Just to be clear, who did you turn down?
Extended warranty on a recently purchased 21 HE (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Suntory
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I guess it all depends on how long you are planning on keeping the vehicle and what your vehicle came with. You should know that you are able to purchase the Warranty from any Toyota Dealer, so it may be worth your time calling around to see what other dealers can/will offer.
Gentlemen
just my 2 cents on extended warranties
(As they relate to Toyota vehicles anyway)
Take the cost of the extended warranty that you are quoted and set aside that
Amount in a savings/ investment account
If you have an unexpected event that would have been covered, then use the money towards the repair
if you don’t have an unexpected event in the warranty time frame, then you have “free” money to use however you wish
based on my prior experience with Toyota’s, the odds of having an unexpected event that would need the warranty coverage is under 10%
The cost of the warranty is an immediate 100% loss to your wallet
given the low odds of ever using the warranty- it doesn’t make economic sense to purchase one
(now for other brands- Range Rover, Mercedes, bmw, etc. it may make more economic sense)
just my 2 cents. Use your own judgement.
just my 2 cents on extended warranties
(As they relate to Toyota vehicles anyway)
Take the cost of the extended warranty that you are quoted and set aside that
Amount in a savings/ investment account
If you have an unexpected event that would have been covered, then use the money towards the repair
if you don’t have an unexpected event in the warranty time frame, then you have “free” money to use however you wish
based on my prior experience with Toyota’s, the odds of having an unexpected event that would need the warranty coverage is under 10%
The cost of the warranty is an immediate 100% loss to your wallet
given the low odds of ever using the warranty- it doesn’t make economic sense to purchase one
(now for other brands- Range Rover, Mercedes, bmw, etc. it may make more economic sense)
just my 2 cents. Use your own judgement.
I absolutely do agree with you. For me, it was simply a matter of peace of mind for a Truck that I am planning on keeping for 25+ Years.
Every VSC cost is generated by the rating of the vehicle from cost of repair, likelihood of a breakdown, and average length of ownership. Most VSC's are designed around an average person having a length of ownership at 42 months. Only have a 6 month window of needing a repair is pretty good so that is how they make their money. Vehicles that cost more and are kept longer bring that cost up as the amount of exposure for that VSC is much higher. If you keep a car 3-4 years, don't buy a VSC, but f you keep them a long time then absolutely go for the longest one ya can. A Tacoma costs less on average to repair than a Cruiser so a VSC costs less as that puts it in a lower rating category. I'd say an LC is kinda upper middle of the pack overall but definitely the most expensive VSC on a Toyota, almost double cost of other models. The most expensive ones I have rated are a BMW M8 and a Tesla X so avoid those like the plague lol.
bloc
SILVER Star
Makes sense, thanks for the explanation.
Thought I'd ask the same question, but little different situation. I bought a '21 LC last April that's just sitting in the garage, with 28 miles, as I run a '01 MB station wagon and '00 LC into the ground. Didn't really need the '21 right now, but it was an impulse buy because of the end of the 200 series.
Fact is, I'll probably have less than 5k miles when my warranty expires and I'm guessing maybe 25-40k miles in 10 years. Any opinions on my getting the 10yr/100k warranty? I tend to self-insure a bit with high deductibles, so I'm leaning on taking the gamble of no warranty. Didn't get the extended for my '00 and really only had the exhaust sensor(s) as a problem. But if the 200 typically has more failures, then I'd get it.
Fact is, I'll probably have less than 5k miles when my warranty expires and I'm guessing maybe 25-40k miles in 10 years. Any opinions on my getting the 10yr/100k warranty? I tend to self-insure a bit with high deductibles, so I'm leaning on taking the gamble of no warranty. Didn't get the extended for my '00 and really only had the exhaust sensor(s) as a problem. But if the 200 typically has more failures, then I'd get it.
I somewhat disagree. It depends on the cost for the warranty, the cost of the product you're covering, and your personal financial situation (i.e. particularly on a used or CPO truck, could you cover a $15k repair if your engine sized?) Warranties are a bad ROI when viewed statistically across a large number of purchases. However they are an insurance policy for a single purchase. One failed Nav unit will set you back far more than the cost of the warranty. How many Nav units go bad on average? Very very few. But if you're the one that does go bad, it pays for itself.
By the line of reasoning that you should bank the $ and use it towards a repair, if something very expensive goes bad, the warranty cost may only be a fraction of the repair cost. For example if the overhead DVD player fails and you want to replace it, Toyota charges $8,000 for a new one. Even if you save $2,000 from your warranty cost, you still need to pony up $6,000 to fix it. Do you have the funds available?
