Maintenance or Service Warranty? or Both?
 

Hey everyone, so I bought the extended warranties for my frs but I am on the edge of canceling it. The main reason why is because the amount of months we have to pay it off is past 70 months which is long for both my parents and I. My question is should I cancel both or keep one? What is the standard warranty on all scion frs? And also with everyone having CEL, is it better to keep extended service warranty over maintenance warranty? And I have one problem with the pricing of what we were charged. According to scion site, the 7 year 75000 No Deductible Service Agreement is $1225. On my papers, it said I paid $2495. Also, my maintainance warranty is also about $1000 raise from what scion posted on there site. Can't I go back to the dealer and bring up scion pure pricing? Thanks everyone!

Extended Warranties are cheap insurance. There is no cheaper way to cover the vehicle for problems outside of the normal factory warranty.

You could accomplish the same thing by taking the money that you would pay for the warranty and put it into an interest gaining bank acct.

The catch is that you might have more cost if something big breaks on the car vs what's in the acct.

You might not have bought the Scion Warranty. It could be an aftermarket extended warranty.

I bought an aftermarket extended warranty to cover my generic length of ownership becuase they make sense to me as far as cheap insurance.

The maintenance plan could also be an aftermarket product.

I bought the Subaru maintenance plan because it will save me money as I do all of my normal service at the dealer.

Many will tell you that these are the most evil things on the planet and they are pure profit for the dealer. These are the same guys that haven't had an OEM head unit/NAV, HVAC, other electricals break on them and have it covered under warranty.
Extended Warranty and Maintenance Plans are only as good as their coverage, cost and reasons. If you can't justify them, don't sign up.

Hmm so is it possibly to go back to my scion dealer and talk them into giving me the service and maintenance online pricing? Is there any benefits of an aftermarket extended warranty? Because I have thee papers proving that the warranty is from scion/toyota.

Yes, it would make sense to get the "best" price available. If they (the actual dealer) have it advertised for a lesser cost.
If they won't play nice, you can cancel their plans and sign up with another dealer.

The only real benefits to the aftermarket versions for me is coverage (Any shop), ease of function and loaner cars. But this will change store to store and plan to plan.

It seems to me that if they charged you more for the scion maintenance plan and scion extended warranty than what was authorized then they have some explaining to do. The maintenance plan is not a dealership specific plan it is something that is offered by Toyota/Scion. So you can go to any dealership and get your maintenance performed.
My subaru came with free maintenance plan so i didnt pay for it. That was a dealer option (to help sell the car they took the hit of the cost of the maintenance plan) in hopes to sell the car. They did offer an extended maintenance plan which i declined.

For my warranty it came standard with the 3 yr 36k mile known as the Factory Warranty (i think thats the correct numbers) and the option to purchase extended warranty (which i also declined).

Thanks for the info guys! I feel that with all the CEL issues and electrical problems on the forum I'll probably lean towards just canceling the extended maintenance warranty but still have a lot of thinking to do. I don't know if this is true because the dealer told me this but if I don't use the warranty before the ending period of 7 years they give me difference back to me. Is that true? And how does it work?

Just make sure that you understand which is which:
Extended Warranty - Covers all things mechanical, electrical, etc for unforseen failures.

Extended Maintenance - Covers all of your dealer services like oil/fluid changes, tire rotations, fuel system cleanings, etc.

Yes, you will be refunded any difference of the unused extensions. But if you wait the full 7 years there won't be much left to refund.

Thanks alot! I'll probably talk it over with my parents about just keeping one warranty but I'll also probably ask the dealer why the price of the warranty is much more than online. Really appreciate all your help!

I might look at it a little differently than most. If something makes it thru enfancy it's a likelihood there is nothing wrong with what ever that something might be. If it is a faulty part it will show its faults early on. In that case we have the factory warranty. To me the biggest factor to consider is how the equipment is treated and how well it's maintained. I have never bought an extended anything on any vehicle or appliance I've ever purchased and I haven't yet regretted it one time. I've been purchasing cars since 1952 which was a long time before there ever were any extended warranties. As far as I'm concerned they fall into the category of snake oil. I feel the same about extended maintenance contracts. If they weren't making money off of the customer they wouldn't be selling it.

No worries. There is no rule that says a dealer can't charge the maximum for a warranty/maintenance plan.

It's just like car sales. They will try to make as much profit as possible. You can negotiate the cost of these products just the same as the car itself.

Many will say "oh poo on you Mr Dealer for trying to make money!! You suck!!" But they would never think to say something like that with any other retail business that doesn't disclose the amount of profit they made on you for clothes, food, etc..

We're just like any other business trying to make a profit.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

I've seen things break the first day and I've seen things break just after the 3/36 and 5/60 warranties. Things that break or fault don't have a time bomb attached to them and can happen at any time.

You are one of the lucky few that I speak of. But just because you haven't found a need for them doesn't make them useless to the masses.

Extended Warranty = The cheapest insurance money can buy. I see these in action everyday and can say that there are cutomers that get good use of them.
Like I said earlier, you can also take the money that you would spend on the Warranty and put it into a bank account. If you never used it, it's still there.

Extended Maintenance = Cheap service plans. These are only good if you anticipate using a dealer exclusively for all of your services. Does this make profit? Yes. Will it also save you money in the long run? Yes.

Calling these snake oil is the same as saying health insurance is snake oil. Well I never get sick, so I don't need any snake oil health insurance. Well I'm never gonna die, so I don't need any snake oil life insurance.

Fair enough. I've trully been a lucky one. Regarding your above statement: They're not quite the same. If I could trade myself in for a new myself that had a warranty I'd cancel my health insurance, but I can't find a dealership, as much as I'd love to! :)

:lol::clap::thumbup:

Thank You for understanding my stance. It is a fairly strong analogy but it does hold true to some degree.

I used to be just like you. I called every car dealer a "stealership" and wouldn't sign up with anything, ever. I hated there service costs, etc, etc..

But even before working for a good and reputable dealer my opinions have changed. I've also seen these products function in the real world working here.

Are these products meant for everyone? No.
Are they worth the cost of entry? Not always.
Do they function as they are described to? yes.
Can they save you time, money, added expenses? Yes.
Should the dealer be allowed to make profit? Yes, if you want to see them still there in a few years when your ready to trade-in.

I have very similar question as OP (sorry about jacking up your thread)
I signed up that Subaru's extended warranty as well but i think i don't need it but i already signed paper when i purchased my car. i am still allowed to cancel it? I bought it in January