TRD04RUNNER said:
extended warranties ARE FOR SUCKER!:bash:
I used to think that as well. I NEVER bought them for anything, as it is obviously a well calculated scheme to make them money!
But I got my 6/100k for $700. I was persuaded by talking with various people from two dealership, whom I had some respect for (no, they were not in sales). What I was hearing was that while the mechanicals were pretty much bullit-proof, it was the electronics that had much more issues. And the electronics were very expensive.
I knew that I was going to put my 'Runner thru some pretty severe paces - pulling a large trailer up mountains in broiling heat, offroading, etc. So for $700 I went for it.
Shortly thereafter the VSC started to give me trouble by wanting to pull the vehicle off the road (applying brakes by itself). In 3 trips to two dealers I easily burned through over $2,100, as they diagnosed & replaced the yaw sensor & traction control computer. BINGO! Just like they said - electronics!
I figure that Toyota can be relied upon to build a high quality vehicle the 1st new model year. BUT, even NASA & countless others haven't been able to get the computer systems right the 1st time out.
My out of pocket for the over $2,000 ticket? About $140 (to have it diagnosed on the road).
So before you make a broad-brush statement (i.e. warranty buyers = suckers), you need to consider some of the buyer's circumstances. In the right situation, an extended warranty might be the calculated right thing to do.