JM Family Enterprises, Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET) is. Whatever extended warranty they sell is a third party product, not the real thing from Toyota Financial Services.

P.S. I have done some additional research. Fidelity Warranty Services, Inc., is a subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises.

 

I've had quite a lot of experience with Fidelity (my old VW constantly had problems, so I had much opportunity), and while I wouldn't go so far to say that they're "crooks" or anything of the sort, I found them extremely difficult to deal with.

Obviously any warranty company is going to try to minimize the amount of stuff they'll pay for, because that's their business, but they seemed to go above and beyond the call when it came to being deceptive and making demands before paying out. Getting refunded for a rental car while the warrantied car was in the shop was particularly difficult (they would often "lose" paperwork I'd sent in) and they'd never pay the full cost of the rental. I think it was something like $20/day, which won't even get you a bicycle.

Additionally, the terms of the contract seemed intentionally confusing, leading me to believe my warranty was still in effect when it actually wasn't.

Again, I don't think they did anything illegal or criminally negligent, but dealing with them was almost more annoying than bringing the car in for service in the first place.

There might be no alternative, but after reading this, I felt compelled to share my experiences.

 

Can extended warranty transferable to new owner? I am thinking of buying a used one with extended warranty.

 

I've never before bought an extended warranty, but I did for my '09 Prius. Plus, the dealer sold it to me at cost. Here's the best part, for an added incentive, if I remain the original owner and don't use the extended warranty, I will get a full refund. It's up to me to remember to file a claim within 30 days of the expiration date 7 years from now, so I've already put a note on my 2016 calendar. Ask for a similar feature. Shopping around with the prices on this forum, I see I paid almost 50% more to have this refund option. So now I'm reconsidering...

Interesting situation for the extended warranty company: They usually bet that you won't need to use their service. In my case, the company is betting that I will need to use the service....

 

For what it's worth, here's my opinion on extended warranties.

I do not buy an extended warranty on ANY product - not on a car, not on a TV, not on a cellphone, not on anything. Sure, over the years, I've had to cough up some cash for a few expensive repairs. However, overall, I'm way ahead of the game. When I say way ahead, I'm talking thousands of bucks.

Why is this my approach (other than the fact it works)? First, I do my research when making major purchases. I stick with products and manufacturer's who have a reputation for reliability and low repair incidence. I figure I'll pay a higher initial price for, say, a Toyota or a Honda, than I would for a comparable vehicle from another manufacturer. This higher price IS kind of like paying extra for an extended warranty. The second reason I take this approach is that independent research has repeatedly shown that extended warranties are a high profit product for manufacturer's, meaning that they charge a lot more for the warranty than they expect to put out for repairs.

There are only two reasons that might impel me to buy an extended warranty. If, for some reason, I decided to buy a product that had a history of poor reliability, I might consider an extended warranty. The other reason is if I had trouble maintaining an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses, having an extended warranty would be like having a forced savings account for repairs.

 

"At cost" of course means the dealer's cost. The underwriter still expects to make a fat profit on the sale to you. If you never use it the "total" refund will not include the value of the interest they earned while having your money for seven years.

If one can't afford the tiny possibility of paying out a few thousand dollars for a major repair, that strongly suggests one really can't afford to buy a new car.

 

Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and canceled the extended warranty with the refund option. Too expensive, and I understand that dealing with 3rd companies on warranty issues down the road is anything but easy and enjoyable...

I'm a habitual do-it-yourselfer, and have never before purchased an extended warranty on anything. I'm also a big fan of Consumer Reports magazine, they tend to also shy away from extended warranties.

However, there are pros and cons for everything, and this Prius has so many computers and electronics on it, and it's still relatively new technology, I did purchase the Toyota-sponsored warranty through this chat forum. Piece of mind, great price as warranties go, but yes, just like any insurance, hopefully I'll never have to use it. Another added benefit of the Toyota sponsored extended warranty is the unlimited miles to tow to the nearest dealer for a covered repair. I live on an insland, and it's 50 miles to the nearest dealer. That could be an expensive tow.