mkurgan

i got my car a week ago and paid 925 more for the extra 3 year warranty- i got the terms in the mail today and it read: you MUST have your vehicle serviced as reccommended by the manufactuerer as provided in the owners manual:

so does this mean that i must bring my car in to the dealer every 5000 miles and get the recommended services done or else my 925 warranty is void?

-how much do these services cost?

-i read that i can cancel the warranty within 30 days for only a $25 charge.

ravidavi

According to those words, it means that for the warrantee to be valid you have to take care of your car the way the oweners' manual says you should. You can go to the dealer (prices listed on the dealer's website), or to another shop (ask them for prices).

Just so you know, the warrantee you bought began on the day you bought it, NOT an extra 3 years after the original warrantee expires.

These are all questions you should have asked the finance guy. If you go into a dealership not knowing about something you WILL get ripped off. For example, I bought a 5 year 75000 mile $100 deductible extended warrantee direct from the source (online) for $600. It is an exclusionary policy, covers wear & tear AND emissions. This is over twice the coverage that the equivalantly priced Toyota warrantee would give.

Spend a day at http://www.carbuyingtips.com and read their section on extended warrantees. Then decide for yourself whether you should cancel your Toyota warrantee or not.

Ravi

raamaudio

You bought a tC(Toyota product) highly unlikely the warranty will ever pay for it's cost.

Here is a seemingly little known secret, you can cancell the extened warranty any time you want and get a refund based on coverage(time) not yet used, which would be an almost full refund.

If you paid for this yourself you get the money, if financed the bank normally gets the money, you save that and all the interest but your payments are the same, you pay the car off early that way

There may be some different rules in your local but I would check into it and get that money back for something much better than flushing it down a toilet into somebody elses bank account. (The dealer makes a hefty margin on this crap)

Seriously,
Rick

Sharpies_tC

Actually, the warranty refund is based on the proration of miles driven or time lapsed less a $25 cancellation fee*. The smaller of the refund based on the prorated time or miles elapsed will be used for the refund.

i.e. purchase price of warranty = $1000.00, Original Term = 72 mos/100k miles, cancellation request is at 12 months / 20,000 miles, prorated refund based on months elapsed is 12/72 (16.67%) = $833.33, or prorated refund based on mileage is 20000/100000 (20%) = $800.00, the refund would be for the lessor amount, $800.00 minus the $25 cancellation fee = net refund $775.00.

As mentioned before, if there is a lien on the vehicle, check will go to your lienholder who should apply it as a payment to your principal loan balance.
*TMIS Extra Care only- fees vary by company

raamaudio

That is the long version of what I just said

Rick

gizmoviki73

I bought the extra 2 years, for a total of 5, but I also paid for my "services" for the maintence. I have a tires for life plan from my dealership, so I have paid for it all already. They have minimum maintence, to keep the tires for life. So I have very minimal out of pocket for next 5 years. I get a coupon book, take it in for service and hand them a coupon, no money. Plus I have national road hazard for my tires and wheels and more extras. I think it was well worth the extra $45 a month on my car payment, considering I have the RS1.0. My finance guy spent ALOT of time w/ me, describing it all. I can cancel mine at any time also, and get a refund. But, since my car payment is almost as much as rent, I think I'll keep it, lol. I should live in my car, down by the river.

Viki

tekniq

hmm, i got the extended warranty as well.. think its 6yr/100kmi? So that really is only 3 years since its occuring at the same time as my factory warranty?

if this is the case im getting a refund and turbo'ing, heh.

edit: i'm averaging 35k miles a year driven anyways...

PonyTc

I know , you have to go every 3000 miles or else it voids your warranty but it says in the manuel 5k

ravidavi

The extended warrantee is intended to cover items that the regular warrantee doesn't cover. They do overlap in time (both are in effect for the first 3 years), but they don't overlap in what items are covered. In addition, once the factory warrantee is gone your extended one will go on for another 3 years (and also take care of everything that the factory one used to).

Ravi

cliffy1

No, you didn't buy an extra 3 years. You bought an extra 64,000 miles. At what point are you more likely to have a warranty claim? In the first 36K or the next 64K?

cliffy1

In asnwer to the original question, yes, you have to maintain the car for the warranty to be in effect. You didn't think the purchase of a warranty meant you didn't have to change the oil now did you? The maintenance does not have to be done at the dealer, but it does have to be done and you have to prove you did it.

As for aftermarket warranties, they are rarely worth the paper they are written on. I've seen MANY examples of the warranty company going belly up, just in time for a claim to be paid. In that case, you'll be lucky to recoup the original purchase price of the warranty. I saw this happen to a customer who bought a Prius and his touch screen failed at 44K miles. Warranty Gold had just declared bankruptcy and paid him his $1200 purchase price. The price of the screen was $4500.

