Extended Warranty Worth It?

I got it, still not sure whether it's worth it or not. I suppose it's a really good idea if you're risk averse - but then that's the whole idea of insurance/warranties, right?

 

As much as the warranty cost, and as good as cars are being made now.. I agree, it would be a struggle with most well built cars to buy extended warranty insurance because unless something major went out, it would scarcely pay for itself, but with the prius... the potiential expense is no joke.

I agree that the insurance companies are like "the house" at vegas and they know that even though the customer wins from time to time, in the long haul, they win... the house always wins in the long run!

But insurance in its purest form is a win win.. I buy it for peace of mind to know that for 100K.. I have "nothing" to worry about... period!
Its worth it.. even if I don't use it when the risks are so high!.. especially when the price is good.

Its always a matter of "can you afford to lose the bet?".. if so bet, if not don't.
I can't afford to pay for a hybrid system, or generator, or regen brakes or etc etc etc.. the list is very long!... so I don't gamble.. I pay my insurance.

Some people call it gambling to buy insurance, I call it gambling to not.
Its whether you see the glass half full or half empty.
Giving up perfectly good money to remove the risk of losing much much more perfectly good money is worth it for me.

I carry liability insurance for more reasons than that I am forced to by the government. I have my 30K cars paid off "both of them".. and I still carry full coverage when I don't really have to......

Call me a fool, or call me wise?

Just what are we willing to gamble at what expense?

 

I got the extended warranty for my indirect peace of mind. That is, for my wife's peace of mind.

 

Although its not a life insurance policy... if you're injured "no job", or death, it does give the other half a good standing to keep the care trouble free.

I hate insurance in general.... I used to be a fireman and we had guys coming to us constantly trying to convince us why we needed this and that. They would have us insure the insurance if we would let them... so there is a balance.

But when your families welfare starts coming into the picture should something happen to you, this changes the risk factors dramatically.

Fortunately, the insurance companies don't study your life, before they give you your rate on your bumper to bumper warranty.
And fortunately, the cost is not determined based on your individual need.

The point being, some cannot risk as well as others.
Those of use who do not like the risks, do better with the insurance.

Theres nothing wrong with not having insurance as long as you are not risking foolishly with no backup plan.

I have a 1000.00 deductible on my Cars for collision because the rates are lower and I can afford a 1000.00 if I needed to pay.

But if I never had that much cash laying around, I would have a 250.00 deductible and pay the higher rate.

Seems the basic underlying question here is "is it worth it?"

I guess each of us has to first decide what we value the most.

 

I agree with everything you just said. Insurance Sucks, but not as much as not having it when you needed it.

 

We can all understand both sides of the extended warranty debate. It's just a matter of what each individual is most comfortable with and what risk we're each willing to take. I'm just not willing to risk $1,000 of perfectly good money on the unlikely chance something will go wrong with my car between 36,000 and 100,000 miles. Again, most of the time I'll be right and some of the time........ I'll wish I had purchased the extended coverage. Certainly, the company selling the warranty is always happy to collect $1,000 with the likely outcome of little or no outlay on their part. They know the odds and they're happy to collect the dough. I'd be curious to know the stats on a percentage basis of how many people never need the warranty(and hence the money was needlessly given away and was 100% profit for the insurer) and how many car owners actually got their moneys worth out of it.

 

The odds are obviously in favor of the insurance companies.. otherwise they would go out of business or raise the price.

Maybe an interesting poll to place would be:
How many didn't take the insurance and wish they would have!

Provided you could get people to be honest and admit they regret not getting it.

If the poll is anonymous it may work.

 

It depends on what is meant by "worth it". If it means "recover the cost of the warranty", then almost certainly not. If it means "I'll sleep better even if I never use it", that's something each individual must decide.

 

I agree.... our individual value systems determine whether we need insurance or not.
If I was a millionaire, I would scoff at the idea of giving away my money because if it all hit the fan, I would do what I had to do and pay the bill.
But if I can't afford the bill but can afford the insurance......

I don't buy insurance on my trips, don't buy extra on my cars when I rent etc.
But I do buy fire insurance on my house.
And I do buy on my Boat as almost anything that happens to it would cost a fortune. And I buy on my car as its in the same boat!

 

Sorry, but you're wrong.

When you invest, both the company and the investors are working toward a common goal: earning a profit. If the company is profitable, then the investor earns a return as well. This is known as a win-win situation.

When you pay for useless extended warranties, however, the situation is much different. The car company and the customer's goals are the exact opposite of each other! If you get your money's worth out of it, then they don't profit on that warranty, whereas if you don't, then they do. There is no win-win situation here.

It's stupid to bet that something WILL go wrong. Very pessimistic. They already designed their little betting game so that the customer will lose. Why play then?

 

No one ever said insurance was an investment?
The definition of "worth it" is not getting more money back than you gave.
Worth "may" mean getting more money back, but its the peace to know that all is well and you can drive the most sophisticated car within your price range in peace.

Because while many have to stretch to buy the car in the first place and while Toyota has a good track record, "most" people will have a useless piece of junk sitting in their driveway if something happens after the dealer warranty goes out because they can't afford to fix it!.... what happens to your "investment" then?.. you sell it for a profit?

Its not "worth it" by your definition to even buy the car in the first place.. or any car.. it depreciates the moment you sign.

Did you somehow think you were going to make money when you bought a prius by saving gas?

Are you sure you agree within yourself what "worth it" means?

 

I pay for a car, I get a car.

I pay for an extended warranty, I may get nothing.

The car is a useful item for everyday use. I don't worry about how the value of my scissors depreciate over time. I buy tools to use them as long as I see fit, not to re-sell them.

Ok, yeah. In the case of the warranty you get this intangible "sense of security" thing, rather than physical utility. I guess I just disagree that this is worth anything.

