23 Prime…Platinum ECP or not

Absolutely not... They don't sell those dishonest products because they have to pay them out later... If anything put that $2400 in a 10-year treasury bond or some similar investment so once your car is more than 10 years old and needs repairs you'll have all that money plus more still belonging to you.

 

i wouldn't

 

Counting down the days to my delivery, and need to talk to the dreaded financial services manager...

What about those what I understand to be damage-prone low-profile 19" tires... I have usually gotten a flat or damaged tire every 18-24 months, in the last 15 years of driving (Yaris & Prius Prime)... surely with these expensive 19" tires it'll be a lot more expensive per incident?

7-years of "tire & rim road hazard road protection" is $759. Who's got thoughts?

 

Does your car insurer offer similar coverage, very likely at a much lower cost? There is nothing that the F&I guy (finance & insurance, the so called financial manager) sells on commission that can't be found better, or cheaper, or both, elsewhere, or just not needed. The F&I person is usually the highest compensated person in the dealership, other than the owner, and it it totally on commission sales.

Gap insurance is another example of being much lower cost from your car insurer than from the dealer. Gap coverage is important if you buy with a low down payment and long financing. It covers the gap between what the loan balance is and what the car is worth if the car is totaled in the first couple of years. You owe the remaining loan balance to the lender. Your insurance pays what they think the car is worth. You are stuck for the remainder. After a few years when the loan balance has been somewhat paid down and you're no long upside down in value you can cancel the gap coverage.

 

This is the basic car warranty that you'll pay for as part of the car's cost. You can check to see if the Extra Care Protection (NOT a warranty) gives you coverage that helps you sleep better. If you're sleeping OK with the basic warranty, don't buy the ECP. I'm not sure about Canada; in the U.S. any dealer can sell the plan, and the buyer can negotiate hard to get a better price. Remember, the ECP doesn't start until the original warranty has expired. If they say 7 years, that from the date of purchase. https://s3.amazonaws.com/toyota.site.toyota-v5/tci-prod/toyota/media/pdf/toyota_ecp_brochure_en.pdf?ck=06302023011237
If what they're offering is not from Toyota, don't touch it. If the underwriter goes bust, you're stuck with nothing. In any case, read the fine print in the contract before you buy. You don't need to buy it that day.

 

Agree.. I have Geico and added mechanical breakdown coverage. It added $24 to my premium every 6 months or basically $48 per year.

It does have a $200 deductible but that's nothing in the big scheme of repairs if they are ever needed. I can keep the coverage for 7 years or 100K miles..

OP, I'd check with your insurance company and see if they offer something similar..

 

No, don’t get the extra insurance. Having owned 3 Prius vehicles and having met the ‘financial person” as part of the sales pitch. I asked why I should pay for extra insurance. Is there something predictably expected to go wrong with the car once it reaches the mileage? Didn’t they have confidence in their products? There was a reddish glow in their faces and the answer was no. So far never required anything major to be done…ever. Maybe I’m lucky but basic maintenance seems to work quite well.

 

No you don’t. You’re there to pick up a car, that’s all.

 

Here's the pitch the financial manager made to me (and I'm a friend of the sales guy): the 3-year ECP costs about $1500, which is just a bit more than the sum of the expected first six service visits. All ECP packages include 6 service visits, and also three years of tire & rim coverage.

I got gap insurance from my insurance provider last time, which I'll do again for this one.

 

But doesn't Toyota cover the first two years of service visits?

 

If you want the same results go take $1500 out of the bank and throw it in a garbage can... It will probably end up being cheaper because these six service visits are a scam for the sole purpose not to maintain your car, but to create an opportunity to make up unnecessary and expensive repairs.

You're literally paying them $1500 so they get 6 chances to try to rip you off for more than that. If we had legitimate consumer protection laws these crooks who do this would of lost their business license long ago.

 

Those numbers sound reasonable if you aren't DIY or don't have a friend or family member who works on cars... There's also more check and balances in terms of preventing stealership fraud, which is a way of life for most of these places.

 

Don't fall for the "pre paying" service visits. Read the maintenance manual and you will notice that most of the "maintenance" are just checks. So what you are really spending $500 a year or every 2 visit? 2 x Tire rotation and 1 Oil and Filter change. Learn how to do an Oil and Filter change yourself and save $150-$200. Also, I would change oil every 6K or 6 mths and not 10k or 1 year. If you don't have the space/garage, then bring the car to a reputable garage for the oil and filter change. Tire Rotation is about $20-40. Do the tire rotation with the oil and filter change. If you are lucky, the dealer may give you 1xCabin Filter and 1xEngine Filter change at 30K or 36mths.

Tire coverage = flat repairs. A normal flat tire repair is about $50. Think about your current or previous car. How many times in 3 years did you have an issue with the tires? For me, I am at about 10 years since the last time one of my cars had flat due to a hazard. I never had a tire that was damaged so bad it needed to be replaced.

Rim = Curb rash. I never heard of this one. So, do they replace the rim if there is curb rash or do they just buff out the rash? I would really ask what exactly these covers. Especially painted rims. Do they "repaint" the rims and is there a minimum size? i.e. a rock chip.

With all that said: It's non-mandatory insurance. If it makes you feel secure, then go for it. Only you can decide if it is a wise choice to spend your money.