Toyota Extra Care Platinum or Gold

I think people are a little hard on the "idea" of an extended warranty.
I agree that in most cases they end up costing more than they are worth. I agree that usually they are not a good financial investment from that standpoint. BUT if you plan to keep the vehicle past the manufacturers warranty AND something major does happen to manifest (which TOYOTA, Prius or otherwise, can happen with any machine) then suddenly an extended warranty can become your best friend.

Also a 3rd Generation Prius, has a lot of "new" untested aspects. New beltless engine, redesigned powertrain...fully electric accessories...heat reclamation system...

Some of these things we won't really know the long term, real world durability until it's been out in the real world being used for a couple of years.

Yes, I personally still wouldn't buy an extended warranty...BUT if someone wants the peace of mind? I think a valid arguement for making the purchase if you are able..and want to, does exist.

Even if it does turn out to be a $1000 down the crapper...if you balance that against someone basically having 100% confidence that they will have a fully maintained, operational vehicle for 5 years...that peace of mind could argueably be worth the money.

If you think you are most likely to own the vehicle for 3 years and then trade it in? No way I'd do it...

 

^^ Are you a CR member ?
I am, and remember being nagged by CR to fill out the survey.

 

Same question here. Do you subscribe to Consumer Reports? Once a year they send out a extremely detailed survey to their subscribers to fill out. It asks how many times have you had a repair over the last year, 2 year, 5 years, 10 years on everything on that list. Look at the list. Over the last 10 years people have not had any issues with the Prius.

Obviously you did not watch the commercial. The test was done by AMCI Testing. Here is some info.

AMCI Testing - For nearly 30 years, AMCI Testing has been the single most sought after source for the investigation and substantiation of automotive product claims. We serve virtually every global automotive brand with absolute impartiality and total confidentiality.

The test claims that a Toyota with 100,000 is more reliable than a Ford Fusion or a Honda accord that is brand new. Those are some hard facts you have to think about before shelling out $1000 to $2000 on a Toyota Extended Warranty.

 

Obviously you did not read the post title. It is a specific question: " Platinum or Gold?"

I don't see anywhere in the title (or in the Original Post) that he solicits any advice about to buy or not to buy. I guess your lack of reading comprehension is compensated by your need to repeatedly express your opinion and answer a question that no one has asked.

 

Just posting facts.

For some it hurts that they shelled out $1,000 to $2,000 and will never see anything for it.

 

Yes siree Bob, it certainly is...

 

If you are going to get the warranty, get it through the sticky from PriusChat, great price plus it helps the forum out.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about the warranty too much on a Prius, warranty from the factory is pretty decent in my opinion:

3 years 36k miles(Bumper to Bumper)
5 years 60k miles (Power train)
8 years/100k miles on the Hybrid System
10 years/150k (california) miles on the Hybrid Battery

The only 2 items I was worry about was the Hybrid System and Hybrid Battery but the warranty from the factory covered most of my fears of owning a Hybrid.

 

I subscribed for 10 years and received one every year and filled it out. I also was double billed for my subscription. They issued a full refund and I canceled my subscription.

I am not sure I understand your question. Consumer Report paid for the survey and they report real world number on reliability. Who do you think paid for the Consumer Report survey?

I do not agree with you on this. You can do a little research and find that Land Rover is the worse rated car for reliability and a Scion, Toyota and Lexus are rated the best. Chances are really good if you bought a Land Rover you will have major issues. Why buy a car or and extended warranty when the odds are against you?

 

Why does that not make sense ?

 

I can answer that one.

With an extended warranty, I know how much my exposure is (the cost of the warranty). Without, I don't.

Regardless of Toyota's stellar track record with respect to reliability, it's still a machine and machines tend to break from time to time. Honda's and Toyota's service departments aren't just open for oil changes and for people to stop in and say "hello" on their way to work.

Unlike some, I don't have the ability to absorb the cost of replacing a SATNAV unit or a timing chain tensioner. Additionally, I don't like the idea of being nickeled-and-dimed to death by a vehicle. Finally, I really think it's risky to not have some sort of warranty on a vehicle while you're still making payments. It's like car insurance -- you don't drop comp & collision while you still have a loan. If you want to run the numbers and go to liability only once the car's paid for, then run with it.

As always, YMMV. However, I try to limit exposure as much as possible. Don't like surprises. No sir. Not one bit.

 

Uh-oh. Soon we'll hear from our Blow-hard friend Judgeless...

 

Eric if you disagree with something someone posts you can post facts and your views to make a point. Most people without facts resort to name calling. If you feel that is working for you keep doing it.

 

Since, as you've already pointed out, I'm not as smart as you, all I have left is name calling. But, nonetheless, the fact is that you are a blowhard.

 

Nice post, and I promise -- no surprises.

I think your basic argument is spot on: you pay more to avoid outlier events. I have to admit though that my rebuttal would be that you bought the wrong car. A couple of years ago a Prius wannabee had to buy new; now that a very healthy used car market is available that excuse is out the window.

As for comp&collision while a loan is outstanding -- the lender *requires* the insurance on your dime, so that is not a pertinent argument.

If we are talking about buying a warranty covering miles 36k -> 100k for about $1000, I wonder what the event rate is for repairs that exceed that amount considerably and are not covered by any of the standard warranties. I cannot think of any reports posted on PC. One other argument I am a fan of: A warranty owner will take the car to the dealer and breathe a sigh of relief that the humongous bill was paid by Toyota; the self-insure person will spend a bit of time on PC and likely find a much cheaper option than the dealer, and keep most of the repair money. A good example of this is the MFD in the G2 Prius that flaked out in a number of '04 (and '05 ?) Prius. The new MFD charge was $7000; Hobbit figured out the problem and fixed it for I think $400. I have not heard of any recent failures, but pEEF charges $75. The point is that evaluating a warranty value based on dealer charges is a false choice.

 

Yet you have the ability to absorb the cost of an extended warranty every 7 years. If the average cost of repairs over 7 years is far, far less than $1,000 and given the reliability of Toyota, the odd is against you, that's a very expensive price to pay for not liking surprises. Repeat that every 7 years and the $1,000s quickly add up, which you could have used for self-insuring. How many people are still making payments beyond 3 years and even if you are, you owe very little on the loan by then anyway?

 

Most people do not pay $1,000 for the extended warranty. The pay closer to $2,000 from the dealer. If you take that every 5-7 years your losses is even larger.

 

Well, if you really want to feel smug consider that extended warranties often appeal most to people without savings; or even worse are bought by people that have debt with high interest rates like credit cards. Lets calculate the opportunity cost of three $1000 warranties spanning 21 years that could have paid off debt with say a 15% apr:

1000(1.15)^21 + 1000(1.15)^14 + 1000(1.15)^7 = $28557.24(future dollars)

As luck (for the seller of warranties) and irony would have it though, the same people that buy warranties do not typically worry too much about interest charges.