Should I get the Extended Service Contract for my 2007 Yaris?

[tomato]

Hello everybody, hope this is the right place to post this.

I just got this cute little Yaris, 2 DR, Hatchback, year 2007, with about 55K miles on it, a couple of days ago at a Toyota dealership. I wanted a "gently used car" because I live in a city environment and do not do much driving anymore, except to go get groceries, stuff like that, and the occasional drive out to the country, not too far, so for my purposes, getting a new car would be overkill.

The dealership - of course - tried to push the extended service contract. "The plan will pay for itself if you only have to do one of these repairs! Do you want to be stuck with thousands of dollars worth of repairs?" they say. Well, no, of course I don't.

But the extended service contract is expensive ($1690) :barf:

You can change your mind and get your money back within 30 days, though.
so I'm still thinking about it.

I'm wondering if that service contract isn't a waste of money because it's doesn't cover everything and leaves you paying for maintenance, tires, etc., anyway :iono:

Right now, the car is "certified" (in California, that means the car has gone through a rigourous - hopefully - inspection at Toytota and meets their standards for being in good shape) and according to the records I found in the glove box, whoever had it before kept up with regular maintenance, oil changes, etc.

I still have the manufacturer's warranty on the powertrain for a while, and the 3 months "Certified" car "bumper to bumper" warranty, but after that I guess I'm on my own.

What do you guys think? :confused:

(I've seen a topic similar to this one before but the poster's car didn't have 55K miles on his car, so I'm reposting, hope it's OK. )

[hobojon]

In my opinion-A waste of money. People buy Toyota for a reason, needing an extended warranty isn't one of those reasons.

[brainless twit]

My salesman added the warranty without my consent and I cancelled it once I got home and looked over the paperwork. In my case, they charged $1900. It's ridiculously overpriced for something you may never need.

You can buy the extended warranty at any time before your original factory warranty expires. They'll say that you can't, but you can. If you google, you'll find forums where tons of people got the same warranty for like $500 from other dealerships.

To me, if the car can't make it more than 36,000 miles without something going wrong, I don't want to buy it anyway. I had a Honda Accord that had over 200,000 miles on it when I traded it, and I never did more than basic maintenance.

[otterhere]

NO! That's the first lesson I learned in the world of car buying, and it's still one of the best.

[thebarber]

they talk up the value of the car till you go to buy it....then they get you in that little office w/ the finance lady and say "better to be safe"

fwiw, i had extended warranty on my matrix xrs....it paid for itself because the trd front sway bar i had prematurely wore out the steering rack.....so thats $1100CAD....boom, paid for.

i didnt get an extended warranty with my yaris because i told myself that i wouldnt mod it or drive it to the extent i drove my xrs.....and so far its been the case.

most MAJOR items will be covered by your powertrain warranty...and for the 1000$ that you pay for an extended warranty, chances are that nothing major enough will go wrong w/ your yaris in the timeframe of the warranty to cover the initial cost....

just my 2c though

[tomato]

Thanks, everybody, I really appreciate the input!

This is my first experience buying a relatively new car from a dealership, and I didn't expect all these last minutes add-on. The process is kind of confusing if you've never done this before.

[Havana]

Remember there's a reason people call them "stealers."

If your car was properly serviced for that first 55k, you should be just fine. If you're really concerned, set that money aside as an emergency repair fund for when the car really breaks down (which will probably be never). Better to keep the money in your pocket than in a dealer's.
Are they offering you an extended warranty or a service/maintenance plan? I bought mine new and the dealer never mentioned an extended warranty but he did offer me this jive $2786 service plan that would include all routine maintenance for 4 years. He said oil changes alone would cost that much. I just stopped listening at one point and began to think to myself that I must look really, really stupid.

[tomato]

Remember there's a reason people call them "stealers."

If your car was properly serviced for that first 55k, you should be just fine. If you're really concerned, set that money aside as an emergency repair fund for when the car really breaks down (which will probably be never). Better to keep the money in your pocket than in a dealer's.

I agree with you on both counts and setting the money aside for an emergency car-repair fund is a real good idea! :w00t:


Are they offering you an extended warranty or a service/maintenance plan? I bought mine new and the dealer never mentioned an extended warranty but he did offer me this jive $2786 service plan that would include all routine maintenance for 4 years. He said oil changes alone would cost that much. I just stopped listening at one point and began to think to myself that I must look really, really stupid.

Technically it's not an extended warranty because I'm already beyond the 36K. They call it the "Certified Platinum Toyota Extra Care Vehicle Service Agreement, factory backed." It's a plan Toyota offers to "Certified" vehicles only.

A "Certified vehicle" is a vehicle that has gone through their inspection, and is only so many years old, with only so many miles. In other words, a vehicle in good shape.

