Extended Warranty on New Gen III is BAD IDEA!

Every time we hear the backup beeper we think of the episode of "Seinfeld" where a friend of his buys a van:

[FONT=trebuchet ms, arial, helvetica][FONT=Courier New, Courier, mono]Frankie, in the van with Jerry: "Nice captain's chairs, huh?"
Jerry: "Aye, aye."
Frankie: "Oh, there's a spot. Just back up."
Large-vehicle reverse beeping starts
Jerry: "Hold on. There must be a truck backing up."
Frankie: "No, that's us."[/FONT][/FONT]

 

I like the litle kid one where he says "look out dad she's backing up"

 

I'd like to get my two cents in here for whatever it's worth. I bought a 2010 II about a month ago (love it). The financial guy lowered the price $800 after I told him I could get it cheaper on internet. At $1095, it did not look like too bad a deal at the time. One big hook for me was the towing -- UNLIMITED towing the the nearest Toyota dealer (per sales brochure). I questioned them many times on this and they said yes, from anywhere, unlimited. This was important to me because I like to travel out west in the "super boonies" where I could be 150 miles or more from everywhere. I agree it is unlikely I'd need it, but looked like a good perk.

When I got home, I actually read the contract from front to back. It said the towing was limited to $100. So I called the towing number on the contract and they said "yes" it was only $100. I told them about the marketing brochure, but they just said they only pay $100. So...after many calls to my dealer, the Toyota official customer service and the administrating company for the EW (GS Administrators,Inc) they finally agreed that it was unlimited and they would send a letter of confirmation if I wanted. I said, "no, I want the contract changed so all others who get this EW will have the same rights". They would not agree to this. So I was left with a feeling that they would gladly rip off any customer that called their towing number. And I really wondered if I had not complained and had a problem two years from now, would they be so willing to give me unlimited towing and not point to the contract terms of $100. I doubt it.

So, having lost confidence in their integrity, I cancelled the EW. But that's not the end. To my pleasant surprise, I got a check a week later for $1070. But this is $25 less than I was entitled to. I know it's a small amount but at this point it was a matter of principle too. They wanted to charge me a "processing fee" that was not authorized in the contract. After a few more calls, they agreed that I should get the full $1095 and I would get another check for $25 next week. I know this is no big deal, but I think this runs to the integrity and ethics of the company. Basically I would not trust them. What would I be up against if I had an actual claim??

Maybe this is a fluke. I don't know. But some here have wanted real data about the EW and this is a recent actual incident. I also learned that the Toyota EW is not administered by the same entity all over the country. "GS" in the name of the administrator is for Gulf Coast, which is my area. Other areas operate with different administrators and maybe they are better (or worse).

I guess I am skeptical about all EW contracts now and would encourage all to read over any important parts to make sure you are getting what you expect. And even then...you never know for sure....

 

The warranty we got said cancel within 30 and get a full refund, within 60 days there's a $50 charge after that it's prorated. I'd have to look over again to be sure of those number but I believe their fairly accurate. I think i will get it out read over the entire thing.

 

I"m gonna throw my 2 cents in... Not to argue, because we all live in different financial states and can afford different risks.

If I have a cool ten million in the bank, I'm' not gonna waste my money on insurance.

It always feels good to feel like you got away without having to buy insurance.
But the prius is no simple car. Although extremely reliable, its cutting edge and if anything at all happens, "poof" you can bank it will be expensive.

I have 3 prius's now, two Gen II's and one Gen III... I already bought my extended warranty for my GenIII.

I"ve also learned that if you pay out of pocket, your cost will be considerably more than what is charged if insurance pays for it..... whats the point?... they shaft you twice if something happens by overcharging you for out of pocket payments... the insurance companies know better and so pay less.

I see this happen every day in medical care, its no different here either.

My experience has been so far:
1. One of my GenII's have 91k on it now and had a bad window that decided to have a mind of its own.... cost would have been 850.00 to fix. That happened at about the 30K mile mark. So in that case the extended warranty was a waste... but I still have 9000 miles to go.

2. My other GenII had a MFD screen go out......it happened at about 80000 miles.
My cost would have been 6800.00 for new, 3800.00 for refurb.... the extended warranty covered that and what did they pay?.... 1600.00 for a refurb unit....... far less than what I would have been charged for the same thing!

My point is..... if you think extended warranty insurance is foolish.. then you must have chosen against health insurance for your family too..... God help you if anything happens and I pray you have no assets to loose because they will be gone!

What happened to my cars was small change compared to what it would have been if anything serious was involved... a bad window and a bad display screen is childs play compared to engine/transmission problems or hybrid electronics.

You guys who stroke yourself for being smart and rejecting it... are mere gamblers.

Some will say I"m a gambler because my money is on the table and I'm betting something will happen, But at least I've paid my dues and I know what the cost will be and its over and paid for.

If something happens, you don't know what the cost will be and its not paid and it could hit you in hard times when you can't cope.

Its cheap insurance!... if nothing happens, knowing the financial impact of what could have happened to the family, is the peace of mind that worth it!

