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Extended Warranty--Yes or No?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by mr.scott.com, Jun 23, 2009.

  1. mr.scott.com

    mr.scott.com New Member

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    Hi folks!

    I have a 2010 model 4 w/ sunroof and nav coming in around early to mid July and need to decide beforehand whether I should purchase an extended warranty. I understand that I can get the 100,000 Toyota warranty on this site for $1050, and I can do so anytime in the first 3 years/36K miles, so price is not my question. I am more concerned about whether it should be purchased at all.

    I bought the 100,000 mile warranty for my 2005 Prius, which now has 50,000 miles on it, and have never, ever used it. I also have a Honda van that I purchased an extended warranty for, and it just hit 100,000 miles and I never used that one either. However, for the three American cars I bought in prior years I got the extended warranties and they paid for themselves 10 times over.

    Since Toyota (and most Japanese mfrs) are putting out quality products, is the extended warranty as important as it used to be (and still is, in my opinion, for most American cars)?

    Ahould the fact that this is the first year for this new model play a factor since there is no historical data for this vehicle (as currently manufactured and configured)?

    Also, would the solor panel sunroof system be covered as part of the nice long warranty that Toyota gives for the main hybrid parts (i.e., the battery), or is that just covered by the 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty?

    As an FYI, I tend to keep and drive cars for a long time, usually 150,000+ miles.

    Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    Thanks!
     
    #1 mr.scott.com, Jun 23, 2009
  2. wave_slider

    wave_slider New Member

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    mr.scott, I would recommend getting the warranty if there is a 100% money back guarantee for not making a claim. At our store you pay somewhere around $2k for the warranty, but if you don't make a claim on it, you can get the entire purchase price returned at the end of the 7th year or 100k miles.
    With the Prius, parts alone can easily exceed the purchase price of the warranty and with $90-$100 / hr. labor cost, even simple repairs can get quite costly. Even if you can't get your money back for just over $1k I would get it. Even the employee cost of the service contract (extended warranty) is much more than $1k.
     
    #2 wave_slider, Jun 23, 2009
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  3. Bill Lumbergh

    Bill Lumbergh USAF Aircraft Maintainer

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    The way I see it, you've got 3 years or 36K miles to decide if you need it. No rush.

    My '05 has the warranty until 7Y/100K as well, and I may never need it. I would wait to see how you (and others) fare in the coming years as far as reliability is concerned.
     
    #3 Bill Lumbergh, Jun 23, 2009
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  4. mr.scott.com

    mr.scott.com New Member

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    If you but the warranty from PC, is it also refundable if it is not used when you hit the end of the warranty period, or that just when purchasing from dealers?

    Why would the employee price for the warranty at a dealership be more than what you can buy it for at PC?
     
    #4 mr.scott.com, Jun 23, 2009
  5. mr.scott.com

    mr.scott.com New Member

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    Waiting to see how well these models fare over the first 3 years is a good idea. I just don't know if I will be inclined to spend the $1K 3 years from now, especially since I could include the cost of the warranty in the amount I borrow. It is hard to think about buying things (like a warranty) for your 3 year old car as opposed to a new car, but that is just a mindset mental thing.
     
    #5 mr.scott.com, Jun 23, 2009
  6. geo626

    geo626 New Member

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    I just bought the same car and told the dealership I could buy the same policy for $1050 some where else. Magicly the price came down to $1050. I didn't buy it
     
    #6 geo626, Jun 23, 2009
  7. mr.scott.com

    mr.scott.com New Member

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    Why not?
     
    #7 mr.scott.com, Jun 23, 2009
  8. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    The dealer cost of the 7y/100k warranty is $990. $1055 is a great deal with a reasonable margin for the dealer. $1600+ is not.

