I just bought a 2005 4Runner (SR5/V8/AWD) and was considering buying one of the extended warranties.

My concerns are (1) the upfront cost (2) the exclusions and (3) having to use a Toyota dealer versus a mechanic of my choice.

Has it paid dividends for anyone? Paid for itself (ie you broke even)? Or has it not been money wisely allocated?

Any experiences or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Well I can only say that I think they are a total waste of money; for many reasons...

1) Toyota really is a great quality company

2) the money you spend you will hardly ever get out as the exclusions and offerings/dealings with the warranty company are usually pretty restrictive and hassle like

3) dealer is a lot more expensive then typical mechanics of your choice. If you do go ahead with this consider going elsewhere to buy the warranty and not at the dealer. Buying an extended warranty at the dealer actually has NOTHING to do with teh dealer accept that they are easier to sell to new car buyers. The dealer is the middle man receiveing a big chunk of your money; in exchange for the dealer selling the warranty for the warranty company they either give the dealer money or have an exclusion of sergice to be done only at the dealer (all a bunch of bull)

4) if you maintain your vehicle and take care of it (I assume you will since you are considering this warranty) then you are very unlikely to have major repair problems that the warranty would cover. Anything small and easily (or not for that matter) should be performed by the individual. i am a hge advocate of turning the power to the individual and having them become their OWN mechanic to as much of an extent as possible (for lots of reasons). The more you do and learn the more you save, the more fun you have, the more attached you get, the more knowlegable you get...etc


PS- I used to work for an extended warranty company (as well as dealers as a service writer and mechanic) and saw what people paid, and what we paid out over the long run and let me tell you... people get ripped off just for an imaginary peace of mind...

 

if you can not fix your own vehicle I would support a extended warranty especially if you go off roading. typically toyota offers 3 different warranties each covering different things including one that allows you to go to your won mechanic of your choosing w/ a small 50 deductible usually. they can cover such things like transfer cases suspension and stupid things that can possibley go wrong. now most of us bought a toyota because of reliability and its very possible that you may never need it but as with all "insurances" Its there in case you need it. nobody ever wants to use it but its there in case. question is are you that finanacial stable that in case something big were to happen you could pull out 1.5 k or maybe 3k. Like if you were in an accident and they didnt fix everything that was suppose to be fixed later on 1 year down the line.

 

On a toyota I am not sure it makes sense getting an extended warranty. I didn't have much to get fix and I am at 91K .
On my wifes Audi A6 it made sense. She has easily gotten more out of her extended warranty than she paid (valve gaskets, stereo, headlamp, CV boot etc etc). She had a third party warranty and it was a bit of a hassle to get repairs covered compared to Audis own warranty program.
In short the more reliable Toyota probably won't need that many repairs to need an extended warrant.

 

in my mind the only major thing that might go out in 3 years is the air conditioner. it costs less than the extended warranty. my mechanic also agreed.

 

Service contracts (extended warranties) are Big Business. Highly profitable.
They are insurance, plain and simple, and just like your regular insurance you pay more than you get, usually.
So, if you buy one thinking it will pay for itself, it almost always will not.
If you buy it because you want that piece of mind of knowing that a catastrophic repair will not eat up all your savings -then fine, buy it.
Never buy the one from the dealer. They are overpriced & too restrictive.
If you do buy one, look closely at the coverages, they are not all created equal. You can usually pay extra to get more things included, such as ECMs, and fancy electronics like CD changers and power windows.

There's another reason that may justify a servce contract. I do have one good story about them - The GF drives a zillion miles. She bought a new SVT Focus 3 years ago, it came with a 36k,36mo warranty. At 11 months she was at 35k miles and about to go out of warranty. As some may know, these little pocket rockets are great fun and a great value - hard to beat the grin factor per dollar. BUT, they are notoriously unreliable - as are all the little powered up zoomers (WRX, NeonSRT4, etc all have a high ratio of major problems.) So we shopped around for an extended warranty. We found one from a company with good reviews, and she paid extra for the high tech and electronic coverages, it even included rental car, and she got $50 deductable. She got coverage for 3 more years or 100,000 miles. It was beginning to look like our worry was for nothing (and money for the warranty wasted) - by 70k she had only had one claim, an O2 sensor. But in the last month, at 91k, it has more than paid for itself. She has had the stereo/cd changer replaced, a fuel rail, the intake manifold (variable length intake runner system) wiper motor and relay, and some other minor stuff. To date the policy has paid over $1400 in claims. She paid $850 for it. (The one from Ford was more than 2 grand!) So, it has paid off. But I can tell you from long personal experience, it's not normal to come out ahead.

 

That's not something I would expect. The a/c on my 85 was still nice and cold after 15 years and 240k miles (the last time I saw it) and the 90 a/c is still untouched and blows cold at 16 years old and 217k.

In a new 4Runner I would expect the fancy suspension & AWD/traction control machanical parts and attendant electronics to be most prone to fail, and the transmission would be #2 on my list.

 

I should have gotten the extended warranty on my Eagle Talon (TSi AWD); the most expensive and unreliable car I have ever encountered. Also, the best handling vehicle and the most power per pound. Maybe I will take the money and put it towards a "late inning" warranty on the Talon and not the 4Runner. After all, the reason I bought a Toyota was because I was sick and tired of paying literally thousands (about $2K per year for the last 9 years!) for a Mitsubishi engine. I know if I could sucker a company to underwrite the Talon for another 100k miles I would easily get my money's worth.

Thanks for helping me think this through!

 

Wow, I thought those were bullet proof. I have an aunt who had one of the first ones and put around 300k on it, trouble free (she drives about 90 miles to work each way.) I had a 3000GT and put 100k on it, also 100% trouble free. Its the more recent Mitsus where the engineering quality has totally gone down the tubes...

 

In all fairness, I do drive the Talon fairly hard. I found a warranty for $1500 for it; which would more than pay for the new transmission and eventual new turbo. I think I am going to pass on the warranty for the 4Runner unless I come across a really good deal. Thanks for all the input.