According to the brochure for that service contract, it looks to extend the benefits people enjoy during the first 3 y / 36K miles.

What's not covered (I left some stuff out):
Accessories drive belts
Batteries
Brake linings, pads and shoes
Clutch friction disk and pressure plate
Filters
Fluids
Glass (including windshield) and almost all other body or cosmetic parts
Hinges
Headliner
Heating Hoses, lines and tubes
Hybrid stuff (doesn't apply to my car)
Lamps, light bulbs, etc.
Service plug,
Shiny metals
Sheet metals
Spark Plugs
Structural framerowk and wells
Tire
Vacuum Hoses, lines and tubes
...

So I guess if I need a new clutch, I"m on my own? If a hose breaks and causes the engine to overheat or something, they might not honor the warranty? :iono:

[jclo3313]

Don't do it.

[tomato]

i didnt get an extended warranty with my yaris because i told myself that i wouldnt mod it or drive it to the extent i drove my xrs.....and so far its been the case.

most MAJOR items will be covered by your powertrain warranty...and for the 1000$ that you pay for an extended warranty, chances are that nothing major enough will go wrong w/ your yaris in the timeframe of the warranty to cover the initial cost....

just my 2c though



Yeah, good point, too!

You guys are great!! I'm real glad I found this forum! :thumbsup:

[Havana]

That's an interesting list of exclusions. I think that eliminates just about everything connected with the car except maybe the air in the cabin.

[jclo3313]

Yeah, good point, too!

You guys are great!! I'm real glad I found this forum! :thumbsup:

Glad to have you here!

[ka0sx]

I originaly bought the 7 year platinum plan and it took me 12k miles to realize i had been duped. I went and got it canceled and credited back. These cars do not need extended warranties, if it doesn't break in the first 30k miles then its probably not going to.

[tetzyamis]

If it's not a "built in Japan" car, then I might.
But for "built in Japan" car, I'd never get an extended warranty.
My dealer offered me $999 for 7 year warranty, but I still didn't take it.
If the average inflation is 4%, then $999 becomes $1300 in 7 years.
So, I need to spend $1300 in repair just to make par with what I pay.

[firebird1999us]

Why not just hold onto the money and use it when you run into a non-warranty issue. $1600 is like 15% of the price of the car!:iono:

[tomato]

Thanks to all for your input! :thumbsup:

I'm real glad I found this forum ! I'll be posting a few pictures in the near future.

[cfiimei]

Only if you buy an American car.

[mchllp925]

Don't do it, it just puts money in their pockets.

It's :bs:

[roxy1]

i concur with all. assuming you got the car for, say, $11500, then that warranty represents 15% of that. insane.

[06silveryaris]

its a toyota, you don't need it, go peel out and forget about it:burnrubber:

[Darb]

Hi tomato,

Yeah, I just recently got my Yaris as my first "car I bought on my own" and they strongly pushed the extended warranty. Nothing like a heavily eastern-bloc accented guy saying "It's up to you whether you want to sleep well at night" when trying to sell it, kinda intimidating. But anyway, everyone I spoke to said it's a waste of money, and even when you try to use it, it'll turn out that whatever is broke isn't covered. I figure I'll squirrel away the difference just in case I do need it, and not worry about it if I don't. :wink:

[SpaceShot]

For me, the local mechanic I use is a friend of mine that I have been going to for more than 12 years. I would much rather pay him the few hundred dollars over the life of the car for inspections and repairs than send $1600 or more to who knows where.

Not to mention that a major point of buying my Yaris was to get my monthly expense as low as possible.
My wife likes the fancy service waiting room at the local dealer. But I prefer to change my own oil, tires, filters, or brakes.

If you're the type that never looks under the hood, and doesn't want to, then the peace of mind might someday be worth it. But I would recommend saving the extra money, and take the time to learn to be as self sufficient as you can be with the maintenance of your car.
The little bit that you might spend with a good local mechanic is better spent closer to home.

[tetzyamis]

Hi tomato,

Yeah, I just recently got my Yaris as my first "car I bought on my own" and they strongly pushed the extended warranty. Nothing like a heavily eastern-bloc accented guy saying "It's up to you whether you want to sleep well at night" when trying to sell it, kinda intimidating. But anyway, everyone I spoke to said it's a waste of money, and even when you try to use it, it'll turn out that whatever is broke isn't covered. I figure I'll squirrel away the difference just in case I do need it, and not worry about it if I don't. :wink:

They strongly push it..., not for you, but for them to make money :tongue:

[daf62757]

I have owned many Toyotas. They never needed any work...period. Change the oil. Check the brakes. Remember to put gas in it....and you will be good for 200-300K miles.