Extended warranty - worth buying or not?

It's a crap shoot. You might pay and never use it. You might pay and need it. You might not pay and need it. The best thing about it is that you don't have to buy it when you get the car (and even where you got the car), just before your 36,000 mile warranty is gone. You can wait and see how yours is standing up.

For myself, I'm planning to get one, but I'm also going to wait.

 

I bought an extended warranty which is refunded if I don't use it. It is my choice whether to have the vehicle fixed under warranty or not. They have the use of my money for 7 years and it was expensive ($1800) compared to the discounted warranty offered here. Hopefully I won't need to use it.

 

No one should ever buy an extended warranty -- these are big money makers for the companies that sell them. Sure there will be those that say how great they made out, but overall the consumer looses on these. Its just like going to the casino, there are some winners, but overall the public looses.

The best bet is to never buy a single warranty and over the course of your consuming life you will come out ahead.

 

I bought the extended warranty (7 years/70,000 miles) for $685 when I purchased the car a month ago. The finance dude originally quoted me $900. When I said I'd use my first 3 years/36,000 miles to think about it, he lowered the price.

This is the first time I've ever purchased an extended warranty on a car (three cars in the past). My reasons were:

( a ) it was affordable
( b ) this is relatively new technology
( c ) I keep my cars for much longer than most people, so I'm pretty sure I will still own the car in 7 years.

 

Things people should understand about the warranty. The warranty is sold through the dealers at the dealer's discretion. If you drive your car 35000 miles and go into you local dealership, they can turn you down or make quote you more. Its simple, warranties are like getting old. The older you get, the more you pay for health insurance. The same is true for the car. The older your vehicle gets the more "unknowns" there are for a dealer, whereas if you purchase the warranty the day you drive off the lot, they know the vehicles in "good" shape. The dealer will be more hesitant to warranty you as it gets older because they will then be charged a higher price from Fidelity or Toyota Warranty Co. for the initial warranty because they may have had more claims than the dealership across the way that only sells the warranties new. Its all about "risk".

If you live in the Southeast, you will buy a Fidelity warranty. The rest of the USofA buys a Toyota Warranty Services warranty. Both are backed by Toyota and honored nationwide. But if you live in the Southeast buy from Fidelity.

Contracts.....Each dealer can alter a contract even if it says Platinum 7yr 100k at the top. Look for the form # in the top right corner and shop around to make sure your warranty is your desired warranty. The alterations are minor and really are only noticable in the non-platinum warranties.

Should you buy.....That is your call, the people on here that say it is foolish are doomed to have repairs! Of course the companies make more otherwise they wouldn't offer the warranty. I mean come on, would any company operate if they kept sustaining losses. But think about this...You go out on a cold rainy morning, push the power and she lights up as normal, but no lcd screen. The screen alone will cost more than the warranty. The likelihood it will happen to you is very rare but what if...This car is too complicated and can only be worked on by Toyota mechanics currently. So we all know dealers charge more for work on your car than Bob at the corner. But as of yet, Bob can't work on a Prius, nor would I let him touch mine, so think about that whole 100K, zero deductible payment. Heck if a caliper sticks at 45K and you don't have the warranty you are hosed. You can't shop around for the best price, unless you are willing to pay towing.

Price...Call dealers and tell them straight up, I am willing to pay 1100 for this warranty, take it or leave it......One within 150 miles will say no prob, I promise. Of course you can buy from here but I want to shake the (wo)mans hand who sells me any warranty, not chat over email.

Refund....1st 60 days under Fidelity, full refund less $50 admin fee. Then its prorated folks, not full refund after 50000 miles like some people think on here.

Recommendation...I suggest you buy the warranty, I am an accountant and have done extensive budgeting and analysis with this car and I am purchasing.

 

Where would I buy the warranty you're referencing if I wanted it? Why do you push this co.? I live in FL

 

Its the only one the Southeastern Dealers LLC sell, and its through Fidelity. Call Toyota Customer Care and they will explain it all to you. Research this stuff for about 8 hrs over a week period, you will learn a lot, get good prices, and come to realize sales(wo)men are dumber than you thought.

 

If I do not use my warranty 7yrs/100,000 miles, I will get a refund for the full purchase price of the warranty. This warranty is also prorated from the first year and can be transferred once. The refund part is not transferable though. This is through the Toyota distributor (Servco Pacific) here in Hawaii which is different than the mainland distributor and the warranties they sell. I guess they could go out of business, but with over 500 million a year in sales, a long track record, and selling over 20% of all vehicles sold here it's not too likely.

 

Yes. Think of a $4K MFD replacement at 55K mi. The software and electronics alone on a Prius make an extended warranty a must, unless you're going to sell/trade before 36K mi.

 

Warranties are insurance policies. All insurance is priced to make a profit for the seller, not for the buyers. If you can afford the outlay for a big repair it's always cheaper to self insure. Of course some people put considerable value on avoiding surprises.

If you do buy one understand very carefully what is covered and what is not. A few here have told sad stories about buying one and then having a loss that was not covered.

 

This has to be true from a business point of view which gives a measure of the probable repair costs for a Prius. However, I have yet to purchase an extended warranty which did not more than pay for itself. That is probably because I hit the down side of the odds. But when you do, that downside can be steep. No matter how you cut it, it is a gamble. Where is your comfort zone?

 

Exactly. Extended warranties buy comfort, not profit.

For every one who profited from buying a string of extended warranties there have to be on the order of ten to a hundred who did not. The one who did is far more likely to post his experience than are all ten/one hundred who did not; thus the danger in relying on anecdotes to guide decisions.

 

I wasn't going to buy it but I ended up getting it yesterday. I guess normally, it price is $1550 but they dropped it down to $990 for us. (I had told them that I could get it at a better price based on what I had read on Priuschat so they checked it out and lowered the price.)

 

I never buy extended warrantees, but I bought this one. And it wasn't because of the hybrid system.

The MFD, ABS, airbags, and all the other mechanical and electronic gizmos are what worried me. Cali covers the battery for 150K miles, and with 7(?) years of THS/HSD experience I am sure the bugs are out fo the drive system by now.