service agreement money-back guarantee.

[electricity_guzzler]

i paid 1500 for the 100,000 extended warranty which is 500 more than the internet price. but the dealer says the warranty bought from them comes with a written money-back guarantee if no claim is made. what do you think? i'm basically betting 500 dollars that i will not have a warranty claim and get back my 1500.

[wrprice]

To put it another way,

IF it turns out that you never need the additional warranty work, and your purchase is *fully* refundable, then you made a better choice than the person in the same situation who paid a non-refundable $1000. (Ignoring the fact that you're out an extra $500 immediately that you could've put into savings, etc.)

If you use the warranty, but the total cost of repairs within the extended warranty period is <$1000 or <$1500 (depending on choice), either option was a waste of (some) money (and interest). But that's unlikely, considering the cost of major components (e.g. the MFD).

So let's say you use the extended warranty at least once outside the initial 3/36 for repairs that total at least $1000, then you still overpaid by $500 since you have the same coverage as the person who paid $1000.

I recommend evaluating whether you think you'll need warranted repairs totaling at least $1000 in the extended coverage period. If you think there's a good chance, then buy the extended warranty. Otherwise, don't.
After that decision is made, find the best price... in this case, not the $1500. Save the $500 and invest, or pay for gas, or get some immediate use out of it.

Also, don't forget that you aren't required to purchase the extended warranty immediately -- you can wait until the last day (or mile) of the original 3/36. Why not keep the $1000+ in your own pocket for a while?

[jeromep]

Get a copy of the guarantee from your dealer. In general service plans are never fully refundable. They may be pro-rata refundable, but not fully refundable.

Unless you signed a document which indicates that the warrenty is fully refundable, well, I seriously doubt that it is.

[RichBoy]

you did the right thng

[gnagel]

My dealer gave me a service agreement money-back guarantee for no additional charge. I paid $995 for the 100,000 miles/7 year extended warranty and that included a full refund in the event that the warranty is never used. And, I got that in writing from the dealership!

[tmorrowus]

Shows how profitable these warranties are for the dealers that they can make such an offer.

I'd be curious to hear the details if this is for real... does Toyota refund the money to the dealer if you cancel, or does the dealer just eat the cost themselves. Both possibilities seem unlikely to me.

[TOG]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tmorrowus @ May 18 2006, 07:18 PM) [snapback]257744[/snapback]</div>

Shows how profitable these warranties are for the dealers that they can make such an offer.

I'd be curious to hear the details if this is for real... does Toyota refund the money to the dealer if you cancel, or does the dealer just eat the cost themselves. Both possibilities seem unlikely to me.
[/b]

It can't be a Toyota plan for that deal (gnagel)....First of all Toyota doesn't offer a "Money-Back" clause, and second, there isn't enough profit at $995.00 in the Platinum coverage to absorb the cost. Dealers that do offer it are either selling a 3rd party warranty, or adding a 3rd party insurance policy to it. IMO, it's not worth the premium. I worked at a dealer once that offered that guarantee on the warranties they sold, and I can count on one hand the number of people that ever got the refund.

In the op's case he paid a $500 premium (thats a full 50% premium over the normal price through PriusChat), so basically he's betting $500.00 that will get the full $1500 back at the end. GOOD LUCK with that!

You will have to keep the car in your possesion for the full duration of the warranty period. Which is nearly double the average ownership span of a vehicle. Now that seems like a simple stipulation, everyone thinks they're going to keep their car until it dies....but hmmm, I keep hearing these rumors of 90+ MPG for the next generation hybrid, but you'll not be able to trade until 2013 unless you want to lose that $1500. Then, at least in the plans I have seen, you have 30 days to apply for the refund...better put that date in your dayplanner now! And you can never use any portion of the warranty...no towing, no rental, nothing...or you lose eligibility for the refund. And we also have to assume that whichever insurance company is offering this (don't forget it's not backed by Toyota) has to still be around 7 years from now.

Can you guess that I don't think the money-back insurance is a good idea? Unless your the dealer or insurance co.

BTW, the dealers cost on that insurance is probably less than $200.00, which should also give you an idea on how many claims against it get filed.

[gnagel]

It can't be a Toyota plan for that deal (gnagel)....[/b]

Well, I received all of the documents directly from "Toyota Financial Services." Toyota Financial Services is a service mark of Toyota Motor Insurance Services, Inc., and its subsidiary, Toyota Motor Insurance Company.

Given that my agreement has the Toyota logo on it and that I received it directly from my dealer, it doesn't appear to be a third party agreement to me.