When I bought my 2013 it was a CPO with 49k miles and 25 months of use. Toyota CPO is 12 months/12k miles. I paid about $1300 for the Toyota platinum $0 deductible 7/100k extended warranty. It was financed into a 60 month loan at ~$20/month. I expected that $ to be a complete loss for me. However I paid it because I did not have a huge cash pile available *if* I had a failure of something electronic and had to come up with a significantly larger sum to repair it. Ultimately I got about half the $ back when Toyota replaced my cracking radiator under warranty at 76k miles. That said, if the warranty had been $3000 I probably would not have opted for it under the same line of reasoning you have... but being $1300 I felt it was a fair price for an insurance policy while I was still paying off the truck.
Side note: my 2008 Acura MDX had it's DVD drive for the navigation system fail. The dealer wanted $3500 for the repair. I didn't have an extended warranty. I am however pretty technical and was able to dismantle the unit, source the part from China, and repair it, to the tune of about 2 hours of my own labor and $65 in parts. If I wasn't handy however that would've been a very expensive repair. I also had an issue with the DVD player ("rear entertainment system") in my 2013 LC where the screen wouldn't retract correctly. The dealer said the unit was $7,900, though they were able to do some sort of "screen sensor reset" which ultimately fixed it for free. If I had to pony up $7,900 though, I probably would've removed the unit and bought my kids android tablets...
I would disagree. As reliable as Toyotas are there will almost always be some type of issue. Especially electronic issues.
Just my experience, I bought a 2013 LX in 2019 with 62K I bought a 4 year/150K warranty for around $2200 (can't recall the exact amount) with a $100 deductible. Covers everything.
This summer one of the parking sensors started randomly going off. Around the same time the AC would blow cold then not so cold. I brought it to the dealer, $1500 for the parking sensors and $6600 to replace the entire dual AC unit. (I was told the desiccant bag opened and shot shrapnel through the entire AC unit?) Dealer claimed they had not seen it before.
Cost me $100
I am thinking it wouldn't cost that much if I was paying out of pocket but even at 50% less it is still a significant cost. So, in my case the warranty has paid for itself.
I do understand not buying one. I guess it depends on what you are comfortable with.
@linuxgod
My opinion regarding extended warranties mostly relates to the original question posted in this thread- ie: purchase of a new '21 Cruiser. The major components of the 21 Land Cruiser - engine, transmission, (and yes even electronics), have been refined over the last 13 years of production of the 200 series, to the point that a failure of any of these major systems is an extreme rarity. I would crudely estimate the odds at less than 1 % ( less than 1 out of 100 vehicles). Even with those odds, I would argue that most major problems with a new vehicle are going to manifest themselves during the time frame of the factory warranty- Thus my original recommendation of not purchasing an extended warranty on a “NEW” Toyota vehicle still stands.
As for a used or CPO Toyota Vehicle - My recommendation would still be the same IF the vehicle being purchased has an adequate documented maintenance history / no prior accidents, etc.
Your post indicated that the cost of your 7 / 100 extended warranty was $1,300. At that price it starts to sound a bit more reasonable - I would gently argue that even $1,300 is too high. Others have indicated they have received quotes of $2000 - $6000 or higher.
@AverageJones stated "A Tacoma costs less on average to repair than a Cruiser so a VSC costs less as that puts it in a lower rating category. I'd say an LC is kinda upper middle of the pack overall but definitely the most expensive VSC on a Toyota, almost double cost of other models."
--- My take on this is that the Land Cruiser is no more expensive to repair than a Tacoma, and likely has a lower overall failure rate. They base their pricing model on repair statistics that are developed by third parties (and their own history). There are plenty of Tacoma's on the road, but there have never been enough Land Crusiers /LX570's sold to develop reliable statistics - thus they raise the price on Land Cruisers /LX570's to compensate for the unknown factor. In addition, since the Land Cruiser and LX fit into the luxury category, their pricing model reflects a "Luxury" price.
Several members have shared their experience where their extended warranty paid off in a big way - however I'll bet that there are significantly more that never use their extended warranty - they just don't post about it...
Note that I am not against insurance and extended warranties - I just think they are significantly overpriced on Land Cruisers (and Toyotas in general). (and don't even get me started on home appliance extended warranties)...
Having said all this, and reading the many comments above, my advise is IF you want or need an extended warranty, then at least shop around with different dealers and negotiate on the price - it would appear their first offer is not always the best they can do...
My opinion regarding extended warranties mostly relates to the original question posted in this thread- ie: purchase of a new '21 Cruiser. The major components of the 21 Land Cruiser - engine, transmission, (and yes even electronics), have been refined over the last 13 years of production of the 200 series, to the point that a failure of any of these major systems is an extreme rarity. I would crudely estimate the odds at less than 1 % ( less than 1 out of 100 vehicles). Even with those odds, I would argue that most major problems with a new vehicle are going to manifest themselves during the time frame of the factory warranty- Thus my original recommendation of not purchasing an extended warranty on a “NEW” Toyota vehicle still stands.
As for a used or CPO Toyota Vehicle - My recommendation would still be the same IF the vehicle being purchased has an adequate documented maintenance history / no prior accidents, etc.
