Should I buy the Extended Warranty?

[Baba Booey]

I have a 2006 with just over 32,000 miles, and I am thinking about buying the 7/100 Extended Warranty before the window of opportunity closes at 36k miles.

Recently, I began to notice that my passenger side airbag on/off indicator light has been inconsistent when my wife rides in that seat. Sometimes the airbag is on and other times it is off. I took a look under the seat to see whether I could find any loose connections or whatnot, but nothing appeared to be obviously wrong. Then I started thinking that it would probably cost a lot of money to get that electronically complex seat fixed if the warranty had expired.

I plan to keep my rig until it dies, and so I should have no trouble hanging on to any extended warranty until it expires. I have always been of the mindset that extended warranties were a bad bet financially, especially on Toyotas and Hondas. However, with the sunroof problems, VSC issues, etc., maybe it would be a wise insurance expense.

I can get the 7/100 Toyota warranty for $890 + tax. What would you do?

 

[97hb]

I would personally not get an extended warranty. That is just me though, I love to work on my cars. They tacked on an extended warranty when I financed it, I told them to take it off. Bought the runner with 49k on it. Now a little over 110k and no problems what so ever.

 

[loudog2]

When I was younger I wasn't a fan of extended warranties, until now. I bought the extended warranty right before my 3/36 ended. A month later my tensioner went bad. It would of cost me $550. I bought the warranty for a couple hundred more than the repair would've cost.

Now I get them for my electronics. My IPOD nano battery died after a year. Got the 30 gig later for free. My ps3 had it's 4 USB ports die on the front. Got a new ps3 for free.

In the end it's your choice: no worries, or save money(unless something happens)

 

[JosephD05]

So wait a minute, if you want to get an extended bumper to bumper warranty through Toyota, it can only be done during it's existing bumper to bumper warranty? Makes perfect sense I guess.

 

[maine runner]

I presume you are talking about a Toyota warranty that is administered by them and not[b/] a third party plan? The third party plans are crap.

Look at all the fine print, review any deductible and examine the coverage terms.

$800 is likely the cost of 2 small repairs or 1 big one. Things are getting MORE expensive, not less.

I would do it since you are going to have the truck for a long time. Good insurance.

 

[Lowpro]

The way I look at it is that everything is getting more and more electric as opposed to manual. Let's say roll up windows vs. power windows or manual seats vs. power seats. To fix or replace anything that is electric is gonna cost an arm & a leg. Anything small now in days easily comes out to $300+ to get fixed.

 

[Baba Booey]

I presume you are talking about a Toyota warranty that is administered by them and not[b/] a third party plan? The third party plans are crap.

Look at all the fine print, review any deductible and examine the coverage terms.

$800 is likely the cost of 2 small repairs or 1 big one. Things are getting MORE expensive, not less.

I would do it since you are going to have the truck for a long time. Good insurance.

Yep. It's the genuine Toyota Platinum extended warranty. There are many threads here regarding the purchase of this warranty through Shaun McKinsey, who is the business manager at a Pennylvania Toyota dealership. It doesn't matter where you buy the warranty. It is good in all states at any Toyota dealership.

 

[liquidvw]

any warranty that you have to pay for is a waste of money. If you can't fix it yourself bring it to a local garage. Not the dealer. You'll come ahead in the long run.

 

[lawwailok]

i did purchase it. it is $0 deductible, and if any electronic devices go wrong (i mean it may) they will replace it for free, specially for the navi unit. just an extra protection/insurance for the parts if they are malfunctioning.

 

[Boston_Runner]

This is the exact reason I am holding off buying an extended warranty. I want to wait and see if my car is problematic. If you already are seeing symptoms of on coming problems. I would definitely get the warranty. Just that seat sensor alone will cost you about $800 to fix. But hey, warranty is like insurance, it

 

[04 sc V8]

I am a mechanic and enjoy working on my T4R. I did however opt to purchase the platinum warranty (for a good price) when I bought my truck for the simple reason of electronic component prices. I know Toyota's are very reliable and last for a long time, but solid state electronics can fail without warning. I also plan on keeping it for the long haul. So I thought it was worth buying.

