Sorry for what may be a repeat question. It is really about the reliability of the first year 2012 Prius V 5 model. We have just bought a certified pre-owned 2012 Prius V 5 from a Toyota dealer. The car was first purchased May 2012 , and the miles are only at 11000, so the 3/36 warranty is still in force and runs to mid 2015. As such, the Certified Preowned warranty offers me little not already covered by the Manufacturer warranty. Given the great record of Prius, and the comparatively low miles and good condition of the car, I would be inclined to avoid any extended "platinum" service agreements. One was offered at 2500, then quickly discounted to 1995 when I refused, illustrating the dealers agreement with my trust in the car. For 2000, plus the 50 deductible for each warranty related service, I am inclined to stuff the 2000 in my mattress. Granted, if the computer system fries itself in 2016 I'm probably out a bundle. The only question in my mind is whether the first year 2012 V is beginning to show any issues I should specifically consider that would warrant special concern on this very clean lo miles car. Thanks in advance.
Solid car by reputation ('12 v3 owner). Generally, according to Consumer Reports, extended warranties pay out 30% in claims and consume 70% in administration, selling, profits and commissions. Just the fact that it would be so swiftly discounted tells you something. Negotiate map and navigation updates into the deal if you still have time.
The hybrid system warranty lasts a lot longer, which is the most expensive stuff to repair. I'd say that the car has already been "shook down" and if anything was going to fail it already happened. Drive it and keep your money.
We just bought our 2014 standard Prius, with option package 3. We bought this car due to having to Lemon Law our 2013 Dodge Dart due to 14 problems in 15 months of ownership - which were still not fixed when we turned it in... Our Toyota dealer offered us the Platinum package that basically extended the 3/36 bumper to bumper out to 6/100 I believe. It was only $1200.00, so we took it. (We paid $2300 for Dodges "Lifetime warranty", and got $1700 of that back). I noticed the Toyota Prius policy said I could cancel it within 60 days for a full refund, but after the Dart, i am still thinking it might be a good deal, or just comfort insurance. Maybe it would have been wiser to wait 2.9 years, then decide if it was needed. But this way,, its done, not an issue. On our Dart, they had already replaced the Main computer, and the transmission computer. I can not imagine how much that would cost had it not been under warranty. The Toyota dealer told us the Prius has FIFTY computers on board! So maybe it will pay off.
Gotta love dimwit dealers. The Prius has about 16 microprocessors, not "computers". Problems with any of that are extremely rare. The most common issues are more or less the same as any car, but your odds of having no issues at all are very high. $1200 isn't a bad price for an extra 3 years of full warranty and peace of mind, but the odds are still against you for coming out ahead. The big ticket items are the traction battery and inverter, and failure rates are pretty low. My last Toyota (non Prius) went 6 years without a single repair of any kind.
No it indicates the wholesale cost is probably 1500, and the dealer had it severely marked-up. The first offering was a gouging of the customer. (Note: I used to work in sales. We are not there to be your friend..... we are there to take a vacuum to your bank account.) (That's why I was glad to get out of the scummy racket.) If you look at a mortality curve, you will see your used V is at the bottom part where few failures occur. Most failures happen at the start-of-life (manufacturing mistakes) and the end-of-life (about 200,000 miles). Those are the high points on the mortality curve. You need a warranty at the begining and end, but not in the middle when virtually no repairs are needed.
