Aftermarket Warranty - Yes or No?

Ridger

Ridger

New member
hey all,

I'm looking to buy a 2006 4Runner Limited V8 with approx 105K km's (65,250mi). It is too late for the Manufacturer's extended warranty. Should I consider an aftermarket warranty?

I'm leaning towards "no" since it is a Toyota (so I'm assuming fewer issues) and the fact that I have the Car Proof report and it was a 1-owner lease return vehicle that was serviced like clock work and looks like the only time it was at the shop.

I plan to continue to service it like clock-work... so I'm thinking I'm better off not spending the money on an aftermarket warranty?

Thought I'd get some input here from anyone with a 4th gen over 105,000km's (65250mi).

Thanks in advance.
 
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I wouldn't waste my money and I can about guarantee almost everyone will agree. 4runners are a very reliable vehicle and once mine rolls past the 36k bumper to bumper I won't loose a bit of sleep over it.
 
I'm going to say no just because the odds are already in favor of the company providing the warranty--they price things out to make money.
 
If you must buy one, buy a Toyota warranty only. The aftermarket ones are essentially scams. That and credit card "repair" or "advocates" type companies are undoubtedly scams. They eventually get sued a lot but with so many people falling for it, they get rich as well...and then close shop when the Feds put too much pressure on them.

So short answer- save your money. Don't give it to what is essentially a company that will not pay anything for anything anyway.
 
Mine had 65,000 miles when I bought it two months ago. I didn't give the extended warranty any consideration though the dealer could sell me one through Toyota. Just for an idea of the markup. The warranty that lists at $2,000 costs the dealer around $700.....just saying....
 
I just bought a used 4Runner, and the dealership sales guy started off trying to sell me on the wonderfulness of an (expensive) extended warranty, and I stopped him and told him, "You don't understand, I already bought an extended warranty, It's the Toyota nameplate. No further extended warranty is needed or wanted. No thank you."

Your answer from this corner is NO, NO extended warranty.
 
I actually made the mistake of buying the extended warranty from Luther Hyundai where I bought my truck. Well, charge to experience.. :cry2:
 
I purchased 60k/3 year Platinum extended waranty when bought CPO with 93k in very good condition and I feel like I wasted $2000 :( Not a single problem with my 4Runner as of 126k km on a clock.
 
i have one for my 911. $3,500 and mor ethan paid for itself. a front diff replacement cost $6k. :D

toyota 4r? No way. japanese engineering rocks.
 
Hey all.... thanks for all the quick responses... appreciated.

And it appears as though my instinct was indeed correct. It's the "odds' thing... yes, something could go wrong , but what are the odds that something will go wrong... and that it will be a component covered by the warranty?

Not likely. I'd rather put the $1,500-$2,000 aside that I'd pay for the warranty and put it in a GIC or savings account for save keeping to put toward such a repair... if ever required.

Just good to hear it from others that own the vehicle.
 
I just purchased an 08 limited with 34thousand on it. I spoke to my buddy about extending the warranty and he said I was crazy. He has driven nothing but 4 runners since the 90's he has one with over 300 thousand on it and never had a problem he has a 03 with 120 k on it and never had a problem.
 
I purchased an extended warranty when I bought my used 2004 Audi A6 2.7t. Very glad I did! It paid for its self within 2 repairs in one month. I didn't purchase one when I bought my 05 T4R, based on the carfax history, service history and common problems (very few) associated with my year and mileage.

I would make the decision to buy or not buy the extended warranty based off the vehicle condition, known model problems and service history.

Not all extended warranties are scams. That being said, you still have to fight them to get covered repairs. When I went to the Audi dealer, I would always have a complete copy of my warranty contract (not the brochure) and their number on my speed dial with an ext. for a manager.
 
Audi, BMWs, Mercedes, Chrysler, etc. bought for the long term....good idea.

Honda, Subaru, Toyota..throwing money away.
 
I'm in the same boat. I just purchased a 2006 4Runner V8 48k miles. Carfax shows one local owner and it seems the car was maintained at local Toyota dealerships. The interior and exterior of the 4Runner is very clean so it looks like the vehicle was garaged and well maintained. I opted for a GM warranty for 3 years/ 30,000 miles since I bought it from the preowned Buick/GMC dealer lot. I figured the age of the vehicle might contribute to repairs but I'm having second thoughts that I any non-maintenance repairs will be under the $1500 of the cost of the warranty. I've had the vehicle a week and so far haven't found any issues.

I just got the warranty in the mail and it states I have 60 days to get a full refund on the warranty. I plan to tow a small travel trailer (under 4000lbs) occasionally. Should I keep it or get the refund?

Keep the comments coming. So far only German cars need the additional warranty from posts on this thread.

Thanks

Kelvin
 
Flyer said:
If you must buy one, buy a Toyota warranty only. The aftermarket ones are essentially scams. That and credit card "repair" or "advocates" type companies are undoubtedly scams. They eventually get sued a lot but with so many people falling for it, they get rich as well...and then close shop when the Feds put too much pressure on them.

So short answer- save your money. Don't give it to what is essentially a company that will not pay anything for anything anyway.
Click to expand...

I cant stress this enough.

When I bought my 2006 Civic Si, I bought it from Honda and bought the "extended warranty".

I had assumed this was through Honda, but found out later it wasn't.

Looking at the 3rd party's warranty I saw that they have a few flaws:

To recieve ANY warranty work, your vehicle must be solely worked on by a
"Honda Dealership".

When attempting to use extended warranty on work, the "honda" dealership must provide a quote for the work before commencing any work, and work done to provide quote is your cost.

If the 3rd party warranty is not happy with this quote, they will ask you to provide a quote from another dealership or only agree to pay a certain percentage of the quote. All the time your car being off of the road with no rental given(in my case).


My issue was getting oil changes done at a Mr.Lube type place, completely warranty approved, but the 3rd party warranty tried to deny me service because it was not done by "honda".

Complete BS and I will never buy extended warranty again.
 
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Last month I bought a 2004 4Runner Limited with 99,000 miles on it with all service records and timing belt just replaced. Dealer offered an extended warranty and I turned it down. One reason I went with the 4Runner is its reliability. Save the money for something else.
 
Although the 4Runner is reliable, there have been some expensive repairs that show up in higher mileage vehicles. You just can't rely on "Toyota Quality" anymore. Toyota threw a lot of technology at the 4th gen and there are bound to be some glitches. By '06 they had a lot of them worked out.

I bought the Toyota Platinum and it has already paid for itself in repairs. Note that these are repairs that maintenance has no impact on. The exhaust manifold and a brake pressure pump.

Read all the information carefully when dealing with an outside warranty company. Negotiate until you are blue in the face and you can get a good deal.

Here is a good read.
Extended Car Warranties: Peace of Mind or Something Else? - Feature - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver
 
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