Buying a 200-series - what are common repairs and would you buy an extended warranty? (1 Viewer)

[linuxgod]

My wife and I are buying a 2013 Land Cruiser, which is currently being shipped by AutoNation from a store in Houston to Chicago. The prior owner owned it for a bit less than 2 years and put almost 49,000 miles on it. Very clean carfax and full service history. The dealer sold it as Toyota CPO (12 month bumper-to-bumper, 7/100k powertrain). Paid just over $49k for it with a 60 month loan, which is $6k less than anything similar has sold for within 150 miles of Chicago in the last 4 months.

Living in the city, we only drive about 9k miles per year, though winter salt plus city roads and stop-and-go traffic means 9k miles puts more like 18k miles of wear on a vehicle. We also tow a 5,000 lb travel trailer for camping 8-10 weekends each summer. We'll almost certainly hit 12 months before 12,000 miles and will reach the end of the powertrain warranty at 7 years since the original sale (March 2014) before we hit 100k miles. The dealer was pushing the AutoNation extended warranty, which would be $2k to cover bumper-to-bumper (except wear items) to the 8 yr/100k mark. Normally I avoid extended warranties, but after the $3,000 Nav system went bad in our Acura MDX at the 6 year mark (not to mention a number of smaller motor, sensor, etc repairs), I'm not as confident. The 200-series has a lot of electronics, and when I see posts with "$2,500 for a rusted KDSS valve replacement" I get nervous. So here are my questions:

1. The general consensus on the forums is that the LC is rock solid, rarely breaks down, can scale Everest, etc. What are some of the common problems you've seen reported on the 200-series LC/LX and what are the typical repair costs?

2. Given the mileage, CPO warranty, 200-series reliability, our driving situation, and extended warranty cost, if you were me would you buy the extended warranty?

 

[LX prospect]

no problems on my 2014, i'd never buy such a warranty.

the 08's had water pump issues, but those have been since solved.

 

[RTaylor]

Oil, filters, tires, brake pads and the most common = fuel.

Enjoy the new ride!

 

[steenh]

Everyone has their take on extended warranties and it all comes down to your risk tolerance. You have to know that any warranty is designed to screw you since whomever is selling it too you has run the numbers and knows that overall they will come out ahead over many buyers... so just playing the odds, you shouldn't buy one. But if you get peace of mind knowing that for $2k you might come out ahead (like a lottery buyer thinks they might come out ahead despite the odds), you should. All comes down to what makes you more comfortable in the long run. I'm wired to be pragmatic and just can't stand the thought of knowing the odds are against me so I've never purchased one on any LC and it's never bitten me. If I was dumb enough to buy a rover, I'd buy one for sure, but the odds of me ever buying a rover are zero

Can't say I didn't put $20 on the Powerball $1.6B though...

 

[blackpaper]

I paid $1,400 for the 8 total year / 100k total miles Toyota Platinum Vehicle Service Agreement on my 2013 CPO. While I bought the car for its capability and reliability, spending an extra $1.5k for additional warranty (plus roadside assistance) on an $80k MSRP vehicle didn't seem like a total waste of money. Though I do look forward to be proven wrong =)

 

[c4xplsv]

The reason I bought a LC was to avoid the need for a warranty and still get a great SUV. I consider warranties on European cars to be a necessity (BMW, Mercedes, etc - I've owned 4 bimmers). I have customers with fleets of tundras and some of them have up to 280k miles with no break downs. My in laws have a Tundra with nearly 300k. If it were me I would save my money. Warranties, as stated above, are there as money makers. That is why a warranty on a Toyota doesn't cost much but a warranty on a BMW costs a fortune. They know what breaks and what doesn't break.

 

[bronc076]

I saw that land cruiser on Autotrader, very nice! Enjoy!