 

[4RunerFan]

We bought our '08 Limited through the Costco Auto Buying program, and through them the premium Toyota extended warranty was heavily discounted. With all the fancy electronics (ours has Nav), we're comfortable with it.

The other point in favor of getting it was that we got an extended warranty with our previous new vehicle, and it more than paid for itself just after the 3 yr/36k mile bumper-to-bumper manufacturer warranty expired.

 

[sbbamafan]

This will be long - sorry. I have bought extended warranties on every car my wife and/or I have owned since 1992 including Pontiac Bonneville, Nissan Quest, Merkur XR4Ti, Chevy Blazer, Chevy Silverado, 02 Honda Odyssey, Dodge Dakota QC and T4R. All with the exception of the T4R warranty were '3rd party' plans by APCO. The T4R is Toyota / Lexus Platinum. First, let me say most people say 3rd party programs are crap, as stated above. With APCO, nothing could be further from the truth. They were great and one thing I really liked is that I didnt have to go to the stealer. You could go ANYWHERE and they would pay the repair facility immediately! The only reason I didn't get theirs this time is because I actually got the Toyota warranty for about half the APCO price.

I always looked at the warranty as insurance, it would only take a couple of substantial repairs to pay for itself. This occurred on every car except the '02 Odyssey and the T4R (45,000 miles at this point, long way to go). On ALL the previous cars the warranty paid for itself usually 2-4 times over. In other words it was great to have it! The Odyssey almost broke even and the T4R has NEVER seen a repair facility...oil changes, plugs and regular maintenance (done by me). It is about to need tires and brakes but even these items have lasted longer than on other cars. That being said, the +/-$800 I paid is cheap peace of mind for the long haul. I'm curious to see how things are at 100,000.

 

[Boston_Runner]

Some 3rd part warranty are ok, but not all, you really need to do your homework. Buying a factory extended warranty is like having insurance on top of insurance, you know you are getting a pretty warranty. BTW, is the repair is under extanded warranty, why would I not want to go to the dealer for the work?

 

[Thai]

For the price that you got, i would go for it.

 

[h7009]

Extended warrenty, Shaun McKinsy

Hey there if you are getting it from Shaun you will be taken care of. I have bought two from him over the last several years and they both paid for themselves within a year. Struts on my 03 4Runner and most recently Rack and Pinion on my 05 DC Tundra. I buy all my vehicles used so thus the warrenties. When I called Toyota to get authorization for service I was treated great and it paid for everything envolved...go for it. CSM-H[

QUOTE]Originally posted by Baba Booey
Yep. It's the genuine Toyota Platinum extended warranty. There are many threads here regarding the purchase of this warranty through Shaun McKinsey, who is the business manager at a Pennylvania Toyota dealership. It doesn't matter where you buy the warranty. It is good in all states at any Toyota dealership. [/QUOTE]

 

[JosephD05]

Re: Extended warrenty, Shaun McKinsy

Hey there if you are getting it from Shaun you will be taken care of. I have bought two from him over the last several years and they both paid for themselves within a year. Struts on my 03 4Runner and most recently Rack and Pinion on my 05 DC Tundra. I buy all my vehicles used so thus the warrenties. When I called Toyota to get authorization for service I was treated great and it paid for everything envolved...go for it. CSM-H[

QUOTE]Originally posted by Baba Booey
Yep. It's the genuine Toyota Platinum extended warranty. There are many threads here regarding the purchase of this warranty through Shaun McKinsey, who is the business manager at a Pennylvania Toyota dealership. It doesn't matter where you buy the warranty. It is good in all states at any Toyota dealership.

[/QUOTE]

If I get the warranty for my leased 4runner (currently have 34k miles, will prob have 50k by end of lease), will I get part of the money I paid for it refunded when I hand in the vehicle?

 

[leftyrb]

In Canada, we have to pay about $1600 for the 5 year/100,000 km toyota extended warranty. As my vehicle's powertrain is already warranted for 5 yr/100,000 km, and the entire vehicle (comprehensive) I am paying $1600 for 2 years of comprehensive.

Seems awful high and Toyota Canada seems to not let dealers sell their warranties at a discounted price.