I am seriously considering buying an extended warranty from my local Toyota dealer for my 2007 Camry Hybrid car. I first want to get third-party, objective perspective on this. There isn’t any history of hybrid cars needing or not needing an extended warranty, so it’s hard to know if it’s worth the $2100-$2400 to buy the warranty.
My car has worked like a charm - except for the GPS - for the past 3.5 years. But, what breaks down after 80,000 miles or so for this type of car? Do the computers for the hybrid model last 10 years? Do the battery components last this long? I hope you have some concrete info. on this and can help me make a decision.
Thanks,
Solid information is hard to find but in general I don’t recommend a warranty. In general, your car should still be working well for six more years and even then it could be good for more. There doesn’t seem to be a definite limit.
Consider this, then make up your mind.
Those insurance policies (call extended warranty, which they are not) include all the profit from the car dealer or whoever sells it, plus the profit for the insurance company who is providing the insurance and likely a few other people like the salesman who all are taking money out of your pocket.
After all that the insurance company likely will have something around half of what you are going to pay, with which to pay you if you have any problems that happen to be covered. You may find that this insurance does not cover all the things a new car warranty would.
Yea, it is a hybrid, but the insurance company knows that and they know at least as much as you or I know about what the chances are of a problem and what the cost might be. When in doubt they will estimate more to make sure they are still making a profit. If you want verification, go to visit the home office of the insurance company and notice what a nice building they have. All that was bought with money paid by people with their insurance.
Having said all that, you have to make up your own mind if the feeling of having at least some protection (no one ever said it would cover everything) is worth the cost, then buy it. Feeling comfortable and worrying less has a real value in my opinion.
I would also add that so far the hybrids have been more reliable than I and many others have expected.
Good Luck
I never advise anyone to buy an “extended warranty”. Put the money in the bank in case you need it for future repairs. It’s the smart thing to do.
Thanks to everyone who replied with your advice. It does give me a more complete perspective. After writing my query, I found elsewhere on the Internet a way to get an extended warranty for my Camry Hybrid for about 1/3 of the prices quoted me here in N. California. It turns out you can get a warranty from any other USA dealership. I’m going to see what quotes I get and then make up my mind. The prices quoted to me here are way too high ($2400-$2900), which is why I was trying to get another perspective.
Have a great week,
Carolyn Feuille
Unless the price is about $100…extended warranties are a waste of money. They are very very high profit items for insurance companies. Most of the underwriters for extended warranties are the big insurance companies. They are so big and profitable the large insurance companies have started their own divisions just for this type of insurance.
Carolyn:
Can you explain what it is you’re hoping the extended warranty will provide for you?
Warranty contracts are carefully written to allow the company to deny coverage for many of the common expensive claims. Many car owners who purchased these warranties wished they knew that reality before they spent the money rather than after (when it was too late).
Carolyn,
Toyota’s are notoriously reliable. You didn’t specify your current mileage (unless that 80K bit was where you are now), however, it’s been good to you so far. I would just avoid the “extended” warranty, and as missileman said, put the money in the bank. Let it earn some interest for you.
If you’d had ongoing problems, then I would consider it. You haven’t, so don’t.
If you’re still concerned, have a very close read of the contract. You can get them long before you have to decide whether or not to buy it. There are limits on what they’ll cover, and even on the bits they do cover, you normally (not always) have a deductible.
Point of interest: I did it, once, on my VW…never got my money back. It was ~1900, and they spent about $50 on a new wheel hub - that the dealer messed up on a service, and they blamed it on me.
Best of luck,
Chase
It’s a cost vs. benefit issue. The major potential benefit might be avoiding battery repair expense, which is something like $3000. The cost of $2100 - $2400 is a huge fraction of the benefit, so only if it was just about certain that you’d need a battery, and that it would be covered, would I buy the insurance. In my opinion it is FAR from certain you’ll need a battery in the covered period. I would therefore NOT buy the warranty.