    That being said, I've purcahsed the 7y/100k mile for mine for several reasons - moonroof (will it leak, or will motors fail), exhaust heat recovery (coolant near exhaust parts - will it leak?), electric water pump (will it last 100k?), will the dash plastic stand up to the AZ sun (my 2004's didn't and I had no warranty to fix it with). Between that and the provided rental car and lodging, I felt it was a good insurance policy over the next 7y or 100k miles.
     
    #8 HTMLSpinnr, Jun 23, 2009
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  9. web1b

    web1b Active Member

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    Is the extended warranty really even going to do anything for dash plastic fading and and cracking in the sun? I could see that being not covered even if you had an extended warranty.
    Better off with a sun shade.
    Leaking hasn't been a common problem with any factory install moonroofs I've ever seen or heard about.
     
    #9 web1b, Jun 23, 2009
  10. mr.scott.com

    mr.scott.com New Member

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    Excellent points spinner! Thanks!!
     
    #10 mr.scott.com, Jun 23, 2009
  11. CAR4TWO

    CAR4TWO New Member

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    I don't care for warrantees but we did decide to buy an extended warrantee on our Prius. Someone other than Toyota makes all that electronics. The selling point to me was that it covered everything bumper to bumper for all 7 years. They threw in roadside service and a whole host of goodies for $1,050. Ask for some free oil changes or in my case, since I change my own oil, some oil filters and key chain.

    I would not pay $2,000 or $1,000 more to get my money back in 7 years. The reason is that they would subtract any warrantee work. You have over paid for the first $1,000 of warrantee work. That is a good trade on their part. They get another $1,000 for an option to get your $2,000 back if you don't use it. It's 10.4% interest on your money if you don't use it. It's a $1,000 loss if you do.

    Dan
     
    #11 CAR4TWO, Jun 24, 2009
  12. Blizzy_Pri

    Blizzy_Pri New Member

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    Where's the link to purchase extended warranty on this site? I'm new to this site.
     
    #12 Blizzy_Pri, Jun 24, 2009
  13. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    As I've said in other threads, I'm not a believer in extended warranties or pre-paid maintenance plans, so I won't beat a dead horse.

    Be aware that with other manufacturers (not sure if this applies to Toyota or not), the extended warranty doesn't cover nearly as much as the original factory warranty. Perhaps the Toyota extended warranty does, but you need to understand if it does or not.

    For example, on the BMW I recently sold, the extended warranty (which I didn't buy) didn't cover:
    --accessories (sound system, nav system, etc.)
    --wear and tear items (like suspension parts)
    --body seals and gaskets
    --interior trim and moldings
    --and the list went on

    My point is you need to carefully read the actual warranty document to understand the exclusions, and not simply take the sales or finance guy's word that it covers everything.
     
    #13 stream, Jun 24, 2009
  14. wave_slider

    wave_slider New Member

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    Actually if you use the service contract even once, you can't get any of the money back. I can't believe you can get the warranty cheaper on PC than my employee price, but I guess they gotta make money huh? Our warranty is only valid in the state and if you go out of state, you need to go with a different plan.

    The local plan has $0 deductible, while the other plan is $100. You can use the warranty as many times as you need to and just a few repairs could easily exceed the purchase price of the service contract. Again, for $1050 through PC, I think it's a great deal! But, it's not a bad idea to wait and see how the car fares for a couple of years.

    I also agree about reading the warranty documents to make sure that it covers everything you expect it to. It will not cover "wear and tear" items nor maintenance.
     
    #14 wave_slider, Jun 24, 2009
  15. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat.

    Here's the main thread about purchasing the Toyota extended warranties and prepaid maintenance contracts at discount through PriusChat and Troy/WarrantyShack.com/Toyota of Greenfield, MA (there are links in the opening post):

    http://priuschat.com/forums/sponsor...rius-extended-warranty-service-contracts.html

    Suggestion: Use the Search function in all its permutations, including Advanced Search (and its sub-permutations) and Google Search (which searches for your search terms on PriusChat).
     
    #15 Boo, Jun 24, 2009
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