Priuschat extended warranty?

Has anyone tried to use either the extended warranty or the prepaid maintenance program in Hawaii? I called the Toyota dealership on the Big Island of Hawaii and they told me that they would not honor either program unless it was bought from them directly. I called Toyota Financial and they said that the Hawaii dealerships are independent of Toyota and can basically do whatever they want.

 

Yes, but they are a franchise, holding the Toyota name, and do need to hold to certain Toyota standards, including honoring warranties. Considering that being in Hawaii would pretty much make it a monopoly (after all, where else could you go?), Toyota should have some control, or they will lose market share there.

 

Tell them your lawyer will be calling the dealership. Some contracts excude Alaska and Hawaii.

Blue

 

I got one and got a letter confirming it from Toyota, as well as from the dealer. I don't think the folks at the 800 number even realize that the PriusChat offer is through a real Toyota Dealer. I got a letter and receipt from the dealer followed by the conformation and info from Toyota. I would be willing to bet the person on the other end of the phone made a assumption. They knew that PriusChat a Web site was not a dealer and therefore made an assumption that it was not a Toyota program. You can do this over the phone. Send the guy an emil and say you are interested and he will send you his phone number. They need some information to confirm the age of the car and how many miles on it and after they get that you can pay by check card etc. Very smooth and ligit.

 

This particular extended care plan is issued by the main United States Toyota distributor, not by Toyota Corporation of Japan. In as much as the Hawaiian dealers obtain their cars through a different distributor, I am not sure they can be forced to honor a warranty issued by a business entity with which they have no dealings.

I wonder what is the position of the South East region dealers, who also get their cars through a different distributor, regarding this plan?

 

It all depends on the dealer contract. Just because you work off a different distribution, doesn't mean you're not obligated to follow Toyota rules.

You can't expect to walk into McDonalds and only be served whoppers and not be able to get a Big Mac, no matter who owns the franchise.

 

There are at least three authorized Toyota distributors in the United States. Each one franchises its own dealers. The global Toyota Corporation does not deal directly with the dealerships.

They are:

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) USA
Southeast Toyota Distributors
Toyota Hawaii (SERVCO PACIFIC INC)

 

The not so fine print from the ToyotaFinancial.com > Protect Your Vehicle > Extended Service Coverage site:

 

i haven't purchased the warranty yet but was planning to do so from Troy since they cost around $1700 here in Hawaii. has it been confirmed that they will not honor it if i purchased it elsewhere? Troy said they should... and when i called the dealership i was told it would depend on the fine print (which does say it should be honored anywhere). They didn't give me a definitive answer. :|

What of those who just moved to Hawaii and have an extended warranty on a car which they obviously didn't buy from Toyota Hawaii. :roll:

 

What indeed! I would guess that US law would support your warranty if you put your prius on a ship (barge) and ship it to Hawaii. I don't think that a separate distributer would hold up. I will ask my brother in law the lawyer what he thinks.

 

I called up Big Island Toyota and talked to the service manager. He told me they wouldn't honor any warranty not purchased from their dealership. He also told me that the prepaid maintenance program wasn't worth buying because it basically only covered oil changes and that he wouldn't buy the extended warranty because he thought that the Prius was a very well made car and that the factory warranty was all that one really needed on it. He said that if I had an existing extended warranty that I should cancel it and get my money back. He did say that if they did accept an existing warranty they I would still have to pay for any service and that I would have to deal with getting reinbursed from the warranty company myself, which could take quite a long time.

 

just recently i got a brochure from Toyota City here in honolulu and what they are offering is their (Automotive Service Contract) ASC Gold New Vehicle Plan. I guess that's their version of the platinum warranty, unless i'm wrong. i'll be calling them to see how much it is. :roll:

I checked their website and it states: Big Island Toyota and Maui Toyota provide different Vehicle Service Contract Programs for Toyotas purchased through their dealerships. Please call Big Island Toyota or Maui Toyota for more details. I guess Maui and Hawaii have their own thing going and are independent of Oahu.

 

OK, I read the fine print of the actual Extended Care Plan and it is silent on that point. It does provide for reimbursement of repair costs as well as for direct payment to the repair facility. Pre-authorization is required unless the vehicle becomes inoperable outside the administrators business hours.

The bottom line is that this is an insurance plan offered by the distributor, not Toyota itself.

The best analogy is to health insurance. Hydragas, I believe that you are a physician. You are probably a preferred provider with some insurance plans and not with others. You are bound to accept the determination of the benefit level of the plans of which you are a participating provider, but not of other insurance companies. Your patients who go outside their network will be reimbursed by their carriers, but often not for the full amount charged for the services that were provided to them.

 

How about calling the underwriter of the extended warranty and find out what recourse you have if dealers in the area you now reside won't honor the warranty, especially when in Hawaii, you don't have too many options.

There are laws against monopolies, and it looks like Hawaii dealers are trying to form one.

 

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It would appear as if all of the Hawaii Toyota dealerships are owned by the distributor.

Servco Pacific Inc.

 

I know dealers are stocked via regional distributors that cover a large gographical area, but that shouldn't prevent dealers from honoring warranties issed from other dealers/regions. That would only hurt Toyota's business. Hawaii is an even bigger problem because you can't easily transport the car to another region.