 

[HighMile200]

The only money I've spent on services that may be covered by such a warranty has been on: rear kdss unit (about 1K), water pump (around 700), propeller shaft assembly for "thunk" (around 780), and the wobbly mirror fix (around 70) All those things came after 100K miles on the clock.

Most of the cash I've spent on my '08 with nearly 175K miles has been on preventative maintenance items (fluids), wearable parts/upgrades (shocks, brakes, tires). I've never had a breakdown, or any type of significant malfunction on any system that HAD to be repaired.

I am religious (kind of obsessive) about maintenance, so I've spent quite a bit on fluid changes. Also, plugs at 120K miles.

I would bet you'll be ahead without the warranty. Put the cash into some Slee step sliders and some quality window tint instead. Or, maybe a quality underbody protection considering the salt exposure (I couldn't make a specific recommendation on that, but there may be a thread on the topic).

I have to concede that I bought her with 94K on the clock, so I missed most of the first 100K, but I didn't see anything significant in the service records.

 

[highrisk]

I have a 2013 with 37,000 on it. I haven't had 1 issue. I did replace my brakes and resurface my rotors but I chalk that up to driving style.

I bought new and was coming from a Range Rover so I did buy the extended warranty, 120,000 miles.

 

[mrt6644]

There is a good argument to make that an extended warranty on a Toyota is a waste of money.
But sometimes they come in handy.
I had an extended warranty on my FJCruiser and it paid off when the front calipers had seized Pistons.
This was happening to many Toyota models, especially in cold weather areas. I think it was caused due to corrosion, probably because of road salt.
Replacing both front calipers at a dealership with new Toyota parts is not cheap. The cost of the repair way exceeded the cost of the extended warranty.
And later I had a bad wheel bearing that was covered.

 

[linuxgod]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

As I said I'm normally against extended warranties, but it's piece of mind, particularly to my wife. It definitely sounds like the AutoNation extended warranty at $2k is overpriced and probably being pushed by the dealer because of higher margin. When I go back to pick up the vehicle and sign the financing papers I'll keep that in mind.

 

[linuxgod]

I paid $1,400 for the 8 total year / 100k total miles Toyota Platinum Vehicle Service Agreement on my 2013 CPO. While I bought the car for its capability and reliability, spending an extra $1.5k for additional warranty (plus roadside assistance) on an $80k MSRP vehicle didn't seem like a total waste of money. Though I do look forward to be proven wrong =)

Thanks, I figured $2000 wasn't really "at cost" but after getting it down from almost $3000 I wasn't sure. Really good to know I shouldn't be paying anything more than $1400

 

[mrt6644]

It seems that the dealers have a a lot of flexibility in the price of the extended warranty which means the margins are probably huge.
Not sure I would buy a non-Toyota warranty unless I had a lawyer comb through the fine print. Would it allow for a Toyota dealer to fix the problem using new Toyota parts? Or would it require you to go to the repair shop they dictate?

 

[linuxgod]

Oil, filters, tires, brake pads and the most common = fuel.

Enjoy the new ride!

Cool. Especially in stop-and-go city driving in such a heavy vehicle and with towing I expect to replace the brakes every 30-40k miles unfortunately. I expect to do a brake upgrade when I need to replace them since a 5000# trailer could use the extra stopping power (even with trailer brakes).

Fuel will likely be a wash for me. I have a 2008 Acura MDX right now which gets a purported 15/20 according to the EPA (though I've never seen more than 12 in real city driving and often as low as 9 in the winter), but requires premium, so switching to regular should offset the lower mileage. Where I expect fuel to kill me is when towing.

 

[linuxgod]

Everyone has their take on extended warranties and it all comes down to your risk tolerance. You have to know that any warranty is designed to screw you since whomever is selling it too you has run the numbers and knows that overall they will come out ahead over many buyers... so just playing the odds, you shouldn't buy one. But if you get peace of mind knowing that for $2k you might come out ahead (like a lottery buyer thinks they might come out ahead despite the odds), you should. All comes down to what makes you more comfortable in the long run. I'm wired to be pragmatic and just can't stand the thought of knowing the odds are against me so I've never purchased one on any LC and it's never bitten me. If I was dumb enough to buy a rover, I'd buy one for sure, but the odds of me ever buying a rover are zero

Can't say I didn't put $20 on the Powerball $1.6B though...

