<p>I just went through the wringer yesterday in buying my daughter a used Toyota from a Toyota dealership. I felt the dealership used every shady sales practice in the book, and, in a moment of weakness, I agreed to the Vehicle Service Agreement, which I am now thinking about canceling. I’d love to get your thoughts on whether these plans are worth it and how to determine a fair price.</p>
<p>The car is a 2012 model with very low miles. It’s a “certified preowned Toyota” that came with a 1 year/12,000 mile general warranty and 7 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty (whatever that means). It is still under its original factory warranty as well, but I’m not sure how the two warranties interact. These are the warranties the car would have without the vehicle service plan.</p>
<p>The vehicle service plan is for 7 years/100,000 miles. $50 deductible. Is there a rule of thumb as to what’s a fair price for these things? My daughter will have her car at college far from home, which is why I fell for the high-pressure sales tactic and agreed to purchase it. I know the salesperson lied about at least two things, which is why I am now having serious buyer’s remorse. (I did a LOT of research on the price of the car and know I got a great deal on the car; it’s just the vehicle service plan I’m concerned about.)</p>
<p>Also, I financed a portion of the price at 2.9 percent. Does that sound right?</p>
<p>Personally, I think the original factory warranty should be enough. I don’t buy extra/extended warranties on anything. Get daughter instead a AAA road service membership in case she needs tire changed, getting in locked car, battery jump at school.</p>
<p>Is this a service plan that wil “pay for” general maintenance like oil changes, new brakes, new tires etc? And I’m assuming the service would have to be done at the dealer! </p>
<p>I think you’d have to really crunch some numbers to see if it’s worth it. Me, I prefer to pay for my own maintenance when it is needed instead of prepaying which is what it sounds like this is. </p>
<p>How much is the monthly charge vs how much you think an independent shop would charge for tires and brakes, which are the first things I think you’ll have to replace. </p>
<p>It all depends on how much you paid for the service. After getting more than our money’s worth out of a $700 plan for a van (it covered a $4500 engine repair and another $2000 job that were not part of the manufacturer’s warranty), I’m not so skeptical about these plans. Make sure you keep all of your paperwork and the records of the car’s maintenance - they will be scrutinized by the dealers who will be trying to find any excuse to disallow warranty coverage! Neglect and accidents are obviously not covered. </p>
<p>oops, I mixed up a service plan with an extended warranty. My uncle once purchased a plan for his car that included brake maintenance and oil changes. He had a car that ate brakes and he was getting needed oil changes every 3 weeks with all the driving he did. He brought car in so much that the service plan worked to his advantage…until the service shop cancelled the deal with him and refunded what he had paid for the plan. </p>
<p>Thanks for responses! To clarify, the plan is basically an extended warranty, NOT a maintenance service plan. But it is called a “vehicle service agreement,” not a warranty, probably to avoid regulation as insurance or something. It does NOT cover routine maintenance, but covers mechanical problems – basically same stuff the factory warranty covers (just for an extended period of time). </p>
<p>After trading in a money pit for low mileage 3 yo lease turn in, we decided to opt for the extended warranty. We have had the vehicle 3 years now and I was thinking it was probably a waste to get it. But wait!!! AC is not working. I took it to our regular mechanic who charged it and said if it stops cooling again, you have a leak that will need additional attention. Ok. One week later, no AC. The mechanic looked at it again for no charge to see if he could find the leak, and said that it was a hose (I think). I called the warranty company, told them what the mechanic said, and they replied that if it truly is what the mechanic said, it would be covered. As I am always the skeptic, I called the dealership and they said to bring it in. Sure enough, it was covered! And in addition, they looked over the whole vehicle, told me the motor mounts were loose and that fixing it was also covered under the warranty. Great! I kept saying to the tech, “now everything is covered? I won’t owe anything when I pick it up?” He said nope. Still skeptical, we picked up the vehicle and there was no charge! It is looking like a good deal at this point. Those repairs themselves may have made up for the cost of the warranty. </p>
<p>So I know it depends on the warranty you purchase, but in my case, it paid off. And we had never purchased an extended warranty before.</p>
<p>Again I guess the cost factors in. But toyotas are generally pretty good cars and I would probably take the risk and save my money. I have had toyotas and Hondas that have not had anything go wrong before 100k in mileage</p>
<p>I bought an extended warranty and protection plan on my certified pre-owned Nissan yesterday; it is good for 6yrs/100k miles. I figured it was not that much more money (a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of the car) and it is better to have it and not need it than the other way around. (And the finance guy ended up giving me a small discount; anything helps!) But it’s also my first car so I think I’m being overly cautious. BUT I’m also driving it from CA to CO next week and I know anything can happen while out on the road, and if I have to use it I’ll be glad to have it.</p>
<p>How much did you pay for your extended warranty plans? </p>
<p>I did not buy one with my used Volvo…but it came with a free bumper to bumper factory warranty covering everything but tires…all routine maintenance and any repairs…until 60,000 miles.</p>
<p>thumper, I paid $2460 for the warranty and $500 for the protection plan. But I also got an instant $500 rebate on the sticker price of the car so it balanced out. I figured because the mileage on the car is so low (about 8.5k) and only has maybe another 1.5 years on the original warranty it was worth it.</p>
<p>It depends. Ideally you want the extended warranty to either cover more than the original warranty does or for a longer time. For example we usually buy used cars that are 3 years old and right around 60,000 miles, when the manufacturer’s warranty runs out. We took out an extended warranty for another 4 years or until 100,000 miles.