Finally, warranties are a gamble. You may never use it. You may use it a little, but not enough to cover the repairs down the road. On the other hand, your AC may go out when you have 90K miles and you'll find out that the compressor by itself costs more than the original warranty. Your roof motor may go on the blink. Your fog light switch may decide to die. I wont even get into the big and obvious stuff like CV boots, ABS sensors and actuators or 6 disc CD changers. For some folks, its worth the peace of mind knowing that the car will not cost them a dime in repair costs for 100K miles. For those folks, the warranty is worth it.

Ergo_Scion

Interesting. But Scion pretty much cuts through the smokescreen. The dealer posts their products on their website. Coverage is explained. Done.

As for that "warrantee direct from the source"--what source? And exclusionary? That term refers to everything that is NOT covered.

Moreover, if you purchased your warranty from someone other than the dealer, there's no obligation on the dealer's part to honor it. You would be out the cost of parts and repair and hope to get reimbursed from the warranty company.

Regarding carbuyingtips.com, again Scion cuts to the chase. No haggle, no hassle.

BTW, the correct usage is not "extended warranty." It's "vehicle service agreement" or "vehicle service contract" and refers to the provider's responsibility to cover parts and service as outlined in the agreement.

I would be highly suspect of any online product in that regard. After all, what's their responsibility to you? The dealer is a fixed-based operation. You know where to find 'em.

ravidavi

Yes I agree that Scion tends to be a no hassle company. But they still sell Toyota's ESA, which is overpriced because Toyota is not in the business of selling warrantees. In fact, I convinced my finance guy to check out the company from which I got my ESA, because it is more comprehensive and less expensive than Toyota's.

By direct from source, I mean directly from a company that exists for the sole purpose of providing auto ESAs. The good companies are doubly insured, and you can check out all of their background and credentials online.

And yes it is a bumper-to-bumper exclusionary policy, with wear & tear and emissions coverage, and of course those extras like towing and all that.

First of all, money is money. The dealer doesn't care how you pay for the fixes. With the good warrantee companies, they pay for the service immediately with a corporate credit card. In addition, while the dealer warrantee is only honored at the dealer, the third party warranty companies will pay out to ANY mechanic shop.

The reason I trust that website is that they are not affiliated with any manufacturer or warrantee provider. They do advertise for some providers, but the advice is objective and the opinions are not influenced by advertisers (although they do seem to distrust car dealers on principle ).

And I agree with you, one SHOULD be suspect of companies that sell their products online. However, this doesn't mean that they should all be rejected immediately. The company I bought from has a long track record of paying off claims immediately and without hassle. It is one of maybe 3 or 4 direct warranty companies that are trustworthy, with the rest being scams.

By the way, when you buy a warrantee at the dealer, they are just reselling you a policy from someone else, after charging you a hefty premium. In Scion's case, they're selling you a policy from Toyota so it is trustworthy. But your statement implying that dealer bought warrantees are more trustworthy has been proven false just 2 years ago when Warrantee Gold went out of business.

The fact is, you need to do research yourself if you don't want to get ripped off. If you blindly trust someone (whether that someone is the dealer or an online provider), you will probably get ripped off. Do your own homework and you'll save money and get reliable service.

Ravi

cliffy1

huh? Warranty Gold was an aftermarket company, just like the one you are pitching for. They too used corporate credit cards to pay claims, as dones every other scam artist warranty company. Most dealerships don't take those cards any more unless its from a company they have done business with before.

I'm not casting aspersions about this company you signed up with, but the language you are using is identical to that used by proponents of Warranty Gold a few years ago. It gets my suspicions up.

ravidavi

Yup, they were an aftermarket company. But their policies were also sold by some dealers. I was just saying that buying from the dealer isn't 100% safe from what history has shown us.

I'm not a proponent of anything. I couldn't care less what you spend your money on. All I was saying is, you can buy a warranty direct from the warranty company for less than you can from a dealer, who is just a reseller of warranties. I'm not saying that all companies are safe or advertising for any company. Heck, for all I know Ergo could be right and the guys I bought from could not honor the warrantee when I need it. If that happens, you can bet I'll be _____ing and moaning about it here.

I apologize if I souded like I was representing or advertising for some company... I'm not. I'm just annoyed with how many people I see who buy warranties from the dealer and don't understand what they're buying before they buy it. No matter how honest your dealer and finance guy seems, their job is to sell you a policy so you should have your homework done before you get there.

Ravi