Just $2 on the powerball for me. I play just so I can dream

I know the overall odds are against me, so it's really a question of whether I want to insure myself against being an outlier.

 

[linuxgod]

I saw that land cruiser on Autotrader, very nice! Enjoy!

Thanks. Tan wasn't my first color choice but the wife was OK with it and I was OK with saving 5 grand since none of the dealers around me would negotiate a penny off the asking prices of their LCs or LXs. The color has started to grow on me though.

It'll probably be a while before I can afford to mod it but I'll post pics when I do.

 

[linuxgod]

The only money I've spent on services that may be covered by such a warranty has been on: rear kdss unit (about 1K), water pump (around 700), propeller shaft assembly for "thunk" (around 780), and the wobbly mirror fix (around 70) All those things came after 100K miles on the clock.

Most of the cash I've spent on my '08 with nearly 175K miles has been on preventative maintenance items (fluids), wearable parts/upgrades (shocks, brakes, tires). I've never had a breakdown, or any type of significant malfunction on any system that HAD to be repaired.

I am religious (kind of obsessive) about maintenance, so I've spent quite a bit on fluid changes. Also, plugs at 120K miles.

I would bet you'll be ahead without the warranty. Put the cash into some Slee step sliders and some quality window tint instead. Or, maybe a quality underbody protection considering the salt exposure (I couldn't make a specific recommendation on that, but there may be a thread on the topic).

I have to concede that I bought her with 94K on the clock, so I missed most of the first 100K, but I didn't see anything significant in the service records.

The wife has approved modding. Living in the city we only have one vehicle, so her approval is important since she daily drives whatever we own. Once I have some $$$ I'll hit you up for some recommendations

 

[linuxgod]

It seems that the dealers have a a lot of flexibility in the price of the extended warranty which means the margins are probably huge.
Not sure I would buy a non-Toyota warranty unless I had a lawyer comb through the fine print. Would it allow for a Toyota dealer to fix the problem using new Toyota parts? Or would it require you to go to the repair shop they dictate?

Any dealer. If it's an AutoNation dealer it's zero deductible. Otherwise it's $100 deductible. I do lean towards the genuine Toyota warranty though now that I think about it.

Once nice thing about the dealership shipping the vehicle is I have a full week to think about this and do a little research before finalizing anything

 

[Markuson]

Extended warranty?

The ONLY time I've actually seen a Land Cruiser being towed...was when I was illegally parked.

That doesn't mean they never need repairs...but I was never stranded in 16 year old 100.

On the other hand...I see tons of these...like this one I saw a couple days ago...

 

[linuxgod]

Extended warranty?

The ONLY time I've actually seen a Land Cruiser being towed...was when I was illegally parked.

That doesn't mean they never need repairs...but I was never stranded in 16 year old 100.

On the other hand...I see tons of these...like this one I saw a couple days ago...
View attachment 1192960

Haha!

I'm pretty confident the LC won't leave me stranded. I'm much more concerned with the non-critical electronics. Between 2009 and 2015, my Acura (which is supposed to be a super-reliable Honda product) suffered from a bad front wheel bearing, a bad passenger mirror motor, a bad AC relay, a bad AC expansion valve, a failed AWD sensor (twice), a bad tensioner pulley, a leaky sunroof, a bad bluetooth module, and a failed Navigation unit. Everything except the nav unit was maybe $2,000 tops. The navigation unit was $3,000 (though the diagnostic menu showed a disc drive read failure and I was able to take the unit apart and fix it with a replacement DVD drive from China for $75).