Extended Warranty - Confusion

[bluedutch]

Just bought my very first T4R on Saturday (this is my first SUV in fact) - it's an '05 Limited V8. I'm in love!

The dealer was really pushing this Toyota Extra Care Vehicle Service Agreement, which my husband and I got suckered into, more as a piece of mind thing since we've never spent so much on a vehicle.

We got this Certified Used, Certified Platinum Level thing (that was all the dealer offered to us), and hey, who doesn't like the sound of all the "certifieds" and the "platinums". The guy said the contract (7 year, 100K) began that day, implying it would be 7 years from today or 100K from the miles the car already has (33K).

Silly me, trusting the finance sales guy...re-reading the contract, it says that a CERTIFIED USED plan begins the date the vehicle was placed into service as new and the miles begin at zero. A regular USED plan begins the day you buy the car and with the miles it has.

Now I'm wondering, why would anyone buy a "certified used" plan? Should I just cancel this whole thing? Should I find out if I can get a "used" plan?

I'd be interested in any comments from people that have version of these Toyota Extra Care plans and what they think of them.

Thanks!
Marie

 

[SubSonic]

My take on "certified" vs non-certified is this: Since the certified goes back to the date the car was placed in-service from new, then it will cover any pre-existing problems/conditions. A "regular" warranty that starts the day *you* bought the vehicle used, likely only covers anything that happens after that date. That's my best guess anyway.

Say something pops up in the coming weeks, and the service shop can prove it existed prior to a normal warranty being placed on your purchase of the vehicle, they might could deny performing the service "under warranty". With the 7/100 warranty, I don't think they'd have a choice but do it under that warranty agreement.

ALso, when I recently bought my 08 4Runner, I was told that buying the premium 7/100 warranty made the entire warranty period "bumper to bumper" instead of just power train coverage after a certain amount of time/mileage. Maybe your preimum certified coverage is similar (all bumper to bumper) and the other regular 'used' coverage is so long for bumper to bumper (3/36 maybe?) and the rest is only on the power train? If you read the basic warranty paperwork that comes with Toyotas, there is one period/term for bumper to bumper, and a separate but longer period that covers power train-only: which is why I think they bill their bigger plans as "premium" since they are bumper to bumper for the entire plan period/term/mileage.

 

[Annoyed]

Best course probably depends on the exact factory warranty status of the vehicle. You say it's an 05, but you don't state the mileage.

Myself, mine was out of OEM warranty when I bought, and it was not Toyota certified. I went with a 4 year/50K platinum plan. Expensive, yes, but aside from appearance & regular maint. items, everything is covered. Also, the dealer I bought it off of made a deal where if I go the term of the warranty without making a claim on it, I get my $ back. Can't beat that deal with a big stick.

One additional note: The brochure they give the dealers, and and the salesman I had in particular were not well informed about the warranty; the web site I refer to below gives much better info.

You can read the options here:

http://www.toyotafinancial.com/consumer/tfs.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_VehicleServiceAgreement

 

[toto]

In order to be sold as "certified", a dealer has to perform a certain number of mechanical inspections and replace anything that's not in working order before selling it. That's why a certified used car often sells at a small premium - the dealer had to put money into it in order to get it to qualify for the warranty.

Theoretically, that implies that you can have more confidence in a certified used car. Of course, the pre-sale inspection criteria will vary by manufacturer and/or warranty terms.

Even the Platinum plan (used or new) is not truly "bumper-to-bumper", but it is very comprehensive. As suggested, check out the plan details on the Internet.