Which Extended Warranty?

[OilManSam]

Hello Everyone,

I just found these posts which really made me excited about being a soon to be Prius owner, but I do have some questions! If I can get some help.

I see here that there's a good deal under $1000 for the Toyota Extended Warranty through Warranty Shack for PriusChat users. The same plan was offered to me by my credit union for $1200 and Im sure will be higher offered through the dealer. However, from what I've seen this is just a MBP (mechanical breakdown protection).

I saw Danny mentioned something about warranty direct in 2004 (Old Posts about this subject!) said something about maybe getting $75 off their plan. Even if this doesn't exist, I read more about coverage from WarrantyDirect. It seems like they have the same coverage as the one through Toyota except it covers Wear & Tear as well.

Can anyone help me with the difference of these two? or does anyone have Warranty Direct? Their pricing is a little higher, but if they cover Wear & Tear (which I know many warranties try to use this as an excuse not to pay claims) I'm willing to pay more for this.

How is their service?

Any advice would be really appreciated!!!

[richard schumacher]

Take the money you would spend on an extended warranty and use it to reduce the amount you borrow, or if paying cash use it to buy a 12 month bank CD. You will get a much better payback that way. There is no car less in need of an extended warranty than a new Prius.

[rigormortis]

i signed up for it. so far my warranty repairs have been 1 12 v battery replaced and
a radio and an alignmnet

out of the manufactures warranty, i had the power window buttons put back, as they fell inside the door

if ur going to get one, get the official toyota one. 100k miles 7 years 0 deductible

third party warranties worry me

the extended covers the shocks and struts.

if you followed richards advice and put the 1000 into the car loan, that would lower your payment an average of $20 a month

do you think the extra protection is worth $20?

it also gives u extra towing and traveling benefits, too but not roadside assistance, as you need the basic or platinum prepaid maintenance plans to get roadside

[richard schumacher]

So, rigor, after those repairs how much are you still in the hole on the extended warranty?

"Extra protection" here means paying for something the buyer will probably never use, and almost certainly never use all of. Does the OP want to pay $20 a month for seven years and get nothing? But it's his money. And in these times I suppose we should thank buyers for helping to support the financial industry :_>

[rigormortis]

i figure toyota had to spend about 400 out of the 980 i spent

if your asking about out of the 36,000 basic warranty, then that figure would be $90
(based on the 1 hour labor charge that toyota dealers charge). i am clueless what the current labor
rate is, i am just guessing $95


i totally got jacked on that prepaid maintenance plan. its good fodder for a long thread about how that is a total rip off. compared to the prepaid maintenance plan, the 1000.00 something official toyota extended warranty seems better.

the only thing good about the prepaid maintenance plan is they give you roadside asistance. there is often an overlooked 'basic' prepaid plan which is a lot cheaper then the 'platinum' one. all the platinum one gives you is 3 major service intervals which are not needed on the prius g2

[rigormortis]

the local toyota dealer (the closest one) didnt even verify anything. they just put on the invoice 'customer reports he has platinuum coverage' and that is all they did, and my car was ready to be picked up for no cost

[rigormortis]

lately my left headlight been requiring a restart (turn lights off and on again) to get it going. is there an official thread of what to expect, and what parts of the HID i can get toyota to pay for? i only got 50,000 miles on that 100k extended

[BrennanShilohRescue]

speaking of warranties...
i bought additional warranties from the dealer because i've been taken advantage of for years on auto repair - to the tune of approx $2000-$3000 a year
i just don't want to deal with that stress anymore. there's no way i know whether they're lying to me or not, so i always get taken. and it hasn't been one, it's been every mechanic i've ever gone to here in Florida. the repair bill was ALWAYS $1000 or more when i needed my car fixed. so, now i don't have to worry about that anymore. i'd rather pay once upfront & have everything covered than spend $2-3k a year on repairs. to me (someone who knows nothing about cars), that peace of mind is well worth it. but my question is, should i have received some kind of warranty packet or documentation from Toyota? i haven't gotten anything from them about the warranties, other than what i paid for them on the invoice.

[richard schumacher]

After owning this Prius for a few years and spending nothing on repairs*, at least you will be emotionally prepared and confident enough not to buy an extended warranty for your next new Prius :_>

* do keep in mind that scheduled maintenance items are not repairs.

[rigormortis]

i bet with the all the new technology that is coming out for the 2010, like the parking assist, pre crash systems, new navi, solar panels, moonroof, etc etc. is going to cause
the sales of extended warranties to go up.

hopefully they will be more informed a little and if they do decide to get one, they won't be taken for 3,000.00 from the dealer