Your post indicated that the cost of your 7 / 100 extended warranty was $1,300. At that price it starts to sound a bit more reasonable - I would gently argue that even $1,300 is too high. Others have indicated they have received quotes of $2000 - $6000 or higher.
@AverageJones stated "A Tacoma costs less on average to repair than a Cruiser so a VSC costs less as that puts it in a lower rating category. I'd say an LC is kinda upper middle of the pack overall but definitely the most expensive VSC on a Toyota, almost double cost of other models."
--- My take on this is that the Land Cruiser is no more expensive to repair than a Tacoma, and likely has a lower overall failure rate. They base their pricing model on repair statistics that are developed by third parties (and their own history). There are plenty of Tacoma's on the road, but there have never been enough Land Crusiers /LX570's sold to develop reliable statistics - thus they raise the price on Land Cruisers /LX570's to compensate for the unknown factor. In addition, since the Land Cruiser and LX fit into the luxury category, their pricing model reflects a "Luxury" price.
Several members have shared their experience where their extended warranty paid off in a big way - however I'll bet that there are significantly more that never use their extended warranty - they just don't post about it...
Note that I am not against insurance and extended warranties - I just think they are significantly overpriced on Land Cruisers (and Toyotas in general). (and don't even get me started on home appliance extended warranties)...
Having said all this, and reading the many comments above, my advise is IF you want or need an extended warranty, then at least shop around with different dealers and negotiate on the price - it would appear their first offer is not always the best they can do...
I wonder if the LC repair costs are indeed more than Tacoma because most of LC parts are of higher quality and have to be imported from japan vs. Tacoma is made here in USA or Mexico. And like you said, there is a lot of Tacomas…so, USA dealers/distribution centers have Tacoma parts readily on hand.
FrazzledHunter
SILVER Star
We're alike. We NEVER buy extended warranties. I sold my 100 series bought in 2000 and sold 11/2019 with 135K miles on it and I expect the same rate of mileage for the 200. However, there's more electronics on that 200 series than on any car I've owned. We got the car at a relative bargain so we bought the extended warranty from Toyota. It was definitely the electronics that made me and my wife nervous.
I was thinking Tundra - vs- Land crusier when I wrote this initially, but I do see now where the quote specified Tacoma. Yes the Land cruiser does have a few systems not found on the Tundra / Tacoma that can raise repair costs (KDSS and electronic traction control aids come to mind) However I believe most of the engine / transmission / drivetrain components interchange with the US built Tundra.
Transmission only came out in 2016 and it is the only vehicle on Toyota’s lineup to have it……
I normally like to self-insure, but I'm actually considering the $2230 for the extra 7 year warranty because at $320 a year, it may be a worthwhile option. Especially if the price of parts goes up on limited production. It is the last year of production and the availability of parts over the next ten years is unknown. The warranty price from Jennifer is way better than the dealer price where I bought my LC from, so it could be worse.
It's a shame I live in Chicago with the winter salt, as my '00 LC with less than 95k miles would certainly go a lot longer. I'll certainly try to keep the '21 LC out of the salt and no dogs as long as I can.
It's a shame I live in Chicago with the winter salt, as my '00 LC with less than 95k miles would certainly go a lot longer. I'll certainly try to keep the '21 LC out of the salt and no dogs as long as I can.
I wasn't really giving an opinion so much as to shed light on the pricing structure of VSC's and how they come about the different rates. Been in the car business mostly at Toyota for over 20 years anywhere from sales to finance to GSM and everywhere in between. Over that time I've had many conversation with our reps on VSC pricing structure and how they rate things. They will even price a VSC so high that they really don't want anyone to buy it based on repair history and cost lol
On a new 21, I'm with you and probably would not purchase the extended warranty, unless I drove a LOT and expected to burn through the bumper-to-bumper and powertrain warranties well before the vehicle was paid off. But I also only drive maybe 10k/year right now.
Yeah, the cost of the warranty is without a doubt a losing proposition across all Land Cruisers sold and you're probably correct that most people don't get their $ out of them (or use them at all). Just like your auto insurance policy, the seller has actuarial tables and will make money when viewed across everything they sell. My point is that you are a single person, and thus the laws of large numbers which benefit the sellers don't apply to you. If you can afford a big repair then you absolutely shouldn't buy the warranty. (And I agree for things smaller than a vehicle the extended warranties are typically a suckers bet). But for those who aren't sitting on piles of cash then they should seriously consider what they would do if their expensive vehicle required a major repair (like the guy who had a valve spring break and seize his engine at 58k miles to the tune of ~$15k).
I did a lot of research and $1300 was a good price (IIRC I actually paid a few $ less). At the time there were a few dealers selling them online and $1300-1350 I think was the best rate out there. Whether or not $1300 is a worthwhile cost for this type of "insurance" is a different question of course, but I don't believe you could get a similar policy for much less.
