[wownflutter05]

Buying my long awaited Prius 2005...

Standard 3 year warranty is already in place...

Offered the Toyota GOLD plan warranty for 6 years/100,000 miles

It is quite a bit o' money....Is it worth it?


Thanks for any opinions

wnf

 

[hyperion]

You will receive a lot of info here about Toyota's plans. Because the car is a new concept the warrenties are a great "peace of mind" but don't pay too much for one as dealers seem to be able to ask whatever they think they can get and most plans offered by Toyota are similiar and can be purchased from any dealer and not required from dealer of car purchase. For my Toyota "Extra Care" plan (Everything, no deductible, six years and 75,000 miles I paid $785.00) Others have paid less and some have paid more but there have been Dealer names posted on this website that are very reasonable.

 

[bcool]

I got a quote from Troy Dietrich at Toyota of Greenfield ([email protected]) for $870 for the 6/100K Platinum plan. When I picked up my Prius, my dealer matched the price - although with much moaning and groaning.

Troy would be glad to sell you one

Troy also offers the Auto Care prepaid maintenance plan for a great price, too - email him for details.

 

[mrv]

Last I checked, the Gold Plan was not available from Toyota for the Prius, only the Platinum plan. (lots of hassles with paperwork for those people who were mistakenly sold the Gold plan to convert to Platinum later...)

MSRP: http://www.toyotafinancial.com/pyv/exte ... prius.html (note that it says that the Gold plan is not available)

However, you can shop around (you have 3 years/36,000 miles to decide) and find a good price. More info, including some good dealers to work with:
http://www.vfaq.net/docs/ExtendedWarranty.html

(Tom is busy moving right now, and hasn't gotten to my updates yet. add $5 for Toyota of Greenfield, the priuschat.com $985 7/100/$0 plan isn't listed yet, and the note for no sales tax for Crown Toyota hasn't been updated yet.)

 

[hyperion]

Just for a little info on what these plans cost the dealer (and these are no way official figures) when I last upgraded my Chrysler mini van I was really interested in a year old one just off leaseback that was in like new condition except it had 22,000 miles on it with Chryslers 35,000 mile warranty staring me in the face. To sell me the car the dealer gave me a 7 yr, 75,000 mile plan warranty for his cost which was $450.00

 

[jshore]

Remember that some of the parts of the Prius, like the hybrid battery and other hybrid components, are already covered for considerably longer than 3 years / 30,000 milesl (The length depends on the state you are in, since those states...including here in NY...that follow California's emission laws require the emissions equipment to have a longer warrantee and the hybrid battery is apparently considered to be part of the emissions equipment.)

My general suspicion (which hyperion seemed to confirm) is that these warrantees are generally not a good deal for you but rather for the dealer and that you should only buy them:

(1) For "peace of mind" if you think you'll really be stressed otherwise.

OR

(2) If you live on the edge financially and thus the possibility of needing a very expensive repair is worth preventing even if you have to shell out well more money then the (probability of this event) x (cost) [which is sort of the "average expectation cost"] in order to do it.

Remember that all these sort of "insurance policies" are almost never a good deal, otherwise there wouldn't be people making lots of money by selling them to you. I tend to think that insurance is best paid only for very improbable, very expensive events that are actually unlikely to happen to you. This may seem counterintuitive...But, these are really the events that could knock you for a loop financially and they are the ones where you are basically accepting the fact that you are probably going to lose money, in exchange for getting the risk spread around. (It is sort of like a reverse lottery...You are paying money in order not to be the unlikely winner of a very costly financial event.)

 

[jshore]

Having said all that...I must admit that I do have collision and comprehensive insurance on my Prius. So, I guess the peace-of-mind must be worth it to me for that, or at least I implicitly seem to think it is.

I suppose it is an interesting question how much one should pay for some peace-of-mind.

 

[wownflutter05]

I paid for the 6 year/100,000

It was a difficult choice, due to the fact that most likely this Toyota wont require major work in the next 6 years....

and i do mean"major work" cause nothing else is really covered by this extended warranty.

It does, however, as the previous posters mentioned, give me a clear state-of-mind...

Also, it young, untested technology.
2 engines.

More to go wrong.

Got this 6 year/100,000 mile coverage for $900

- wnf

 

[mrv]

Re: I paid for the 6 year/100,000

It was a difficult choice, due to the fact that most likely this Toyota wont require major work in the next 6 years....

and i do mean"major work" cause nothing else is really covered by this extended warranty.

It does, however, as the previous posters mentioned, give me a clear state-of-mind...

Also, it young, untested technology.
2 engines.

More to go wrong.

Got this 6 year/100,000 mile coverage for $900

- wnf

Just to check - you got the Platinum Toyota Extra Care plan, right? And what deductible? Toyota does NOT have the Gold plan (as in the subject) available for the Prius.

 

[wownflutter05]

"Gold Plan"

This is confirmed.... "Gold Plan".
6 years/100, 000 miles coverage.