Ours also includes roadside assistance. Definitely read the fine print and what all it covers and what your recordkeeping requirements are for maintenance you have done.</p>
<p>I have only had extended warranties on three cars. All three of them needed major repairs (transmissions) just before the extended warranty expired, so was glad we had that on the cars. The transmission would have cost more than the warranty did. The extended warranty I bought was from the DEALER, so they wouldn’t point the finger at anyone else and say they needed to fix the vehicle. One of the dealers tried to charge us for a cleaning fee that was several hundred $$$, but I pointed out that my plan had NO deductible and I never agreed to pay any extra fees that they were attempting to charge so they agreed there was no charge.</p>
<p>The big thing about extended warranties is to know WHO will provide the service and what your rights are if there is a disagreement about whether the item is covered or not covered by the contract. Good luck! I am not fond of buying cars myself and generally do NOT buy extended warranties on most products. The ones on the cars were a fluke, but I was glad we did it.</p>
<p>For AAA, we had the kids splurge and get the membership with the 100 mile tow package which is VERY important if you are far from where you want the car towed. The mechanic we prefer in LA is much further than the piddly 5 miles tow that would be the normal membership amount. $5 per mile (or up) after that can add up quickly. Both our kids have older cars, so having the longer tow package gives H & me peace of mind. :)</p>
<p>We looked into an extended warranty once. Then called our insu co (USAA) and they could sell us the SAME FACTORY warranty for half the price . Dealership was skeptical. Then returned and matched the price. That said, that was an american caar. Since then we’ve owned mostly japanese cars. Never paid for an extended warranty.</p>
<p>We paid about $1200 for our extended warranty. I think it is for 7 yrs/100,000 miles. The vehicle we bought was a Honda Pilot, so we were expecting and hoping for a more mechanically reliable vehicle. And the Pilot has been much better. The warranty required that we go back to the selling dealer for the repair if it is within 40 miles. Ours was 27 miles. We were told our warranty was one of the top of the line ones. At least it paid off.</p>
<p>We have AAA plus as well, so we have the 100 mile towing package. It also paid off when S’s truck died about 75 miles from home, just outside his college town. They towed it back to our mechanic with no charge and no hassle. I just used AAA again this past winter when my battery died at work. We have never waited long for AAA service.</p>
<p>I’ve waited hours for AAA. That is a PITA. That said, I’ve had it for decades and will continue. Was at an outlet mall yesterday and bought some hiking boots. The AAA discount got me 20% off.</p>
<p>The extended warranty gives you a 7 year 100000 miles power train warranty. You already got that by buying certified, so you get no benefit for the power train from the extended warranty. The power train is the engine and transmission which are the expensive parts to fix.<br>
The bumper to bumper covers everything else (electronics, fuel pump,…). It is a minimum or 36000, 3 years from the first owners purchase date. You have 12000 miles, 1 year starting now. So whichever coverage is longer that is the one that is used. For example, if you have over 24000 miles it will be the 12000 mile warranty. If it is under 24000 you have until 36000 miles. You need to do the same kind of calculation using the years of service as well. Based on Toyota’s quality, you probably won’t need this part of the warranty. But if you do the repair cost will likely be much less than $2400. By the way, if you bought the 100000 mile extended warranty you aren’t covered until after the manufacturer warranty expires, so at best you will only be covered for 64000 miles( 100000-36000), not 100000. Maintenance such as brake pads, wipers… are not covered under either plan.
If the car is going to be used for college, chances are likely the warranty will expire based on years of service, not mileage.
Roadside assistance and travel protection are already included in the certified pre-owned warranty so you don’t need that either. By the way most comprehensive insurance policies add it for about $5 or $10/year, so they end up being much cheaper than AAA, and you can use any towing company you want.
When you bought the certified pre-owned you paid more than for a “used” car because a ceritified pre-owned warranty is included in the purchase price. The extended warranty is a very high profit, high commission item. It is not in the dealerships interest to explain to you that most of the coverage you are paying for is already in the cost of your certified car. They know most people do a lot of research on the car and sales price so they can’t compete well there. But they level the playing field by adding the paint protections, service contracts, extended warranty and other items that a customer hasn’t researched ahead of time. I always buy low mileage certified pre-owned. The cars are priced lower than new, and come with much better warrantees. My Mazda adds the 12000 miles to the bumper to bumper. So my car is covered by a 4 year 48000 mile bumper to bumper, 7 year 100000 power train warranty, and I bought it with 2000 miles on it. The car was a dealership demonstrator never titled, so I’m the original owner, the warranty started the day I bought it. By the time the warranty expires I’ll be trading it in, and the warranty is transferable if I sell it outright.
Bottom line, I don’t think you will ever get $2400 return on this policy.</p>