even second hand prius needs extended warranty

Nice! I think car warranties often pay off despite "being a cash cow for the dealers", especially when your adopting a new technology. Hopefully I can get $1,500 out of my toyota care plus prepaid maintenance.

 

It didn't work out for me. Bought my 2005 prius s/h in 2009 and the dealer "gave" us a 3yr dealer warranty with it (factory warranty only had about 6 months left to run).

This dealer warranty came with the stipulation that we had to take it to them (this one particular dealer) for servicing every 10,000 km (6000 miles) or it would void the warranty. At the time I was worried that they'd gouge on the service charges with having customers locked-in like this, but I thought ok I'll wait and see.

Time for the first service and the car was immaculate, not a thing out of place or even a rattle or a squeak. They charge $660.00 for the service. Said they replaced things I couldn't easily check, like the internal fuel tank strainer/filter. I'm pretty certain they just did an oil change grrr.

I went home and read the fine print on their warranty, to see if I could get out of servicing it with them again. Turned out there was a $1000 limit per warranty claim in the (really) fine print, so it wouldn't have covered any of the big ticket items (invert or transaxle etc) that I was worried about anyway. I threw that warranty into the bin and never went back to that dealer again!

Lucky for me though, I've had it for just over 3 years now, have done all my own maintenance, and haven't had a single problem. Oil and rubber have been the only things it's wanted from me in the time I've owned it.

 

If the warranty pays off too often the price goes up. How long does something have to exist before it isn't new?

 

Yes this is true. Worked out for OP nicely though.

 

I did not get it on my 2006 when I purchased the car three years ago. Nothing has happened yet! I don't think anything will if a person looks after them. H

 

I won at a slot machine once. Does that make playing the slots a smart investment?

 

If you own casino stocks, yes.