Opinions on Toyota Extended Warranty

[FirestormFRS]

People buy these things for the same reason you buy life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance and any other kind of insurance. The $1200 cost ensures they don't get bit with a $5k plus repair on an engine that could blow. Do they pay off...nope not normally.

Piece of mind has a lot of value to many people.

[Quentin]

It depends on the car. On an FR-S, no. It is easy to work on, relatively simple, and relatively cheap. I just don't see a lot of things that could fail that I wouldn't tackle myself or take to a local mechanic. Something like a head unit would be high dollar to replace, but it would just give me an excuse to upgrade to a pioneer unit with Carplay.


Sent from Tandy 400

[sdwagonjp]

Originally Posted by Koa

You should provide some information about what you do with the car, as well as future plans for it.

If it's a DD that you absolutely will not mod outside of warranty, go for it! That's a fair price for a comp drivetrain warranty.

If you are itching to mod, don't even bother. Typically, within 60k you'll know whether or not you got a bad engine or transmission.

This guy is right. Ask yourself if you're going to mod and how far your willing to mod it. I don't think you need to go any further than that. Unless you just don't trust the car you bought which would make no sense because you bought it.

[ninedice]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Do you mind going into further detail? I'm genuinely curious.

Sure. I had a 2006 xB automatic that was running on its second transmission when the warranty (60k/5year) ran out. As soon as I rolled over 60k the front bearings went bad. I had those replaced and then a few months later the passenger CV axle died. Then a few thousand miles later the drivers side rear wheel bearing went bad but I replaced those myself. I don't remember exactly when but the alternator and rear window wiper motor also broke. The head unit was also being sketchy this whole time and often the smell of something electric filled the car. I started hearing crackling somewhere under the dash so I traded it in.

It was a fantastic car otherwise and I miss it every day :'(

[sdwagonjp]

Originally Posted by ninedice

Sure. I had a 2006 xB automatic that was running on its second transmission when the warranty (60k/5year) ran out. As soon as I rolled over 60k the front bearings went bad. I had those replaced and then a few months later the passenger CV axle died. Then a few thousand miles later the drivers side rear wheel bearing went bad but I replaced those myself. I don't remember exactly when but the alternator and rear window wiper motor also broke. The head unit was also being sketchy this whole time and often the smell of something electric filled the car. I started hearing crackling somewhere under the dash so I traded it in.

It was a fantastic car otherwise and I miss it every day :'(

Have a 04 xB, Only thing that happen over the last 145k+ miles is the water pump and one ignition coil going bad. It's my daily so I baby it. I do about 2000 miles a month on her now with my new job. Not bad looking for a 04...

[FRSapex]

We have an 04 Mazda3 manuel with 240,000+ miles that is still going strong and never had a single issue out side of normal use (tires, brakes, filters...)

Every 5K was followed by a full synthetic oil and filter change. The tranny fluid flushed, coolant flushed, brakes bled.... all on regular bases.

I will have to replace wheel bearings and rubber bushings soon.

I'd like to think I would have performed these duties even if we had purchased the extended warranty.

[Scubaru]

Originally Posted by FirestormFRS

People buy these things for the same reason you buy life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance and any other kind of insurance. The $1200 cost ensures they don't get bit with a $5k plus repair on an engine that could blow. Do they pay off...nope not normally.

Piece of mind has a lot of value to many people.

This was exactly what I was thinking. Good answer!

I HIGHLY recommend them to my customers that buy a high end vehicle. Ex: Limited Avalon with the driver technology package, 4Runner trail editions with the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System, Limited Platinum Highlander, etc. Not only are part costs high for these type vehicles, but you have to include labor as well.

Let's say the part that failed is $100, which is being very generous considering how expensive parts are these days, and it requires 4 hours to fix it. Our labor rate (and I'm sure most other dealerships rates are similar), is $90/hr. That's $460 out of pocket.

Hypothetically speaking, if that was the only thing to ever go wrong in 100k miles and you paid $1275, it's still worth $815, or $11 a month to me to have that piece of mind. You can't touch full coverage on your vehicle every month for that price!

However, I didn't buy one for my FR-S just because as other people have stated, it's a fairly easy vehicle to work on without a lot of technology thrown at it, but I'm also mechanically inclined. I can fix (most) anything that would break on that car. It's also fair to say I have plans to heavily mod mine as well. (;

I'm just giving you a few examples. An ESC is not for everyone. If you have experience working on vehicles and you bought a basic FR-S that you just plan to DD, I would say no. If you bought a Monogram/10 series (one with heated seats, navigation, self leveling headlights, LED DRL's etc) and you've never really turned a wrench in your life, I absolutely would.