IMO of course!.... people can do what they want and then blame everyone else when something happens!....
I see that too in the medical field!

As long as your sober and realize the consequences and can handle the worst, then more power to you if you refuse it, but if you know you would be crippled if something happens and you turn it down, then your gambling.

If you honestly can't afford insurance, maybe a prius wasn't your best choice!

 

Are you sure you purchased the Platinum EW or perhaps the dealer gave you the Gold (which is $50 so neither matches)? Just looked at mine and it says "unlimited" on the "Vehicle Service Agreement Information" page inside the cover and another page clarifies unlimited - to the nearest dealership (so I can't say bring it home 800 miles to my dealer: ) The online posting (which I have saved for future reference) says: "We’ll provide unlimited towing reimbursement to the nearest Toyota dealership." There is a footnote - but just that receipts are required. So I expect Toyota to do just that or I will file a complaint with the Attorney General of WA. In my area, towing is $50 to hookup and about $4 a mile. So one middle of nowhere experience (my travel club limitation is 100 miles) could be very costly...I posted another comment several weeks ago on all the possible ways to cover (from downsizing my AAA membership to regular and picking up my insurers plan as co-insurance while saving $, etc.).

 

My "guy" said "unlimited" also, so I will have to look at all the contracts.
Thanks for the warning.

 

Yes, I had the Platinum coverage.

The discrepancy was in the contract (pages 4 & 5). I know that the "marketing" data states "unlimited". But my years in corporate business have taught me that the only thing that really counts down the line is the contract. I was concerned about how much trouble I might have with proving other claims that might come up. I guess I didn't want that hanging over me.

It may not bother a lot of people, and that's okay. I expect you will have good luck with your contract and I wish you the best.

 

I don't think I said an EW is foolish. It depends on the person and their tolerance for risk and how they feel about it. My issue was purely a contractual thing and was concerned about the working relationship I would be having with them in the future should a real claim come up.

And yes, I can sef-insure myself because I can afford to take a "ding" in the future if I have to. I also can easily afford the EW if I want it. So money here is not the main issue. In fact, I may take another look at it as my bumper-to-bumper warranty nears expiration. It depends on how well the Prius does in the interim. And I probably won't be keeping the Prius for much over 60,000 miles anyway (I like new cars). But all that is in the future...

 

your right, some people can make responsible choices by not choosing.

Some people who have plenty of money still buy insurance just because they realize its a wise investment in certain cases.

I guess its called hedging your bets.

Its sad we get penalized when we don't have it by being taken advantage of in the pocket book.

So if we can self insure ourselves, we must also be ready to pay twice the amount.

 

2. My other GenIII had a MFD screen go out......it happened at about 80000 miles.
My cost would have been 6800.00 for new, 3800.00 for refurb.... the extended warranty covered that and what did they pay?.... 1600.00 for a refurb unit....... far less than what I would have been charged for the same thing!

For almost seven grand i would have just forgot about fixing the screen and moved on with my life.

 

It would bother me if my contact was different than the sale pitch or promo material. I went to pages 4 and 5 and have noting in my contact (book) about any towing limits. I then called and the TFS rep confirmed I have no limit TO the closest Toyota dealer service shop. So if its 4 miles or 400...that said, I could be 396 miles from home (which I always knew - can't pick and choose). The guy said that there is a limit on Toyota certified cars that come roadside service so perhaps you were the 1 in the million with a contract printing screw up - which does not make you feel any better after the hassles .

 

Since he did not have to pay at all...thats what makes the world go round. I would never buy built in nav but lots of people love it . On the other hand, lots of people could care less about other options. If my AC goes out in year 4, I have friends who would tell me to live without it...same goes for bluetooth or cruise control. Thats not the point. I bought a car with features I wanted so would like them to work. Since I want every single thing to work on the car after 36,000 miles through month 83, I chose to prepay $1,055 and forget about it (except for the debates on this site : ).

 

LOL i honestly thought it was a typo and i was trying to be funny, I didn't think a screen would cost 7 grand to replace, You could buy over a dozen 42 inch plasma tv's for that much money. Good thing our auto ins does not cover the screen i can see it now " yea the screen stop working in our prius and allstate totaled the car."

 

Exactly my point!..... your held hostage for something so simple!
What if something serious would have happened?

Its sad to have a 30K car and have one of the major functions go out and not be able to use it without spending such ridiculous amounts of money.

Its like having a fine computer with no monitor.
Everything still works perfect and is intact, just no way to display it!...
The screen shows alot of info besides maps, but info about the air conditioner, phone interface, maintenance, mileage, efficiency etc etc.

What if your like me and something so simple as you window goes out?
Are you going to never roll that window down ever again because you know if you do, it won't go back up?


Simple things we take for granted become quite serious when they are integrated into everything else.

If something serious happens you will have to either pay the big bucks or let it sit like a piece of scrap metal.

Good luck selling your scrap metal!

 

After two months my dealer is still sending me letters offering an extended service agreement. I'm warned to act fast, lol. I'm tired of it.