Questions about extended warranty on another Gen III Prius

[EternityInBlack]

So my fiancee's thinking of getting a Gen III Prius as well and I was wondering if people thought that it'd be best to get the extended warranty on this car. I got the extended warranty on my current Gen III Prius and, while we want to make sure the car's in tip top shape all the time, we also don't want to strain her finances what with a potential wedding and honeymoon in the works in the near future. Searching the forums didn't yield too much relevant results, so I thought I'd ask in here. Any help's much appreciated!

[priora]

I just bought a Gen III Prius this past weekend. I paid for the extended warranty, but I'm not overly confident about the decision since I hadn't planned for it in advance. I don't know if this is true for all cases, but my warranty says that after it expires, if I never had to use it, that I can request the money back. True, I'll lose out on the interest that I could have earned, (not that much these days though), but it is insurance against potentially larger replacements costs and this is a first year of a new generation. Still, I have another 20 days to change my mind, I'm not certain what I'll do.

[Ct. Ken V]

Hi, priora,

I see that you've been a member for a while (46 posts) & you may have been lurking here absorbing info prior to becoming a member (like I did). Have you not seen some of the posts warning that an extended warranty "offering your money back at the end of the expiration period if it was never used" is likely an aftermarket warranty that may not even be around any more when you need it after the factory warranty expires (& probably overpriced to begin with)? Also, it's probably one that is only good at your selling dealer (or within a very limited area), so if you have a problem somewhere far from home/your purchase area, it may not be of any help at all (without a long-distance tow). See this link to an excellent thread : Discounted Toyota Prius Extended Warranty /Service Contracts but don't go nuts trying to read all the posts (the last few pages should be sufficient).

Look at the posts by Danny & TOG (Troy Dietrich) mentioning "Warranty Shack" (Danny & Troy's application page for getting a price quote). The extended warranty that Troy offers is the genuine Toyota Financial Services extended warranty that is honored at ANY & ALL Toyota dealers & is priced better than at almost all other Toyota dealers. The price for the Platinum warranty with $0 deductible is still only $1055 (I got mine for $990 3 years ago), but I don't think a price for the "new 8 yr/125,000 mile" one for the 2010 model has been decided yet (Keith's @ $1,539, mentioned in elock's post #1155, is probably the MSRP price & may or may not be the REAL Toyota one). Get in touch with Troy/Warranty Shack for a quote to see if you like his REAL Toyota one better so you can cancel your present one get your money back (& check your "Bulk" or "Spam" mail because for some reason that's where his return quotes sometimes become trapped---he's usually very prompt at returning the quotes). And remember that with the real Toyota Financial Services extended warranty, you have until 36,000 miles or 3 years (whichever comes first) to make up your mind if you still want to buy it---you don't have to make the decision right away, but you should cancel the 3rd party/aftermarket one (if that's what you have) as soon as possible to have an easier time getting your money back on that one.

See the links in Danny's post #1152 for the extended warranty through Troy & the pre-paid maintenance contract [which may or may not be such a great deal (depending on your local dealer's service fee/labor rate schedules)]. Also, see in post #1151 how badly choco 03 was raped by his dealer to the tune of $2,495 for his extended warranty. Please don't get Troy in trouble by mentioning his name or dealership or his great price for the warranty in front of your dealer, & for your own savings as far as regular scheduled maintenance goes (& to help you decide whether or not to get the pre-paid maintenance contract), you should take your maintenance guide (Toyota called it your "Passport" in the past---don't know if they still do) into your service dept & ask the manager/writer exactly how much they charge for doing ONLY what is required at each mileage interval in the "Passport". Tally them up to see if the pre-paid maintenance contract offers you any real savings. NEVER ask for a generic or xx,000 mile service or you'll get screwed by paying too much for services that don't need to be (or CAN'T be) done on your Prius. See Troy's post #1142 for current pricing for the pre-paid maintenance for the 2010 Prius.

See the top-most link in Danny's post #1144 for a comparison of the protection offered in each of the different levels of Toyota's REAL extended warranty. Also see Danny's info about the MSRP's of the different offerings contained within the shaded area of post #1141. And finally see Troy's post # 1119 (on page #112 of the thread) to see what Troy has to say about the "money back guarantee" programs (which sounds like what you bought). I hope some of this info helps you to make an informed decision of what to do next.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

[EternityInBlack]

Ouch. This makes me think about MY 3rd Gen's warranty. I don't have the paperwork in front of me right now, but is this third-party "extended warranty" refundable within a certain period of time?

[Ct. Ken V]

Hi, EternityInBlack,

I don't know if the 3rd party warranties are cancellable & refundable or for what time limit they might be. You have to check your paperwork/contract for the specifics.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

[Danny]

Ken, that was a fantastic recap regarding the Extended Warranty. I'm going to have to bookmark it! Thanks for explaining it so well for EternityInBlack and the thousands others who will read your post in the future.

[jburns]

Originally Posted by EternityInBlack

So my fiancee's thinking of getting a Gen III Prius as well and I was wondering if people thought that it'd be best to get the extended warranty on this car. I got the extended warranty on my current Gen III Prius and, while we want to make sure the car's in tip top shape all the time, we also don't want to strain her finances what with a potential wedding and honeymoon in the works in the near future. Searching the forums didn't yield too much relevant results, so I thought I'd ask in here. Any help's much appreciated!

Why bother. Since you will be a two Prius family you enjoy an option few others do. If your fiancee has problems with her non-covered Prius just swap the offending part out with yours and your covered.*




*Previous was posted in jest.

[EternityInBlack]

So I'm headed at lunch to the dealership today to refund the warranty and putting it into WarrantyShack's great offer. They quoted me at $1900 for the same warranty that Troy offered me for much less!

Thanks for the quote Troy!