Should I buy extended warranty? please help chime in.
 

I got a letter in the mail stating that I am still eligible for extended warranty. I purchased my car with only the basic warranty 3yr/60,000kms.

Having owned the car for only 1.5 years (purchased July 2013), I'm already at 48,000kms! So I'm pretty much out of warranty within the next 6 months. But I'm financed for 5 years. And given the fact I do ~32,000kms a year (125km daily round-trip to work), should I opt for the extended warranty?

My biggest fear is expired warranty but still financed then having something major fail- having to pay out of pocket to repair on top of the loan.

Originally, I went into buying this car with extreme confidence in reliability- saying no to all the extended warranty options. But I'm having second thoughts now. I maybe should have put warranty coverage to cover the length of my financing term with enough mileage protection too. Hmmm...

They gave me an option of an extended 3 years/200,000kms for $2100+taxes. That would cover most of my finance term and also cover the mileage I rack up within the term.

Please chime in. What should I do? I don't track this car or beat it up much. I drive it like a Toyota Camry for the most part (except for corners ahah), and it will likely be 99.7% stock for the duration of my financing period. Reliability is number one to me and I take extreme care of all my vehicles.

Go for the extended warranty and pony up the cash just to be safe?

Or no, this car is bomb-proof and will last 500,000kms! Just change the oil.

Take that money and put it in a savings account in case something goes wrong. The chances of a $2k+ repair that's actually covered by the warranty is slim. Also you never know when you might want to sell the car. The money would be better suited with you rather than Toyota.

I get this answer a lot too. Thanks!

2100+tax for "in case shit happens", is kinda pricey. And even still, these stealership crooks usually do everything in their power to null any sort of claims.

Still scared though- going into unwaranted car payments. But still, $2100 in cash for surprise repairs should be comfortable.

This car is a keeper. It will never be for sale.

You have to watch out for extended warranties in the mail. Some are scams.

Just remember you'll still have your powertrain warranty that will cover big ticket items.

Its all preference in the end, If its a Toyota warranty usually they pay for themselves, Just had a guy with a release bearing in his 2011 tC come in with a 166,000kms and now hes getting full new tranny clutch etc and I hear a lot of these stories. Some people need a extended warranty just out of financial security knowing there not going to have a few thousand laying around in case of a big repair.
If its a aftermarket warranty run, don't even look at it or think about it. Just my .2

Ask me in 3.5 years time and I'll give you a definitive answer. Just dusting off my crystal ball for you now. :)

No, this is extended warranty through Toyota. It's legit.

Still on the fence. $2100 set aside is a decent cushion in case any unwaranted repairs come up. And if nothing happens (I'm betting 90% that nothing won't), I'd be out $2100. But if the motor or gearbox goes outside of warranty, I'll definitely be in a bind. But I'm also pretty confident in the reliability of this car. Especially how easy I am on the car since its duties are to be daily driven. Hard decision, I'm undecided at the moment.

my reasoning was that there are more than enough aftermarket parts on the market if anything happens,

save your money..put the $2,100 in a bank account or a mutual fund as a rainy day car repair fund. Do it every time you buy a car and that should grow to help cover unexpected repairs.


And as Burrcold said above...you still have the powertrain warrantee for 5 yrs/60K miles which I would expect would cover motor repairs (which seems to be the issue with the twins when something does happen)

I am in the same boat as you and chew up a warranty in under two years. Even with that I did not get it for the reasons already stated several ties above.

Shop around
 

There are legit dealers selling Toyota extended warranties for a lot less than the typical dealer. A 7 yr 80,000 mile (I think) warranty was offered to me for $2,000 when I bought my car. There are dealers selling the same warranty for around $900 if you shop around. Same Toyota warranty, same coverage.

LD

OP is in Canada so the warranty costs are radically different and dealerships are rare (comparatively) so cross shopping can be tough.
Even then when you have mileage as high as he does you use it up fast.

Interesting. I'll definitely will look into this. If it's only like $1200 or whatever for a legit Toyota extended warranty, I would get it. $2100 makes it hard to decide since those monies already could be used to pay for repair bills IF anything were to happen.

Thanks for the heads up.

http://i.imgur.com/H25LSk2.png

Well I think I know the community's opinion on this matter.

Like others have stated save your money

You can have warranty and whatever they said, the problem will be
when you need it they will complain about you did the damage/screwed up and will not
covere up. You will have a car loan, paying the warranty and repairing the car by youreself
Worst case scenario indeed. Sorry im pesimist

I always own 3 vehicles, a family sedan (currently '14 Camry), a small pick-up (currently '11 Taco), and a toy, (currently '13 FRS). We drive a total of about 35-40K/year, keep vehicles 5-7 years or 110-120K miles. And all of our vehicles are always kept in good repair.

I haven't spent a combined total of $2100 for repairs over the last 10 or more years!

Thanks for the insight!

Off topic but, weren't you a head honcho in the mr2 community some years ago? I remember the screen name ahah. Seems like a ton of FRS/brz owners here were once mr2 owners too.

