I just purchased a 2016 Toyota RAV4 XLE 23k miles. Part of the promotion is a 1 year/12k mile warranty (additional to the original 3yr/36K) on certified vehicles.
When I went to talk with person about add ons, he mentioned an extended warranty which added 6yrs/72k miles. So basically get bumper to bumper (Comprehensive) for additional 7yrs/84k miles…this would go for on the car for 7yrs or 107K miles whichever came first.
Now I’ve always heard that extended warranties aren’t recommended as your paying for something you probably won’t use…in this case it cost $2500. The guy at dealer kinda threw a scare saying that with cars becoming more computerized, these warranties are more important than they used to be. Also explained how their mechanic cost per hr is increasing.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I did purchase but have 30 days to cancel and get full refund.
Thank goodness I wasn’t drinking something when I read this. $2500??? YIKES!!! You’re buying one of the more reliable cars out there. Don’t waste your money.
I have 3 Toyota’s in the family. All are extremely reliable. @Mustangman has a great idea, put the $2,500 into an long term interest bearing account. Use it to pay for any big repairs (not normal maintenance) . I bet you will have $$$ left over many years from now
If this is a genuine Toyota extended warranty, backed by the manufacturer itself, it might be worth the money. I got the Toyota Care on my 2004 Corolla, and it paid to replace the water pump, which started leaking soon after the basic warranty ended. I think it paid for another minor repair as well, but it’s been so long I don’t remember.
If this is a third-party “extended warranty” underwritten by the dealership itself, or some insurance company or “extended warranty company”, I’d save my money. Those third-party plans have loopholes big enough to ride an elephant through, and the odds are very good that if the time should come that you have a legitimate claim, it won’t get paid. The third-party company will either be out of business or they’ll deny the claim for B.S. reasons. Just check the boards here, and you will see many stories of people who bought these third-party “warranty plans” and were left high and dry when it came time to use it!
I’ll go against the grain a little because it is an individual matter depending on your risk tolerance and the ability to easily absorb a large repair bill. I agree though, it must be the manufacturer warranty and not a third party that can go bankrupt or argue every repair. Yes they are reliable, and likely will not get your money back. Some people do though. It’s just insurance is all and we have life, car, etc. and don’t hope to use it. Still we have it. Now at current interest rates of 2% that $2500 will grow $200 over four years. In the market, you might be able to get it up to $4000 in four years, depending on risk. I’ve never bought one either though. On my new car if I had a $5000 repair, I’d just suck it up and pay it. On my old car, I’d just scrap it out. So up to you. Pay your money or take the chance.
They sell these warranties to make money, They make money because the expected repairs cost so much less than the warranty. I have had my 2012 Camry 7 l/2 years. No repairs except brakes, and they are a wear item and not covered by a warranty.
My previous car, a 2004 PT Cruiser , a car many on this forum consider an unreliable piece of junk had only one repair in 7 1/2 years, a $150 wheel bearing replacement.
So , at a price of $2500 for a 7 year warranty I am now ahead $4850 plus interest for 15 years .
Usually a few people will suggest that certified pre-owned vehicles can be a good value partly because of the available extended warranty, apparently that advise is not given on Saturdays.
Thanks everyone for the great advise. So it looks like the consensus is that the extended warranty for $2500 is a waste of money. Guy at dealership put the scare into me…'Yah…10 yrs ago when we had 5 computers in vehicle and extended wasn’t as much of a value. Now everything is a lot more computerized and just having mechanic diagnose what’s wrong when issue comes up could take 2 hrs and $300.Toyota doesn’t manufacture computer equip in car…so even though reliable car, you never know when you get 1 or more costly repairs that takes you well over $2500".
So I asked could I think on this and get back in next week…he said No because once I drove off lot, car is not certified and just a used car. Now I purchased and get all money back in 30 days which I plan to do…minor down side is money gets taken off financing but monthly payment would stay same…end up paying off loan about 4yr instead of 5.
Other thing that was more reasonable was service plan (full synthetic change every 10K miles and 3 tire rotations/yr) for $385 for 4yrs/55k miles. I did get this but still thinking whether to keep or not.
Our oil change and tire rotation for our Volvo is 80.00 at he Volvo dealer so that is 320.00 in 4 years .
You bought a used vehicle so you will probably need four new tires before the 4 years period and most tire shops include free rotation at 5000 or 60000 so this service plan does not seem like a very good deal. What is you trade or total the vehicle do you get a refund on the unused portion of this contract ?
Talk about speaking out of both sides of the mouth! Either the car is reliable, or it’s not. Whether or not Toyota manufactures the onboard computers, sensors, etc, or has a third-party vendor build them to its specs is immaterial. Also, it’s an oxymoron to claim that a reliable car will incur one or more “costly repairs that takes you well over $2500”.
That’s salesmanship, otherwise known as BS. If the car is sold as “certified pre-owned”, it comes with a warranty already at no additional cost. A CPO vehicle is also eligible for an extended warranty from the manufacturer itself, at additional cost. ANY used car is eligible for a so-called “extended warranty” from a third-party insurance company/warranty company, which it sounds like you got.
Once the loan is paid down by the removal of this worthless “extended warranty” policy, you can ask your current lender to refinance, or you can refinance with a different lender to bring the payments down.
To me 10,000 is too long. I change at 5000 which some here will say is too short. Too bad it’s my car and money. I only got about 35,000 on my original Michelin tires. I put on four Goodyears and get free rotations every 6000 miles. It needs to be done, especially on AWD. So just something to consider but I do my own oil changes with Mobil 1 and Honda filters for about $30. If you keep the 10,000 mile deal, I’d still do an extra change before 10,000. Aren’t cars fun? Cars are not money makers but not as bad as a boat.
Should have mentioned that without extended oil change service or service plan, this preowned certified car as well as others at dealer come with 1yr/12K bumper to bumper & 1 oil change (per their 10K interval) at no extra cost.