Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Vehicle extended warranty;worth the money ?

Need opinions on value of extended warranty for a new Toyota Tundra.

I bought a new Tundra in 04. Other than a recall for ball joints it hasn't been back to the dealer. So far gas, oil, and filters have been all it needed.

extended warranties tend to be cost effective if you keep the vehicle a longer time. I buy them, but I usually keep the car for a few years past paying it off.

Mannlicher is correct if you will be keeping a vehicle more than say 4 years or so, the warranty can be worth the money. One trany problem or blown head gasket can make it worth wild. On the other hand if you trade in evry 2 or 3 years then it is most likely not worth it.

Being an engineer, I've studied MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) which explains that the % of failures occur just after starting useage, and just before EOL End of Life. If it is plotted out its actually called a bathtub curve. The original warranty period covers the first part to gain/retain Brand loyality while extended warrarny's are sold (when the lowest % of failures occur- note i did not say NO failures) to recoup the cost. They end just before end of life failures is predicted to increase significantly. But then again Bigpappa is right, if your one of the unlucky few who has a big expense, and didn't buty an extended warranty & have financial difficulty covering the cost than go for it. Its all percentages. just like life insurance.

They push them because they make so much money on them. They cover the period in it's life when the car is the LEAST likely to break down. So, it's a gamble. The odds are small that you'll get your money back, but if you're one of the few unlucky ones, it can pay off big.
You're better off to put $200/mo in a savings account for car repairs and LEAVE IT THERE. By the time the regular warranty is done, you'll have maybe $5K, then sit on it indefinitely. It'll still be there when you get the next car if you don't need to use it.

If it's a legitimate product offered via Toyota, you betcha...

Factory offerings only.. Forget any/all aftermarket extended service contracts.. I was in that exact business for 14+ years and know which ones are good; which ones are bad..

Yeah, they're not cheap.. But a new trans isn't cheap either.. And with all the bull-Pelosi under the hood (electronic this, electronic that, etc) all it takes is once or twice and it's paid for..

Look at it this way: a managed repair cost as opposed to a cost lottery...

UNLESS you plan on keeping the vehicle for not much more than the factory warranty - then skip it.. If you do obtain one, get the longest time/mileage item you can possibly afford.. If you trade/sell early you can get a refund on the portion you don't use..

being cheap, I alwys buy used,low mileage, vehicles and rive them into the ground. I always get an extended warranty if only as a peace of mind investment. But I never buy one from the dealer. My credit union has far better deals thrugh the Travelers, a GEIO subsidiary. Never had a beef from them on a paying out for work either.

If buying US and the local dealership closes, you now also have to wonder what good a dealer-provided extended plan is to you...

1B

The last new vehicle I bought the guy in charge of the sale offered an extended warranty for somewhere around $1600 and this would be my only chance to purchase this warranty because as soon as I drove off the lot I was on my own. I wasn't interested and he said "no problem" as he did not want to pressure me to buy one.

A little more paperwork and a few minutes later he offered it again at a lower price, around $1000, if I remember correctly. I still wasn't interested because I felt the extended warranty was somewhat of a way to further line the pockets of the dealership on the sale of a new vehicle.

As one final shot, he tried again and the price was dropped to around $800 with some stipulations. By this time I was getting pissed and told him the whole purchase was about to fall through because of his persistance about buying an extended warranty.

I kept receiving notices in the mail for a year or more about my last chance to buy an extended warranty. That was 90,000 miles ago and so far nothing under the warranty would have been covered anyway. It would have been a total waste of money to buy one.

Depends largely on what brand of vehicle you buy, and the fine print of the policy. European vehicles tend to be more maintenance intensive (job security for me ), Japanese, especially Toyota, you;re probably better off putting your money into a money market account as a hedge against repairs........
Domestic brands, a complete crapshoot as their QC seems to be very inconsistant......

Extended warranties are money makers for the manufacturers at the expense of the buyers. Sure some people will make out with them. Some people win lotteries too. If you are buying a Toyota you would likely be better off buying lottery tickets with the money than an extended warranty.

I have a 3 year old with about 40k miles on her. For about $1500 I can take the warranty up by another 4 years and 50k miles. When cost averaged it's a no-brainer for me. Plus it can be transferred to the new owner. I think that was the swing point for me.

I agree. I drove my last truck 10 years before I traded it with no problems. The one before that I drove 13 years. I've never wasted money on an extended warranty. When the dealer tries to sell me one I tell him if he thinks I need it I must be buying the wrong product.

I have one on one of my cars (an Audi) and it's reached the break-even point with 25,000 miles to go after a couple dealer repairs. A couple of things to keep in mind as others have pointed out. The price is highly negotiable, started out at $3500 and actually paid $1500 and you can buy it at any point. I didn't buy mine until the factory 50K warranty ran out.

I will not buy one for my 08 Toyota 4Runner. It's a pretty proven vehicle with a lot larger base of potential repair places than my somewhat obscure and more complicated 04 Audi Allroad. (whom I would be happy to let Badger work on if I was anywhere close!)

All the financial guys will tell you they're a waste of money, I've never bought one for that reason, and don't plan on it.

That said, my fiancee had an 03 Tahoe, at 68,000 miles or so a valve spring broke, dropping the valve into the piston. In that case, she had an extended warranty, and was out $125 to get a new engine put in.

Other than that, all the 'major' repairs I've seen necessary in the last few years of friends/family, would have been above the mileage allowed on an extended warranty.

Same here. They reduced the price to me significantly when they learned of my mostly hi-way driving habits and service commit levels.

As many have already said, the extended warranties are priced such that the dealer(seller) makes $$. I view them as a bet that your vehicle is going to break down during a certain point in time (and mileage). If you are getting a Toyota, I would take the money you would've spent on the warranty and gamble it away somewhere that your odds are better, and where you would have more fun :-)

do not have a toyota but good info tks!

NO!!!!!

There is a reason they are pushed so hard, and the reason is that they are highly profitable to those who sell them. Typically, the selling dealer makes 50% or more of the premium you pay in immediate profit.

These expensive "insurance policies" rarely pay for themselves, particularly when applied to such a reliable nameplate like Toyota.

Save your money!

Had an Audi A8 customer that had over $21k in repairs in 4 years, all paid (minus a $200.00 deductible per visit) by their extended warranty company. I was almost on a first name basis with the claims adjuster. Again, depends on what you drive, but certain cars will make good use of the warranty. The owner sold the car just before the warranty expired, smart guy....