I bought the extended warranty for $1500. I probably could have gotten it for less, but I have no regrets buying it.

My last vehicle came with a 100K mile warranty, back when the auto manufacturers were using warranties to compete. I had to have several repairs under that warranty that easily would have exceeded what I paid for this one. The head work alone done on that truck would have cost more than $1500.

So to me, it's worth it. I need reliable transportation for my job, and let's face it, these cars are still too new to be able to make any assumptions about their long term reliability. All it will take is ONE medium-sized repair job for the warranty on the BRZ to have paid for itself. A bad synchronizer. A leaking heater core. A blown head gasket.

Sure, in most of these cases I have the skill and tools to do the work myself for significantly less money than what the dealership shop would charge, but I simply do not have the personal time to spend on it nor the luxury of the associated out-of-service time for the vehicle. Sure, I could take that $1500 and put it in the bank instead, but I'll hit 100K miles within three years. It's not going to earn enough to make up the difference on a medium-sized repair job.

So I think it's a relatively inexpensive hedge against the potential economic consequences of repairs that I consider fairly likely to be needed. If I get to the end of the 100K miles and haven't needed the warranty, that's okay too, because that $1500 bought me peace of mind.

I work in the car business. I've bought four cars from my dealership in the past two years. I have never gotten an extended warranty.

Total combined warranty-able work done on these various vehicles so far?

$0


:)

Not worth it, just an upcharge. I did this on my 09 Tacoma I bought back then and I'll never waste money for that shit again. I told the salesman I wanted it out to 100k, he smiled, said that's what I was getting and it only lasted to 75k. And the routine maintenance dropped at like 40k. If you get one, take the time and read all the fine print or don't even consider it. You'd be better served buying a warranty from a 3rd party vendor with a good track record.

Great answers and experiences from both you guys. Makes me even more u decided. :(

Judging from what the community has to say, eff it! Just let the warranty lapse.

I mean, I'm anal about up-to-date maintenance and don't drive my cars hard. So, it's probably safe to say that I'll likely be okay in the long term without the extended warranty.

Best to just keep that $2100 or whatever aside and IF anything happens, pour it into repairs.

I think I got my answer. Big thanks to all who replied with insightful experience. :)

Just FYI, there's extended warranty and extended maintenance coverage.

The extended warranty covers unmodified non-wearable parts. When I say "wearable parts," I mean spark plugs, oil filter, brake pads, etc. Depending on your driving habit, it's either good for you or bad for you. It's a peace of mind that if something does happen, you don't have to pay out of pocket. Will it be better if you have it in a savings account accruing interest? As long as you don't touch it, yes. At this point, it's up to you to gauge yourself and how you handle your money.

Now, for extended maintenance coverage, I'd say it's worth it. 60k and 120k miles are huge inspection/maintenance costs that can lead into the thousands. Add the regular maintenance and oil changes in between that and the coverage will pay for itself.

Ive heard somwhere on this forum that you could have a full refund of your money back on the extended warranty is this true? Thinking of refunding if i could.

No. The extended warranty does not cover spark plugs, oil filter and brake pads. Those are all considered wear items to be replaced with regular maintenance.

Yeah, I'm the MkII guru. :) Actually, I'm still a "super moderator" on MR2OC, although I really don't visit the site very often. There is a MR2OC FB page that I post on occasionally.

As a previous MR2 owner, I sure you've learned that "the FRS ain't no MR2!"

Sorry. Typo in my part. I meant it does not cover wearable parts.

Back in 2007 I bought an ASC Gold extended warranty on a new Camry for around $1,700. Because I didn't use it in the seven years it was good for, I got my money back this past September. (I had 60 days after the warranty expired to claim the refund.) Perhaps your dealer can sell you one of those.

The truth is u can buy extended warrenty almost anytime... but ignore the ones in the mail thou, so many scammers.

I still get calls about my old car, I just hang up now. I like how they say they are the "warranty dept." Tempted to ask them if they are from Toyota

No worries. The letter is directly from the lady I dealt with when I bought my car at the dealership. I would go in and see her if I were going to extend my warranty which I'm not.

Certainly, there are scammers out there. Just be smart.

If the extra money to buy the extended warranty gives you peace of mind, then by all means purchase it.

However, the chances of something breaking that exceeds 2000 dollars within the extended warranty time limit...very very very slim.

Just keep in mind that they do have to inspect your vehicle if you decide to get the extended warranty.

Well, I'm getting nervous. Only one more round trip to work and the warranty is done. I'm sitting at 59,927kms.

These damn Subaru's better be as reliable as they say they are!

Only 15,000kms behind you (Only had it 9 months)!

I bought it for mine. Don't need to worry for 5 years/100000km. Nice peace of mind for 1900. More like 600 though with the 8 free oil changes and roadside coverage.

Friend had a bad experience with his FRS with extended warranty. He got rod knock and they wouldn't cover it because he did his own oil changes, though he took great care of his car

Geese dude. That's like 60,000 kms a year! Are you planning on keeping the car long term?