what about a maintenance plan or extended warranty?

[billboy]

This is day four with my 2008 new Prius - red, pkg#2. It is great & love the MPG. Only had to wait one month.

I have never bought a maintenance or extended warranty plan on any cars since entering the car buying process in 1978. I'm a bit concerned with the advanced electronics and hybrid power system of the Prius.

Already I've asked for quote through priuschat for the above warranties - the new car dealer's $ quote was 2x higher than I just saw here.

Can anyone offer any advice? I have always maintained my cars, considered them as transportation (not symbols), drive approx 2k per month, and keep them well past 200k. The closest Toyota dealership is approx 20 miles away from me.

Thanks!

[Betelgeuse]

I think that (almost) everyone agrees that the maintenance plan is a "no go." You can almost certainly do the required service your car for less than the price of the prepaid maintenance plan. In particular, oil changes are dead simple, so if you feel comfortable doing them on your own, you can save a ton of money there. Even if you go to a reputable shop, you'll still probably save over the prepaid maintenance.

The extended warranty requires a bit more thought. Basically, it's a form of insurance. Most people will probably never take advantage of it. On the other hand, we've definitely seen some posts on this board where people were very glad to have it. We're actually just getting towards decision time with the extended warranty (our 3yr/36K miles are almost up), so we're going to have to figure this out fairly soon.

[paprius4030]

The extended warranty (in my mind) is well worth the cost, for the peace of mind you get knowing some 3 grand gizmo if covered. Unfortunatly with my luck the 3 grand gizmo will go at 101,000 mi. LOL

[rigormortis]

the warranty is probably worth it, but only if you purchase it online for the cost of 990.00. dealers charge at least $1,600.00 for the comparable warranty, and that one is most likely going to charge a $50 deductible and not a $0 which you can get here

the maintenance plan is generally not worth it. all you get is the first 55,000 miles and its online cost is about 700 or something, you have less time to decide to get the maintenance plan then the warranty one (5000 miles?? vs 3 years/36000). the maintennce plan only covers the first 55,000 miles so that basically works out to 11 oil changes, 1 cabin air filter, 1 engine air filter, 11 tire rotations.

its probably a good deal in california where toyota dealers like to charge $95 for an oil change.

one of those two plans buys you 4 years of roadside assistance, i forgot which one. and the warranty will cover relocation parts and rental cars if you are away from home while your car is fixed. a lot of people do not seem to bring that up.

the roadside assistance used to be free but now you have to get one of those two plans, forgot heh

piercy toyota was so mad that i did not buy into the extended warranty plan and tried to convince me that i had to buy it right then they made me sign some waiver saying i do not get to borrow a car if my car breaks down. and its like who the hell cares because both those plans can be used at any toyota dealer. the maintenance certificates will come pre printed with the dealers name, do not let that fool you, you can use them anywhere.

i am having a good time cruising around and touring all the various toyota dealers, i try to cash in a different certificate at a different dealer, and so far i found that the best wifi is at sunnyvale toyota, and the worst wifi is at piercey toyota, they have a corporate firewall that pretty munch blocks every web site you might want to check out.

the likely reason that piercy's wifi is so bad, is probably because thier new location is directly across the street from the jail

[richard schumacher]

Statistically of course you lose money on an extended warranty. That's how the seller makes a profit. Four years of experience shows that no car is less in need of an extended warranty than a Prius.

If you absolutely have to have one, extend your coverage period and earn some interest for yourself on the purchase price by waiting until the 36,000 miles/36 month factory warranty is about to expire. And then read the fine print to avoid any surprises about what is and is not covered.

[jammin012]

I didn't let them finish the question before saying YES.

As soon as the Jag hit 45K I wished I had an extended warrenty. Never had to pay for the scheduled maintenance either, that also changed. The 50K maint was a shocker.

Now I have no worries and I don't have to get dirty for a long time.

[rigormortis]

my motivation for getting the extended warranty was a personal bet that the first thing to die would be either the entire lcd panel, or the backlight that lights up the lcd panel

[jhinton]

Originally Posted by billboy

This is day four with my 2008 new Prius - red, pkg#2. It is great & love the MPG. Only had to wait one month.

I have never bought a maintenance or extended warranty plan on any cars since entering the car buying process in 1978. I'm a bit concerned with the advanced electronics and hybrid power system of the Prius.

Already I've asked for quote through priuschat for the above warranties - the new car dealer's $ quote was 2x higher than I just saw here.

Can anyone offer any advice? I have always maintained my cars, considered them as transportation (not symbols), drive approx 2k per month, and keep them well past 200k. The closest Toyota dealership is approx 20 miles away from me.

Thanks!

I would not buy a pre-paid maintenance plan. It most likely is a "dealer" service plan, not the Toyota service plan. Most dealers do lots of extra maintenance that is not called for by the service schedule from Toyota. Just do the maintenance per the service schedule in your owner’s manual and you'll be fine.

I would continue to avoid all extended warranties. As others say, they are insurance against future failures which may give your peace of mind, but they are a bad news financially. Extended warranties are a HUGE profit center for a company which is why you are consistently asked if you want to purchase one. If you want peace of mind, put the $1000 you would pay for the warranty in your bank account as an auto maintenance fund.

As an example: I'm the product manager for an off-road vehicle. We are currently working out the details for the warranty on our 2009 models. We can purchase an additional one year warranty for the engine and transaxle for ~$12 from the manufacturers of these components. Judging from our competitors we can sell an one year extended powertrain warranty to our retail customer for $499. That is $487 profit for a piece of paper.

[rigormortis]

the official prepaid maintenance plan for toyota prius can be had for 700.00 online and it is not a "dealer" plan but actual certificates that you can cash at any toyota dealership. the bad things against it, are it only covers factory required maintenance for the first 55,000 miles. sunnyvale toyota tried to put a cabin air filter on at 15,000 miles and i caught it and made them cross it off the invoice.

i only accepted it because i was clueless about how much maintenance the prius really needed and did not know the rules regarding time limits that you must sign up for the plan. i would of saved $30 every month off my car payments if i refused it.

as i said before, one of these plans -- not sure which one -- will give you toyota roadside assistance for 4 years.

[Barbara@longhorn]

I think I get the extended pro and cons but how about the undercarriage/noise reduction package they are going to try to sell me?
Does anyone recommend the Revelco security plan since I have glass breakage but not automatic engine interruption?