Extended Warranty?

[Schattenjager]

I am just about to hit 30K on my 05 Tacoma. I have PILED on the miles in six months and the truck has run trouble free. I bought this Toyota based largely on the brands reputation for quality and dependability. It comes with a full bumper to bumper 36K miles coverage and an additional 5/50 drive-train plan.

I can extend the coverage to 7 years / 100K (from new) for about $1500.00 It is a Toyota warranty that is basically the 3/36 level of protection. This will give me about 70K miles and four years of warranty.

This $1500.00 is actually a "deal" as I know the owner of the dealership and he showed me a receipt from a customer that bought the same thing for $2350.00 - the average price.

I am trying to save up for a trailer too...

Would you get it?

 

[Dave]

I have the 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty on my 2002, bought it when I bought the truck used. I've used the warranty twice, once was to replace the starter while traveling through Utah and the second was for a TSB.

I'd get it.

 

[SOAZ]

I'd get it too. Be armed with the Magnuson Moss warranty act if anyone gives you BS about it being modified.
Had one on my tacoma and I took it in at about 85K to ask them to take a look because the warranty was almost up. They found the axle seals, a power window motor and ... I can't remember, but it added up to enough to be worth it.

 

[nickw]

Tough Call

I am just about to hit 30K on my 05 Tacoma. I have PILED on the miles in six months and the truck has run trouble free. I bought this Toyota based largely on the brands reputation for quality and dependability. It comes with a full bumper to bumper 36K miles coverage and an additional 5/50 drive-train plan.

I can extend the coverage to 7 years / 100K (from new) for about $1500.00 It is a Toyota warranty that is basically the 3/36 level of protection. This will give me about 70K miles and four years of warranty.

This $1500.00 is actually a "deal" as I know the owner of the dealership and he showed me a receipt from a customer that bought the same thing for $2350.00 - the average price.

I am trying to save up for a trailer too...

Would you get it?

That is a tough one!

What exactly does the warranty cover?

IMO, I would say skip it, IF you take good care of your rig and assuming the warranty only covers NON wear/tear items. Your going to be pumping $$ into your rig every 30K or so to keep serious things from happening. I can't imagine catastrophic engine failure or a blown tranny happening within the first 100K if you keep up on your PM.

My buddy has a 96' with 210,000 and he did the timing belt/water pump/consumables. Still going strong with no problems, mostly highway/city but he offroads it as well.

 

[MountainBiker]

I really doubt it is a "Toyota" warranty. What the dealer sells you is really a type of insurance, underwritten by an ins company, not Toyota. But the service is performed at a Toyota dealer. Subtle difference, I'll admit.

In my history with Toyota's, all the problems have been infant mortality, so not much benefit to a long warranty. The odds are that you'll be hard pressed to get $1500 worth of value out of the warranty. And of course, as you modify your rig, certain items might get the warranty voided. I would put the money into the trailer!

 

[crawler#976]

We replaced a window motor on our '99 Forerunner under an extended warranty a few years back. It cost almost $600.00. We also had several other minor items that were covered under the BtoB coverage, and while we didn't get the full amount we payed for it back, it did give us the peace of mind that if we had a major failure, it wouldn't impact our finances while we were making payments on the truck.

When we sold it, the warranty was transferable, and made for a strong selling point to the folks that bought it. They had almost 45,000 of remaining coverage left.

We currently have the 7 year/100,000 mile coverage on the '05 for the same reasons as above. We're now past the standard coverage, so from now on, anything else will be repaired under the policy.

Mark

 

[Schattenjager]

I really doubt it is a "Toyota" warranty. What the dealer sells you is really a type of insurance, underwritten by an ins company, not Toyota. But the service is performed at a Toyota dealer. Subtle difference, I'll admit. ... I would put the money into the trailer!

It is in fact a Toyota warranty. Not GE or any of the other - can be turned down by the dealership - kind of warranties.

 

[MountainBiker]

It is in fact a Toyota warranty. Not GE or any of the other - can be turned down by the dealership - kind of warranties.

Excellent! Good to know.

I think I'd still keep the money in my pocket. I mean, there is a reason you bought a Toyota, right?

 

[Dave]

What exactly does the warranty cover?