If you do decide to buy it, make sure to ask if it's transferable and refundable. If you sell your car, you can hold more resale value selling it to the next guy, or you can return to the dealership and get a refund depending on how many miles you've put on the vehicle. Ours is, so I would at least ask before you sign anything.

Hope this helps!

[KNS]

I bought my '04 BMW 325i new and didn't buy any extended warranty. I've also done 100% of the maintenance on the car from day one, no one has laid hands on it but me. I'm at 180,000 miles at the moment and I sincerely believe one of the reasons it has run so well is that I've kept it out of the dealership's hands and ignored BMWs maintenance schedule (which is virtually nothing and a joke). It has run flawlessly and I've never even seen a check engine light. It's spooky how reliable it has been.

Of the few times I've taken a car to a dealership it came back to me with more problems "discovered". "Should have gotten an extended warranty" they'd say... yeah - right.

Edit: If you're going to buy a high-end vehicle with failure prone big ticket items as Scubaru mentions above, it might make sense if you're keeping past the normal warranty period.

[Dadhawk]

I have tracked this over the years with my various vehicles as I always keep them until they are basically scrap metal. I have never had repairs that exceeded the cost of an extended warranty (where the warranty would have been a benefit). This includes (only cars purchased new):

1977 Honda Civic. (went to 150K Miles, sold running)
1985 Toyota MR2. (went to 160K Miles, traded in running but no air)
1998 Chevy Lumina LTZ. (212K Miles, traded in running)
1999 Chevy Astro. (went to 250K Miles, traded in running)
2001 Chevy Astro. (went to 289K Miles, engine ate main bearings)

None of these had any repairs done to them under 100K miles, and had only minor repairs done between 100K and their demise. The one exception was the Lumina that was given to my son with 110K miles on it. it needed a transmission job after he inadvertently filled the oil by putting it in the transmission filler. (Yea, don't ask).

I also have bought a laundry list of cars that were outside of warranty and many already at 100K miles or more when purchased. I have NEVER had a repair bill on any of them that would have occurred within the extended warranty period, and would have recouped the money spent had they been covered.

So, short version, I would take the money, put it in a "warranty fund" account and self insure. Your mileage and experience may vary.

[Dake]

I bought the extended warranty on my last two vehicles: a used '01 Echo I bought back in '04 and when we bought my wife her new '08 Yaris at the end of '07.

I did not make back what either of the warranties cost. The Echo had the driver's side power lock break - you could still lock it manually, it just wouldn't work with electric button. That was five hundred bucks but covered and I'm sure I could have had it done for less anywhere besides the dealer.

My wife's Yaris had the rear shock blow out about two months before the end of the warranty and they covered that. It was six or seven hundred at the dealer but obviously I could have replaced that myself for MUCH less.

All that is to say, I didn't buy it on the FR-S. Modern cars will nearly always either be bad from the start or good for their lifetime. If you've made it to 36k without issues, it's far more likely you'll be good for as long as you want to drive it (certainly well past the 100k mark anyway).

[FRSToyota86]

ECP Extended Care Protection is best for someone on a monthly budget, who is either financing or leasing their vehicle... This is one was someone can avoid unexpected repair costs that otherwise would be a financial burden.. ECP includes Oem parts and labor in some cases rental car while your car is being fixed... You can think of this as a payment protection plan. You will be able to futher discuss the details with your business office at your local dealership.

[torqdork]

One of the reasons Toyota Financial Services is the world's largest and most successful automotive captive finance company is the profit they make from contracts like the one you're considering that IMO is unnecessary.

If you have the discipline, take that same cash and pay down debt or invest it in something you or your financial advisor recommends like a Roth IRA or employer matched 401(k). In all likelihood you'll get a much better rate of return than paying for a covered repair that will probably never happen.

Then when you dispose of the car take the money and either reinvest it or, if outside a retirement plan, put it toward debt to increase your monthly cash flow sooner rather than later.

If you still choose to get one, shop around. Any franchised Toyota dealer nationwide can sell you identical coverage and prices vary widely. Some, like Carson Toyota (not a recommendation), advertise nationally but once your dealer understands that you're cross-shopping they'll suddenly become more flexible especially the closer we get to 12/31/2014 and you'll save hundreds compared to their first run at you.

[sdwagonjp]

Wait can you add the extended warranty after you leave the lot?

[Dake]

It might vary by State, but I believe you have thirty days.