$50 deductable.

(I negotiated a bit to get it to $900)

Sweet deal, even though it would be rare case to need it.

 

[mrv]

Re: "Gold Plan"

This is confirmed.... "Gold Plan".
6 years/100, 000 miles coverage.

$50 deductable.

(I negotiated a bit to get it to $900)

Sweet deal, even though it would be rare case to need it.

Have you gotten your warranty notice back from Toyota yet? What you fill out at the dealer is just the application...

http://www.toyotafinancial.com/pyv/exte ... prius.html shows that the Gold plan is NOT available for the Prius.

In the past, some people have gotten the "Gold" plan at their dealer, only to get a letter in the mail later from Toyota saying that they have no warranty, since they cannot issue one for the Gold plan. They then have to go back to their dealer and have the paperwork all changed out... Just warning you that you'll have paperwork problems in the future, and no warranty...

BTW: I've got the 7 year/100,000 mile/$0 plan for $980. Same dealer now sells it for $985.

 

[Panjandrum]

Money back option

My dealer is currently running a money back offer on all their service plans. So, if after the service plan has expired (7 years, 100k) we haven't used it, we get the money back. It's our option to pay for repairs off the plan or on the plan, so they suggested only using the plan if there was a major repair that wasn't otherwise covered on the standard coverage. Of course, just a few "minor" repairs might easily add up to the cost of the extended package anyway...

 

[DuncanNixon2004]

ECP

For Canadians following this.

The 84 month/120,000km ECP was CDN$1,675.

The other plans are 48/100,000; 60/100,000; 72/120,000/160,000/200,000.

Also available is a powertrain warranty of 72/12,000/160,000/200,000 with a CDN$50 deductible.

We elected the shorter mileage (kilometrage) longer term because we feel that the time will run out before the miles (kms).

If purchased within 31 days of vehicle purchase you get three oil and filter vouchers. Whoopee!

The brochure also indicates that the plan must be purchased within 31 days of vehicle registration. When we questioned this the business manager indicated that it had to be purchased right away. US customers seem to be able to wait and see for up to three years.

 

[wownflutter05]

wait and see

mrv

yes, Im probably screwed..as i agree with the web link stating no availability of the Gold plan.

more bullshit.

 

[mrv]

Just to note, someone on the Prius-2G yahoogroup just posted that he had gotten the 6/100,000/$0 Platinum Plan from Toyota of Greenfield for $870, for a price comparison.

 

[Frizzycat666]

The Extended warrenty is very worth it!!! @ 47k my ECM went crazy on my 01 Prius killed the ICE and somehow damaged the inverter. It took a month and a day to fix. but thanks to the warrenty I was in a free rental car a Corolla lousy milage only 32 hwy but it sure beat walking. Not to mention thousands of dollars of parts replaced. now I have a new 01 Prius. 8)

 

[PriusJudd]

I will most likely buy the extended warrenty. I know there is information over at priuschat.com on the warrenties.

I figure that is something like the display pannel goes that will be very expensive. And with my work on computers I know that they do go bad. It doesn't take a lot of repairs to add up to $870.

 

[An04Prius]

As others have pointed out...this is of course a very personal decision. I am very risk averse, and insure most things, but did not buy an extended warranty on Prius. My reasons were:

Toyota reputation for quality & reliability, confirmed by Consumer Reports surveys of owners.

In my state the battery system is warranted for 150K miles or 10 years under normal warranty.

I am the only driver, very easy on a car, and therefore, know that it is cared for and not abused.

If you decide to get one, be aware that these are high margin products, therefore, there is a lot of room for price negotiation &/or price shopping.

 

[c00kie]

Also note that the prices may differ from the Toyota Financial website if you live in certain states like Texas. They use another distibutor for the warranty.

 

[hyperion]

There is one other thing to keep in mind and that is the Prius is not exactly a Toyota car in the sense that it is a totally new concept and Toyota maintanance is not all that sharp and up and running with this "machine". Thats the principle reason I wouldn't have even have considered buying it without the extended warranty. Theres a lot more expensive stuff that can fail after the short three years. Gas tank, jumps first to mind. Toyota "personally" sells warranties on all their cars but my dealer advised me that the only one available to be sold for the Prius was their platinum one with several options on years and deductibles. $765 to $875 seems to be the standard MSRP price. Any more and you are being fleeced. As for dealers cost. When I purchased my last minivan, one year old and coming off lease it had 18,000 miles on it with a standard factory 3 yr, 35,000 mile warranty. I was walking away from the deal when the salesman offered me the Chrysler extended warranty of 7 yrs and 75,000 miles for dealers cost of $450.00. It listed for $940.00, leading me to believe the markup to be almost 100 per cent. Paid off when the A/C system went kapoot at 74,000 miles. Any way, it is a costly item but with this car and especially if you are monitoring this website you will sleep a lot better when you throw in the warranty. Being transferrable it is also a great selling point if you plan on selling when that three year date gets close.