After flipping through the maintenance manual, I was about ready to conclude that my new Corolla was maintenance free. Other than oil changes and general inspections, there really isn't much maintenance. The first spark plug replacement is 120k miles. No timing belt. I don't know if you do your own oil changes, but $1,355 would almost cover oil changes for the life of the car. Sounds like a rip to me.
I usually decline extended warranties on everything except laptop computers and tires. The road hazard warranty on tires has almost always paid for itself in flat repairs at my house. And laptop computers, well, they're going to break and they're expensive and nigh impossible to work on.
My experience with Toyotas has been that you probably won't have any problems in the first 100k miles that will add up to $1,300. My '02 Sienna had an IAC valve replaced that might have fallen under an extended warranty, but it was way less than $1,300 to replace.
Two thousand six hundred fifty-five dollars. Say that slowly and think about how much money that is. And you may be thinking about financing it two, so tack on some interest. That's a lot of money! I say no.
I wouldnt bother either. These are only handy if an engine or trans goes out on you. I would say its ok if it was a used car with some milage on it but its just throwing money away on a new car. Im sure theyre eager to push it on you since they know youll more than likely not need it.
I did get the platinum care warranty when I purchased my car. Being a Toyota, I don't expect any problems with the car. However, on two of my previous new cars (one a Honda and one a Jeep), I had to have warranty work done on them within the first year. Since I fully intend to keep this car beyond the length of the warranty, for me it was a case of "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."
The thing that really sealed the deal, though, was the extra rental car and travel protection you get with the platinum plan. With the Jeep, I did not have an extended warranty, and wound up having to pay out of pocket for a rental car for the week that it was in the shop. Do that a couple times over the life of the warranty, along with the non-warranty repairs, and you've easily paid for the extended warranty.
Even better was the travel protection. The platinum warranty covers $150 per day for food and lodging if you're stuck having the car repaired away from home. I travel a lot, and having that extra peace of mind means a lot.
Now as far as the pre-paid maintenance, I think it would only be worth it if you do absolutely no work on your car, and if it covers the parts in addition to the labor, and if you drive a lot. If you manage to drive say 80k miles in the 4 years, that's a good 16 oil changes, 2 brake pad replacements, 2 air filter replacements, likely a brake rotor replacement, plus all the labor that goes with it. However, if you don't do the work on your car, you should learn how to... because while all of that may exceed $1300 if you have the dealer do it... it would barely cost half of that if you did it all yourself.
Now as far as the pre-paid maintenance, I think it would only be worth it if you do absolutely no work on your car, and if it covers the parts in addition to the labor, and if you drive a lot. If you manage to drive say 80k miles in the 4 years, that's a good 16 oil changes, 2 brake pad replacements, 2 air filter replacements, likely a brake rotor replacement, plus all the labor that goes with it. However, if you don't do the work on your car, you should learn how to... because while all of that may exceed $1300 if you have the dealer do it... it would barely cost half of that if you did it all yourself.
Be sure to read the fine print about what's covered. My guess is that brakes will be considered wear items and not regular maintenance. Two sets of brakes in 80k miles would surprise me too. My '90 4Runner and my '02 Sienna both went over 120k miles before any brake work and then only the front discs.
I guess I could scan it, but it was literally page after page of "change the oil" and a laundray list of "inspect this." The air and cabin filters are in there somewhere, but that's very basic too -- definitely not anything I'm going to pay a dealer to do.
You might try getting the salesman to cough up a copy of the maintenance schedule. He should be happy to show it to you as part of selling all of the great things the dealer is going to cover for $1300. In reality, most of it is general awareness of your vehicle.
They pushed and pushed and pushed on the extended warranty service on me. They said "This is the best price we can offer you, and you have to buy it before taking delivery of the vehicle."
Got a quote, and it ended up being almost HALF of MSRP. If you really want the warranty I suggest you get a quote from that website. All they do is fill out the paperwork, and Toyota sends you the coupons. You can also buy it before you hit 6,000 on the car -- much more time than the "buy it before taking delivery"
I didn't buy it (even at the discounted rate), mainly because oil changes aren't hard, and I know what's going on with the car 24/7. Say one day I bring it in, they "find" some issues with the car and I have to pay to get it fixed (if its not covered), then I'm forking over even more money. I'm only gonna get oil changes and rotations done, and I get peace of mind doing it myself. The main thing with the maintenance is doing inspections, and that only takes a few minutes.
You have been given a mixture of advice, a lot of it assuming one thing or another.
The quote is very good, not the greatest, for the Toyota Platinum extended service contract. As far as the pre-paid maintenance, it seems kind of high of for 4 years as you'd pay about thaty much out of pocket if you had all 8 maintenance services performed. I am pretty sure it in no way covers brakes or any consumables, just standard maintenance items. If it is only good at the selling dealer, consider if you ever have an issue with them, where does that leave you?
As far as the comments on what may go wrong, most of what may go wrong is only covered for the 3-year/36,000 mile warranty or the 5-year/60,000-mile drive train coverage. Lets say in 4 years your AC compressor goes, you prepaid to cover it with $0 deductable. Think of it as paying for health insurance. No one pays $250/$500+ a month to cover doctors visits. You can be in perfect health, stuff still happens. It is a smart investment IMHO.
They don't sell extended warranties and maintenance packages to lose money. On the contrary, they sometimes make more on that junk than they do on the car. That alone should help make the decision easy for you.
Thinking about Toyota Warranty (Platinum Care) - 7 yrs 100K. Dealer wants $1300.00. (0 deductable) Is that a good price ???
Also for $1355 I can get pre pd maint. (I think its for 4 yrs)
Any advice? (This is my first new car in 20 yrs)
Thanks
Lit'l Cat
I just purchased my 09 Corrola S this evening. Free oil changes for life, free car washes for life, free warranty for life on all dealer installed accessories, and free powertrain warranty for life.....trust me I am not complaining.
The lowest price I found for the Toyota 7 year/100k platinum warranty was $799. This is through Toyota and not a 3rd party company. I discovered this through Tundra Solutions (I happen to own a 07 Tundra). If you don't want to search the site for the info hit me up with a PM and I will provide the contact.
Stephan
Last edited by Cooper S; 05-15-2008 at 12:36 AM.
Reason: spelling
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