Yesterday I waked into a dealership and bought a 2010 IV with SP. I paid slightly below MSRP and was able to use my credit card for $3000 to get some cash back. By the end of the month dealers in SoCal will have plenty of inventory sitting in their lots. The car has now been nicknamed "The Turtle" because of its domed roof shape and sluggish performance. It shares the garage with "The Beast" a 300 HP Volvo S60R that will be returned after the lease expires in a couple of weeks. I was told that for $1695 I could extenrd the warranty to 6 years / 100K miles using Toyota Platinum extended waranty. Is this warranty a good option or a rip off? I have a month to decide to buy this warranty at this price. Apparently the price of the extended warranty goes up as the car accumulates miles / time.
That is NOT true about the price going up as the car ages. Secondly, you can buy the warranty through any authorized Toyota dealer. As a matter of fact, there is a dealer who sells the warranty through Priuschat!!!!! I am not sure what dealer cost is for the 2010 model. I paid a little under $1,000 for mine when I got my 2004. I have a little over a year remaining on the warranty and never used it yet.
If you get the Toyota extended warranty at all, you should get it here at PriusChat through its representative, Troy of WarrantyShack.com (Toyota of Greenfield, MA): http://priuschat.com/forums/sponsor...rius-extended-warranty-service-contracts.html For $1055, Troy/WarrantyShack.com sells Toyota's longest and best extended warranty -- the Toyota Extra Care - Platinum Plan - 7 years/100,000 miles/$0 deductible. Troy/WarrantyShack.com also sells all the other versions of Toyota extended warranties for similarly discounted prices. By getting the extended warranty through Troy/WarrantyShack.com and mentioning PriusChat in the space provided on the WarrantyShack.com application form, you'll help support this great forum.
One can sometimes negotiate as good as, or better pricing from their dealer using Troy's quote - just don't identify the source. If the dealer won't budge, please use WarrantyShack instead as you'll support Priustchat!
Thanks all for the replies. Here are pictures of "The Turtle" and "The Beast". I took the Prius photo today, the other two years ago.
I've emailed Troy, and he was very quick and professional. My question is... is the warranty worth it? I've never owned a Toyota before, but they have a great reputation. For folks who have had your Prius for a while -- would you buy he warranty? I have the same question about the pre-paid service plan? Is this one worth the money? I realize these questions are very subjective, but I would like to hear what some of the veterans have to say. I hope to have my IV wih solar panels before the school year begins (in August) and want to make a decision on the warranty and service plan before that. Thanks John Coliton
Beautiful! As you probably already know, the Beast (Volvo) is in need of an extended warranty MUCH MORE than the Turtle (Toyota Prius). If I were you, I'd wait until you got closer to 3 years/36,000 miles before deciding to get the Toyota extended warranty for your Prius. That way you'll be better informed as to (1) whether you should get the extended warranty and (2) which one to get in terms of years/miles that best matches your past and anticipated future use of the car. If you reduce the maximum years and/or miles, the price of the Toyota extended warranty can be hundreds less than that $1055 price for 7 years/100,000 miles.
That's a gorgeous backdrop for a gorgeous car. Nice photo! Toyota should use this in their marketing!
Per my post above, IMO it's best to wait until you approach 3 years/36,000 before deciding whether to get the extended warranty. As to the prepaid maintenance plan, it's not worth it. Not even at the discount price offered by PriusChat through Troy/WarrantyShack.com.
The Volvo is going soon. The $250 oil changes will not be missed. I wouldn't dare to keep it without an extended warranty. Many things broke during the lease period.
Of course, the extended warranties are generally not worth it based on covered repairs or they wouldn't be a money maker. However, it might be worth it to you to have piece of mind to not have to worry about repairs for 4 additional years on the entire car and 2 additional years on the powertrain. The battery is already covered by the factory for longer than the extended warranty.
Yes, I had the same experience with my 1995 Volvo. I literally had problems from the first week on. And the dealer's service department seemed dazed and confused. Took them 4 tries to fix an electrical problem. The last time I had work done there, they forgot to replace the radiator fluid and the A/C refrigerant. But as to the Toyota Prius, the Gen I and Gen II were among the most reliable cars made -- 9 years in a row with the highest reliability ratings by Consumer Reports and its readers. That doesn't mean that your Gen III will be as reliable. But I'd still put 34 months/34,000 miles on it before deciding on an extended warranty.
You only insure things you can't afford to lose, like house, health, kids' future, etc. And why do we choose Toyota to begin with?
It's just a personal preference for peace of mind. No manmade product is free of defects or possible malfunctions in the future. I've had 10 Toyota's with no significant problems, except one, with most lasting well over 150,000 miles. The one major problem occured on our MR2 Spyder and it was a douzy.. a $5500 bill!!! We didn't do the work we sent it to auction and got full value even with the defect. BTW NEVER buy from an auction, that's really shooting craps. We did get the 7/100 on the wife's Highlander because she drives 14000 miles a year on average so it will cover us for the full 7 yrs. I didn't get it on my Prius because I drive 35000 miles a year, see below, and I would have blown through the mileage limit in less than 3 yrs.
I have had several Toyotas and never felt I needed a extended warranty but how long do the batteries last and are they covered in the warranty
The big traction battery is already warrantied for as long or longer than the longest extended warranty of 7 years/100,000 miles.
Thanks for all of the good advice. I've never been much of a warranty type person, but with all the talk about the discounted prices I was concerned that the warranty was almost a prerequisite for long term ownership. It sounds like the Toyota name is a good start, and I'll see about the warranty after getting to know the car for a couple of years. Thanks again, I appreciate the insight. John Coliton
I paid $1850 for 7year 100k miles. Now i felt stupid getting that warranty from dealership. any know if i can cancel and get a refund? i bought it 3 days ago.