Extended Warranty (TEC Platinum)

I got it on the 20th...actually, Transunion says I'm at 759 and the dealership informed me I was at or above 800 (must be scoring higher with some of the other reporting agencies).

 

My score is 834. I paid cash for the car and would never waste my money on an extended warrantry.

 

There are three credit bureaus.

Credit Report, credit score and credit check from Experian - Experian
TransUnion - Check Your Credit Report and Credit Score Online, Instantly and Securely - Trans Union
Equifax: Personal Solutions: Credit Reports, Credit Scores, Protection Against Identity Theft - Equifax (FICO Credit Score)

They all have credit scores. Equifax is the one everyone uses.

For those that have not checked your credit score go to www.annualcreditreport.com This is run by the government and you can get all three for free once a year. You have to pay for your score. Only get it from Equifax. They are the ones that matter.

 

This is helpful to know.
thanks~!

 

Yes, I'm aware of the 3, which is why I only mentioned the one of which I was aware in terms of specific score. Why is it that only the one from Equifax is used by loan agencies, etc? That seems to suggest the other 2 are somewhat useless. You can register at CreditKarma (Free Credit Score & Free Credit Reports. No Credit Card Needed) and monitor the Trans Union score on a regular basis in any case.

 

Vinnie97 you claimed you had a Trans Union score of 729. The FICA AKA Equifax is the real number people look at.

The other two are not worthless. The score is a number based on all the items in your report. You have to look at all three for issues. An issue on one might show up on the rest down the road.

I strongly recommend that people avoid all free credit report sites except the one provided by the government. The rest are all scams.

Go to the gov site and read about all the scams.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

 

I purchased the Extended Warranty for my 2002 MINI Cooper (which I traded in for my 2010 Prius IV 3 weeks ago, after it was starting to get problems at 136K miles!). That first Year MINI had more problems than you would believe...and my nice person was saved by that 6/80K warranty! Unfortunately the CVT Tranny blew out at 90K Miles (10K after my extended warranty was expired) and that cost me $6000.00 to fix. So of course I am purchasing the Platinum warranty for my Prius. Do you have any idea what these high-tech, non-standard parts of this car cost? Electric Power Steering pumps alone cost a fortune. I like to know my costs up front, not some surprise in the future, thank you.

 

Radio/cd /JBL gave out, $1463 and odd change list price for a replacement. With Troy's pricing on my platinum warranty, it has more than paid for itself.

 

On a three year old car that same radio off ebay is $200 'buy it now', $60 if you win a bid. Your car comes with a 3 year warranty for FREE!!!

 

The Mini was rated poor for reliability. If read the article from Consumer Report I would either not buy a Mini because it is not reliable or I would buy an extended warranty.

On the other hand if I bought one the top three cars off this list I would not buy an extended warranty.

Consumer Report Reliability reports.
http://mbu.com/car-rel.jpg

 

Judgeless, 759 actually (it actually dropped a point after closing an old credit card account, so I have no reason to believe it's a scam...I wouldn't have signed up had they asked for my credit card or debit card information and there has been no unauthorized activity according to my credit reports at Experian, Trans Union or Equifax). Granted, I just read a report from a 3rd party that they arrive at their score via questionable means and tend to overestimate one's score but, if anything, as evidenced by what I was told by Toyota Finance, they are actually under-reporting in my case.

 

I prefer not to deal with someones junkyard parts of questionable origin and durability. Also please note, as shown below the Loctite my car is a 2006.

 

Keep in mind, I ordered my MINI (built to my spec) in March 2002, before they even were even available in the U.S. There was no reliability index available yet for the car, so I was not going to take a chance with a new model/year vehicle...just as my Prius Gen III is a new model/year. There is a big difference between predicted reliability, and historical reliability. The Gen III has not fully proven itself yet.

 

I have to admit I find it a bit strange that you claim to be an engineer and therefore very analytical yet spend the vast majority of the rest of your post presenting anecdotal evidence. In any event nothing you said affects my original statement that some people will win purchasing an extended warranty. Think of it like a casino. You might win a million dollars today but the house wins every day.

 

Parts from a junk yard come from cars that have been in totaled in accidents. 99% of the time the radio is fine and you can get it for dirt cheap. Why would anyone waste $1,400 on a new radio in a car that is more than 3 years old.

That is a total waste of money.

 

The Mini is a BMW company. BMW does not have good record when it comes to reliability.

The first year the Scion came out it did very well in reliability stats.
http://mbu.com/car-rel.jpg

This is because Scion is a Toyota based company. They make the most reliable cars in the world. They do not need extended warranties.

Your right the Gen III is a new model. Based on past history there will not be any issues. I have 22,000 miles on mine already. It has never been back to the dealer once.

 

Most my posts are not about extended warranties or people that lease cars. Here are a few good ones.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...lization-you-done-your-prius.html#post1020865
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii.../64812-automatic-headlights-6.html#post940730
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...s-now-available-2010-prius-9.html#post1029047
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/71184-snow-4.html#post1003961
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ms-sensor-idea-need-feedback.html#post1010675

You are dead on with that statement. An extended warranty is a gamble, a game of chance. Just like a casino the odds are not in your favor. People go to Vegas because they have a fun time losing their money. Maybe some people find it fun to waste money on an extended warranty.

 

Very good, then I pay someone or I disassemble the dash myself, can you also give me an estimate for that? Then add the time spent chasing parts....time IS money, at least for me. I spent enough of my teen years at boneyards, those days are over.
I suppose if I was underemployed or retired I might have the time, however that is not my situation.
Let me also state, yet again, I paid $900+ for warranty, radio is $1400+ I win.
The struts are also being replaced, at no charge, eBay?, boneyard? = laughable.

 

There are thousands of little shops that tint windows, install alarms and car audio. I bet they would swap a radio for $50. I personally would have taken the hour out of my day to do it myself.

Why does your car need new struts? Did you hit something? Chances are that will not be covered. My 10 year 4Runner with 305,000 listed above never needed new struts or shocks. I am 43 years old and have never had to put new struts on any of the Toyota’s or Honda’s over the years.

Spending $900 on a warranty that covers a $200 radio replacement is not winning. It is a $700.00 loss.

 

I am happy for you and your good luck with your vehicles.
I must admit at times I do feel as if a black cloud is following me and my car.
Thus, from past events I have deemed an extended warranty worth it for me.
I'm sure you hate to be wrong. but the platinum warranty does cover the struts.
Strut failures while not common, do happen, and are expensive to replace, roughly $1100.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...rius-how-long-do-front-struts-last-prius.html


If you choose to play mechanic, enjoy yourself and your perception of savings.
But please don't tell me how to spend my time and my money.

Bottom line, the extended warranty saved me money.

The end.