Toyota Certification: Cost & Worth

Might want to start your search for facts here.

Toyota Certified Used Cars, SUVs, Trucks for Sale Near MeToyota Certified Used Cars, SUVs, Trucks for Sale Near Me

on the other hand, perhaps you're more interested in what dealership
services people have to say about the cars they sell and service.

cheers

 

i've always believed that certification is just an expensive short term insurance policy.

when did dealers start needing to be competitive?

 

You can get a comprehensive inspection from them but they are unlikely to fix any issues for free. They would have already fixed most major issues they know about.

However the biggest cost to the dealer for certification is the warranty which is good, transferable and usable at other dealers along with roadside assistance. That may cost the dealer $1,500 to $2,000 he does not have in the current price.

 

Dealerships aren't certifying because most savvy consumers just buy something like Carshield.
1. It's a cost savings to the dealership, so if the car blows up - We didn't know anything about that (Plausible deniability, we're all innocent here). The truth of the matter is, at least in my state - there are certain minimum safety criteria cars must meet rolling out of a dealership - even on an as-is sale. A parts car sale is a whole another animal, where dealerships gets to skirt those rules. That's why people need to READ before signing any sales documents. You could be waiving your consumer protections rights, buried in those documents.
2. They get to pocket the cost savings, instead of tying up a few of their service people doing certifications - they can work on more revenue generating areas - Like fix that car that just blew up, for a price

I don't know, but it seems to me, over the last decade - more people are blaming others for their own problems, instead of taking responsibilities for their own actions/inactions. ie. The drive it like I stole it, because it's covered by a warranty..

Just my two-cents....

 

Apologies in advance for picking apart your post above.
A prime example of what you write about is usually buried in nearly any internet or operation system "Terms of Service" "Our Policies" agreements, most of us blindly click accept. And not limited to internet and / or computer / phone operation systems.
All anyone needs to read in any of them is the
" Indemnification Clause(s) " to understand the full extent of what we've agreed to and the service we can expect.

It's also a good idea to search out or look for the term obfuscation within these documents and understand the implications of how it's presented in the wording when it appears.

 

Probably a more palatable excuse than "These cars are selling regardless so we may as well not eat into our profit margin by certifying it"

 

That’s actually doable. Customers are cowed by a printed document, but it’s neither binding nor final, till signed by both parties, and either party can edit the document, on the way to that mutual signing.

 

I do strike things I don't like in a sales contract and I don't need a new car or whatever that badly. There are other options and alternatives. Lots of people get in over their heads, then blame the banks, stealerships, landlord, and whomever. My question is, did they put a gun to head and make you sign that agreement?
Point is, you can always walk away if the sales terms aren't to your liking. Go ahead and place yourself into indentured servitude; if you want that car that badly - Just don't complain about it when they tell you what to do. They don't care that you lost your job and can no longer make your crippling monthly payments.

It's a free country, for now.....

 

Yeah, unless things have changed recently, it’s a sellers market

 

And the reason I stated that this is a bad time to try to buy a new car - but the circumstances are shifting. New car sale lot times are slowly increasing - that's good news for buyers.

 

I bought a gold cert ‘18 in Dec

It doesnt mean much that im aware of. I get the remaining warranty transferred.
Dealers will stick bicker with you and refuse to pay for repairs.

My cars dome lights (all of them on ceiling interior) dont work - didnt notice til i got home
Why do i suspect they arent going to fix that for free.

Gold certified surely doesnt mean theyll toss on a 850 dollar “new part” heat exchanger replacement

The local dealer said “you get the remaining warranty, whats that, like 2 years or so”
Wow, sounds like a real perk, not even sure when it ends

full disclosure i talk to them as little as possible
Buying a car is kind of like holding your breath as a kid passing cemeteries.

that said, i love the car, its really a nice car
We drive land cruisers normally here, prius looks a little weird but is awesome car

 

It does mean they will change major, non maintenance parts. A certified car is more than just transferring the remainder of the various factory warranties. Toyota will do that free without certifying by a dealer.

Certifying means you get an extended warranty on the used car backed by Toyota and good at any Toyota dealer. Toyota requires a real inspection (unlike their oil change inspections) and identified problems fixed. That cost and the extended warranty cost makes dealer certified pricing more expensive than the same car sold elsewhere. So some dealers choose not to add the fixes and extended warranty while still making a tidy profit on the sale. In fact dealers often make more profit from clean used cars than new cars.

 

I bought a brand new Acura Integra, second year they were out - so that was way back. Also fairly new was timing belts, back then. Well I got the dealership to include an extended warranty package out to 100K miles for free - pretty much unheard of back then. They did try to charge me for the warranty package and I walked out. They redrew the sales contract and subtracted the cost, which was what was initially agreed upon.
The reason I mention this is that extended warranties don't cover belts and newer cars are experimenting with wet timing belts and wet oil pump belts. I believe that even current extended warranties still have an exception on "belts", so if those wet belts fail - not covered. As most of you in this forum know, that's a catastrophic failure and your going to need a new motor. A timing chain failure - covered.

YMMV......

 

Fair enough, thanks, that sounds correct.

Beyond the factory transfer it adds: 1 year comprehensive and 7 years or 100k limited (major) engine / train.

As best i can see major powertrain does not include heat exchanger vis black letter law:

 

There is the T-SB-0135-19
But if the Prii comes in with the conditons outlined in doc, it's almost not worth fixing it anymore.
Unless it's happened really fast and at slowish speeds and the driver pulled over right away and had it towed in.