If he's looking at the same warranty I got, it covered basically everything, not just drive train. It even has provisions for windshield repair and tire repair. When the latch for the rear side window (extended cab) broke, I probably could have had it replaced under this warranty according to the documentation.

And mine is a Toyota warranty, fwiw.

 

[nickw]

If he's looking at the same warranty I got, it covered basically everything, not just drive train. It even has provisions for windshield repair and tire repair. When the latch for the rear side window (extended cab) broke, I probably could have had it replaced under this warranty according to the documentation.

And mine is a Toyota warranty, fwiw.

So basically all non-consumable and non PM type items?

I wonder if they would cover something if they felt it was negligence on the owners part? Something like a axle shaft or CV joint if wheeled hard with a rig on oversize tires. I am thinking they would throw a temper-tantrum if you cam in once a week for warranty parts with a truck on 35"'s with a full exo-cage and a crawl box. They must draw the line somewhere.


I would love to see their faces however!

 

[Martinjmpr]

When I got my Ranger new in 1999, I got the warranty. Only used it once in 93k miles and that was for a malfunctioning sensor - maybe a $150 repair.

Your Toy already has a 5/60 Engine and powertrain warranty. The whole reason for getting a Toyota is so you won't have any problems, right?

I say put the money in the trailer.

 

[Schattenjager]

Thanks fellas - that is the kinda support I have come to expect at ExPo!!!

 

[RoundOut]

I am not 100% certain, but I bet your buddy's dealership is still making over $1000 on the sale of the warranty. I, too have some friends at several Toyota dealerships and at least on the aftermarket warranties, they say that it is a HUGE profit center from those who don't realize the quality of the Toyota product. I don't know about the extended Toyota branded product, but I bet it is similar. The reason for the HUGE profits is that they are generally not needed.

Each time I have owned a Toyota, I have passed on the option to purchase an extended warranty. I maintain my vehicles meticulously, and that helps keep problems away. My response to the salesman has always been, "I already have a warranty, it's called 'Toyota'." The existance of major repair requirements in an existing Toyota product, especially in the Tacoma, is pretty unlikely. Sure it can and does happen, but if it happens, you could probably fix it for less than $1,500.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I look at it this way: When you buy an extended warranty, you and the seller of the warranty are engaging in a bet: You are betting that your truck will have a catastrophic failure (I think I would define catastrophic failure as any non-routine repair that will exceed $1500) and the seller of the warranty is betting that it won't.

These kinds of warranties, IMO, are holdovers from days when products weren't so well made. Nowadays, you can generally figure that if a high-tech product is going to fail, it's either going to fail in the warranty period or not at all. IOW, if it has a manufacturing flaw (and anything mechanical can break, of course) chances are good that the flaw is of such a type that it will become apparent long before your 3/36 or 5/60 warranty has run its course. So you get it fixed under warranty and it's fine.

The exception to this is the rare (but highly publicized) design flaws that some vehicles have. Back in the 80's, Toyota V-6 motors were known to have problems with head gaskets. My 1990 Mitsubishi Montero with the 3.0l V-6 motor had the well-known and well-established valve guide problem that caused it to burn oil excessively (at one point I was adding 1/2 qt with every tank of fuel.) The Subaru Outback with the 2.5l F-4 engine also had known head gasket problems from 1996-2001. However, even most of these problems could be fixed for around the price of an extended warranty, so it's usually not worth it even then.

I'm actually very impressed by how good vehicle quality has gotten over the past 20 years. I was talking to my dad, and he said that when he started buying cars in the 50's, it was considered normal to have to change out a water pump around 20k miles (this was in the days of the 12 month/12k warranty, of course.) And there is a reason why cars from that era had 5-digit odometers: Because by the time a vehicle had 100,000 miles on it, it usually needed major work.

Nowadays, of course, we consider 100,000 miles to be the minimum life of a vehicle, and those of use with Toyotas generally figure on getting at least 150-200k miles before our vehicles need any major work. Even domestic cars and trucks can hit 6 digits with no serious troubles.

So, as I said before, I think you'd be fine investing that $1500 into something other than a warranty.

 

[Schattenjager]

Called the dealership Friday to cancel the paperwork! Thanks for the input.

Now, to find a trailer....:chowtime: