VSA in US for 2023 Prius, yay or nay?

it isn't a warranty?

 

It is a warranty. And it's the best one out there if you decide you need/want it. I would suggest watching the following video and see how it applies to your needs/plans/lifestyle. He lays out the pros and cons, and how they apply to different people. When he's talking about Toyota Extra Care, he's talking about the Platinum VSA. (I think there was a name change a ways back.)

short version: Generally don't get it when buying a new car, get it when buying a used car when you aren't confident about the service history. If you do get it, make sure to match it to your driving pattern. If you put on 30k-40k miles a year, that 7y/100k plan isn't going to last for long.

 

Well, FTC says VSA is NOT a warranty as defined by federal law.

Auto Warranties and Service Contracts | Consumer Advice
An auto service contract is a contract to perform (or pay for) certain repairs or services. Service contracts are sometimes called an “extended warranty,” but they’re not a warranty as defined by federal law.

 

Okay, but a Toyota VSA is the closest thing you can get to a regular warranty. It's closer than most or all of the 3rd party extended warranties out there. Just pay attention to that exclusion list that was posted earlier.

Spoiler alert: I'm not getting a Toyota VSA with mine, but I wouldn't fault someone for getting one if they felt it was important to them.

Also important info is the deductible. Toyota offers two options: $0 and $100 disappearing. I assume the $0 costs more, but it's also good to know that the $100 deductible is waived if you have your service done at the selling dealership. If you plan to travel a lot(or are buying from a distant dealership), the $0 plan might be worth the extra money. If the car in question is your commuting car and it will never be far from home(and your selling dealership is close to you), maybe the $100 plan is better for you because any repairs would almost certainly be done at the selling dealership anyway.

 

we've had several benefits from extended warranties/service contracts - one reccomended via PC . . . but in THIS case?

if this offer isn't asininely ridiculous enough - consider that many states under CARB rules extend all hybrid components out to 10 years / 150,000 miles anyway.

LOL ! ! !
.

 

Yeah, if paying extra money upfront to cover the "potential" cost of repair down the road makes you sleep better, then maybe it is worth it. But, as @hill pointed out, hybrid components are covered 10 years / 150,000 miles. And IIRC, the power train components are covered 5 years/60,000 miles, and everything else 3 years/36,000 miles. So, 7 years 100k miles of extended warranty is really covering only a fraction of the time/miles and components.

It is akin to buying an insurance policy for rainy days. But, is it more like health insurance in which you know for sure almost everyone can benefit from the policy, or more like a term life insurance in which 99% of all term policies never pay out a claim? It's your bet.

 

Note that the page I copied earlier, distinguishes the power train components from the "everything else":

"Platinum VSA covers the cost of mechanical breakdown of the parts listed below after your vehicle’s warranty expires.2
Your vehicle’s Limited Powertrain Warranty covers only those parts listed in BLACK text."

I.e. black text is hybrid or limited powertrain, red text is "everything else". That page has lots more red text than black.

Not that they didn't put a lot of effort into making that red text covered list visually appear as large as possible ...