 

And in most cases, the $1,000 price tag is profit for the companies. When people talk about sleeping at night............... I sleep better knowing I haven't "given" $1,000 away for nothing.

 

Are you reading my posts or just trying to not make sense on purpose?
A car is not useful if it doesn't work because you can't afford to fix it!
If you can afford to fix it and do so, you were a fool not to have bought the insurance and let them do it instead?

You sound like you live your life as if nothing will ever go wrong, you must not have much history with life yet.

There is a difference between living life secure because your strong and able to deal with any financial, health, or tragedy that comes your way verses "Thinking" that nothing will happen so you don't prepare for it.

Without getting into the philosophy of how we all live our lives, suffice to say, you have the right to be exposed and vulnerable or pay to not be... sounds like being vulnerable is no issue for you..... I hope you do well!

Have you ever noticed how the older you get, the more you realize you can hurt yourself and that your not immortal and you hate dealing with wounds and the hassle of taking time to heal when you could have been more careful instead?
Even if your in your early 20's, you can remember compared to when you were six or eight.

The young blast away until they hit a wall and learn... we all have to do it... then you will be older and wiser after it happens!

Am I saying your not older and wiser if you chose to not waste your money on insurance?... yes.... if your exposed!.. if you have unlimited funds and a 8000.00 - 15000.00 bill is no big deal to you... then flame on.

Do I also assume correctly to suppose your one of those individuals that rides a motorcycle without a helmet because you consider it a hassle and uncomfortable?..... thats the price for insurance!

 

I'm not sure that last message was directed at me. But, if it was, I'm pushing 60, have never owned a motorcycle and consider them far to dangerous........too much risk exposure. I've purchased Toyota products dating back to my sweet 1981 Corolla SR-5. I've never purchased an extended warranty and have never regretted it. I have had a few problems with the cars, but not necessarily in that 36,000 - 100,000 range. Since I haven't purchased the extended warranties and have invested sensibly, while I would not like an expensive repair bill, I could manage it.

I certainly agree we need to protect ourselves and our families with various types of insurance. Medical insurance, car insurance, and home owners insurance are all necessary imho. I understand there are individuals who may wish to have the protection of the extended warranty. Maybe it's right for them. It's just not right for me. That's just my two cents. Who knows, maybe I'll have a problem with the Prius. I hope not.........but I'm setting aside the $1,000 to help cover the cost if I do.

Getting back to the original post............I have never purchased and so far don't regret it.

 

We have some things in common Todd.
I'm over 50 and I too have never purchased an extended warranty "until Now"... the exposure of all the cutting edge electronics that my favorite shade tree mechanic I trust couldn't touch, and the crazy expense of such, just gave me the creeps.

I haven't had good experiences with Dealers and don't care to deal with them unless its on a basis where I pay nothing as it seems they never seem to deal fairly and always want much more money than what they've earned.

Seems people can't even get their simple HID bulb replaced without getting dinged for hundreds of dollars and some going over the 2K mark for silly ridiculous fees such as removing the whole bumper, replacing the whole assembly etc... well that's another thread.
In other words.. I don't like that exposure either... the emotional exposure.

Seems many don't like giving perfectly good money away for insurance... I don't cope well with giving away perfectly good money to someone who tries to take advantage of my misfortune and because I am at their mercy. Not to mention "Murphy".. He seems to do what he wants regardless of my convenience and pocketbook.

Insurance affords me the grace to "not be at their mercy".

If anything at all happens... and I mean almost "anything", you will have fared well with your money you spent on insurance.
It only takes "one" time.. for anything!

Like I said earlier.. a window simply wouldn't go up and down properly in one of my cars and a tiny little electronic Integrated circuit had to be replaced that prob cost 10.00 to make "if not much less"....and 850.00 later it was fixed by insurance.

I think its a bargain to drive 70,000 miles without a care for less than a 1000.00 bucks.

But thats the way my value system works... I love going to vegas and gambling and taking my chances with funds I have total control over as to how much I can lose, but I have no control at all when dealing with breakdowns on a prius.

 

Good points. I gamble by not taking the extended warranty. The odds are probably in my favor, but.........I could get burned this time. I hope not.

Besides being Prius owners we have another thing in common.........Vegas is a blast. I set a pretty small limit on what I'll gamble with, but none the less, it's usually a waste. But the place is quite a sight and a good time.

Have a good day and good luck next time you're in Vegas.

 

Yes Sir.. I count it as lost as I would for any entertainment.... and if I win.. even better!

 

I have an 7yr/100k extended warranty on my Sienna that I got for $795. It's paid for itself when the cd changer / radio failed and a retractable sunscreen failed. Those two parts alone where over $600. Labor pushed the total for those two events to over $795.

I basically have broken even, but also didn't need to worry about anything for those years.

 

Quite interesting.... just got my car back and the price "was" going to be 3850.00 for a refurb part.
Looks like after repairs, the price is now 1350.00.

I believe the second price to be what the warranty would actually pay verses what I would have been charged if I didn't have the warranty and had to use my cash.

Similar charges happen in the medical field too.

I don't think we want to know how corrupt everything has become.

To end the story... I was in my car 30 seconds to find that although the buttons on the left worked, all the buttons on the right that pertain to the navigation give a black blank screen. Occasionally I get white small vertical lines.
The tech said that there is one connection in the back and all they do is replace the part and can't troubleshoot individual components.

So now they are assuming the part they installed is defective and we get to start over.
Seems the tech didn't bother testing the buttons on the right.. only the left.
Where do these guys go to school?

I would be all that much more disgusted if this were all coming out of my pocket!!!

Maybe I'm getting a bargain and being charged only 1350.00 for a "half" working MFD screen? LOL!