AshleyMartin Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 I am about to settle the paper work & pick up my 2008 Toyota Rav4 (4cyl Ltd) in a couple of days. My question is this: Are extended warranties and car protection packages (rust proofing, paint protection etc.) etc. worth getting? From what I have read, most books say no, - but I wanted to ask all of you directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbf2530 Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 (edited) I am about to settle the paper work & pick up my 2008 Toyota Rav4 (4cyl Ltd) in a couple of days. My question is this: Are extended warranties and car protection packages (rust proofing, paint protection etc.) etc. worth getting? From what I have read, most books say no, - but I wanted to ask all of you directly. Hi Ashley. :D TOYOTA? YUCK!!! Okay, now that I got that out of my system. Rust Proofing, Paint Protection, Undercoating, etc, etc? Not worth the money, at all! Just another way for the Dealer to separate you from your money! Extended? Warranties? All depends on many variables. How long will you be keeping the vehicle? How many miles will you be putting on it annually, etc, etc. If you are talking about a Manufacturers (in your case Toyota) Extended Warranty, then it may be a good investment (Ford's is called the ESP Plan, not sure about Toyota's). But only if you plan on keeping the vehicle until well past the Manufacturers original bumper to bumper warranty. If you are talking about an aftermarket Extended Warranty, one that is backed by someone other than the Auto Manufacturer, my advice is to stay away from it. I know with Ford products, you do not have to purchase the Extended Warranty up front. You have until the day your "Bumper to Bumper" Warranty expires. So, you can always wait and see if you feel you may need it. Of course, the drawback there is you cannot roll it into the new car loan. Only you can know your individual circumstances and figure out if the Extended Warranty is worth it. It can be a wise investment. Like any other type of Insurance, if you wind up needing it, you will be glad you have it. On the flip side, if your truck runs flawlessly until the day you sell it, you'll wish you hadn't spent the money! It's a crapshoot. Forget about the other stuff, they are just profit builders for the Dealer. Good luck! :beerchug: Edited October 30, 2007 by bbf2530 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 It's almost always better to self-insure if you can afford it. If the engine sludges over or the transmission craps out or the camshafts disintegrate (sorry, wrong Toyota) after the factory warranty - can you afford to pay a few thousand to fix it? If so, keep your money. You'll be better off in the long run. If you can't afford to pay that much out of pocket in the future, consider adding the extended warranty to the financing. That way you're only paying a few bucks per month instead of all at once. IMO that's the only time an extended warranty makes financial sense. Some buy them just for peace of mind and if that's the case with you, go for it. Just don't count on getting your money back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenCaylor Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 It's almost always better to self-insure if you can afford it. If the engine sludges over or the transmission craps out or the camshafts disintegrate (sorry, wrong Toyota) after the factory warranty - can you afford to pay a few thousand to fix it? If so, keep your money. You'll be better off in the long run. If you can't afford to pay that much out of pocket in the future, consider adding the extended warranty to the financing. That way you're only paying a few bucks per month instead of all at once. IMO that's the only time an extended warranty makes financial sense. Some buy them just for peace of mind and if that's the case with you, go for it. Just don't count on getting your money back. If you have a car with more complex electronics, it can be worth it. I had Ford's ESP on my 87 Turbo Coupe. It was things like the motors for the electronic shocks going out or the power antenna that made it pay for itself. On my current 2000 Mustang (ESP also), the only problem was with the Mach 460 head unit going out (so not worth it). The head unit failed at 4 years, 11 months and 2 weeks after I tood delivery of the car. Ford replaced it with no questions asked and gave me a free rental for a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 If you have a car with more complex electronics, it can be worth it. I had Ford's ESP on my 87 Turbo Coupe. It was things like the motors for the electronic shocks going out or the power antenna that made it pay for itself. On my current 2000 Mustang (ESP also), the only problem was with the Mach 460 head unit going out (so not worth it). The head unit failed at 4 years, 11 months and 2 weeks after I tood delivery of the car. Ford replaced it with no questions asked and gave me a free rental for a day. You can always come out ahead on a specific vehicle - more than one perhaps. But over the long haul - 4 or 5 vehicles at least - you're statistically better off without it IF you can afford a large repair out of pocket sometimes. If this wasn't true then the warranty company would go out of business. Think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UltimateX Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 They are in the business of making money, and extended warranties are a big money maker for the dealers and insurers. In others words you are paying for the average cost of the warranties, the admin cost of the insurance and a (big?) profit margin. If you are a gambling man and can afford the small risk of large out of pocket expense don't do it. Hopefully by the time you have an issues, you will not be making car payments, so the bill will be offset some what. This advise applies to all purchases, not just cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 In short.....don't waste your money. Basically, you are paying for a piece of paper. IF you have problems with the car after warranty (if you still even have it), it is usually less expensive for the repairs than the cost of the extended warranty. paint protections and interior stain protections ( we used to call it "rust and dust" jobs) are a complete waste, you can achieve the same results with a can or two of scotch guard and a good wax job. Keep your money, it will not enhance the value of your <shudder> Toyota. Curious side note....did you look at the Escape or Mariner? If so, what did you not like about it? If it isn't too late, I suggest, as the tag line says, "You gotta put Mercury on your list." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 PS...why would you post this question in the Ford Flex forum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 It's almost always better to self-insure ... I concur. Take that same amount of money and stick it in a Money Market account. Not only will it pay for all of "extended warranty" costs, but I'll bet it would also cover all of the items explicitly excluded (tires, brakes, filters, hoses, belts, clutches, etc, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Greene Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 (edited) RE Extended warranties....don't buy them.......make the same bet the car companies make....that the cost of repairs after the normal warranty ends will be less than the cost of the Insurance (Warranty). However.....If you, for some stupid reason, are buying something you can't afford to repair, maybe it's for you. Or if you are buying something with a lot of potential problems, like a lot of electronics, or dual air, etc, maybe it's worth it. But most folks don't keep a vehicle much past the standard warranty, and if you plan to keep a vehicle a long time, why not pick a vehicle with a long term warranty, at least on the expensive to repair items like drivetrain, etc. Edited November 18, 2007 by Ralph Greene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Personally it all depends, in my case, i drive alot, hell I have 33k on my 06 Mustang GT that I bought in March of 06! I got the ESP warrenty from Ford since they where only offering 3/36K year deal at the time and the ESP bumped it to 5/100K miles. I'm making payments on it for 5 years so might as well have it covered while I'm doing that. I had a really bad experance with my SVT Focus and it was in the shop at least a half a dozen times the first 2 years I had it and I got rid of it after only 3 1/2 yrs because of that...I was gun shy after that and got the extended warranty because of that. But the Mustang has been flawless, not requiring one trip to the dealership, besides to get an issue sorted after an accident I had with it and the bodyshop took it. I need to get the Oasis to see what they did to it. I think the next car I get won't have the ESP, since my first mustang and this one have been running great and the SVT Focus was just a POS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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