WarrantShack accusations?

Look who is talking thrash -- a rival Toyota dealer in Massachusetts.

If I were you, I'd ignore the guy and support PriusChat by sticking with our longtime friend, Troy/WarrantyShack.com/Toyota of Greenfield, MA.

 

I read that accusation as well, and I find the poster's sales tactics abhorrent.

He is correct, you can find a warranty cheaper than WarrantyShack. I have found them on Ebay for as low as $988 for a 7/100/0 Platinum Warranty. Same warranty, slightly lower price.

However, slandering the competition with accusations that they are doing something illegal is highly unethical. Even when the accusation is true (which it isn't), it's bad business. Who can sell a warranty is an internal matter which should be handled by Toyota and the customer should never worry about. When the accusation is false, it's illegal slander. In the end, if a Toyota dealer takes your money and hands you a contract, you have a warranty - you don't have to worry about WarrantyShack.

In the end, I didn't buy a Toyota warranty because I had some problems with the contract itself. This wasn't the salesperson's fault, it was Toyota. A few things about the Toyota warranty:

1) The plan administrator is rated 'C' by the Better Business Bureau (not good).
2) The plan administrator does not appear to be insured, as I can tell.
3) They have an arbitration clause, which means that if you have a grievance, you cannot sue and have to go to a biased arbitrator of their choosing.
4) Their exclusions list includes fasteners. It also excludes claims against warranted parts that were originally caused by an unwarranted part. This means if a fastener, such as a pin or bolt fails, and it takes out your engine/transmission, you are NOT covered.
5) You can only claim the warranty at a Toyota dealer, who may have incentive to be loyal to Toyota rather than you. Other warranties are good anywhere (including Toyota dealers, who have no incentive to be loyal to the plan administrator).

In the end, the purpose of a warranty is to give me some peace of mind. I know that 80% of warranty buyers do not recoup their purchase cost, and with a super-reliabile Prius, the ratio is probably more like 95%. The purpose is to give me peace of mind that I won't run across a $5000+ repair bill before the car is paid off. Due to it's exclusions, arbitration clause, and BBB rating, the Toyota warranty fails to give me that peace of mind.

Now, that said, it is basically impossible to find the perfect warranty (Old Republic sold by Carchex is close, but excludes fasteners just like Toyota. WarrantyDirect is also close, but has an arbitration clause. Both will be more expensive than the Toyota warranty).

If you want, I can post a copy of various warranties to the files area. I have collected contracts from WarrantyDirect, Old Republic, and Toyota. I also have one from Priemer Dealer Services, but to get that one, you have to buy your car from a used car dealer that offers it (you can't get it off the internet).

-->Adam