First, I admit I never buy extended warranties for anything. OK, one reason I went with Toyota is its great reputation for quality and long lasting cars. Whay are people buying these extended warranties? Is the THC somehow more susceptable to problems? Or, is it more like an insurance policy for you?

 

I put about 25k miles per year on my car which means my warranty will be out in about a year and a half. At only something like $1400 to take it to 100k miles I just like the security. With the complexity of the TCH and given the fact that any significant issues will have to go to the dealer I felt I would get a good return.

On another note - I traded in an '02 'Vette for my TCH. With that car, the $1000 Extended Warranty was one of the wisest investments I have every made! And General Motors wonders why their company is going down the toilet.

 

I would agree that Toyota has a great reputation. However; the TCH like any other car is a machine with parts that can malfunction. Most conventional cars can be fixed by a competent mechanic and there may be systems in the TCH that a regular mechanic can fix. When it comes hybrid sytems the coventional mechanic has not yet had the experience to fix that. Although there may be some that do.

The reason I purchased the extended warranty is that I can take it back to Toyota and have their factory trained mechanics diagnose and fix any potential problem. I know you'll say that the neighborhood mechanic that you've been going to for the past 10, 20 or whatever years is way better than some fo the manufactueres mechanic. That also may be true. However; the Toyota mechanics have the resources of Toyota behind them

The other thing the extended warranty give me is that parts and labor will be paid for. The local mechanic will have to charge me for any work or parts. In the event that the diagnosis is wrong there may be a second or subsequent trip to the local mechanic and the meter keeps ticking. Toyota will continue to correct any potential problem and will cover it under the warranty.

It's an insurance policy. My extended warranty cost me about $900 for 7 years. $100+ per year is an acceptable amount for me. You have to decide.

 

My question is why would you buy it with the exclusions that they have.

When I reveiwed the warranty, it excluded the battery, the battery ECU and a few other parts that I wanted the policy for. From what I could tell, it only extended the basic car warranty and not the high-tech components. Right now I am rolling the dice, but I might buy the warranty if some of those components are included (most of them already have the 80,000 mile warranty).

 

Does the price go up as you approach the end of the regular 36 month warranty, or can I wait until the 35th month and pay $900 then for a 7y/100k warranty?

 

Can't answer for sure, but I would expect the price to go up.

I can't see anyone keeping a price fixed for three years, if costs go up then the price is going to go up.

It's only common sense.

 

This question again?

SEARCH for "extended warranty" and you will find hundreds of posts on why you should/shouldn't buy the extended warranty for the TCH, and where you can get the best price if you decide to purchase.

 

Regarding the exclusions for the "battery ecu" and such.

I believe that the standard hybrid components warranty covers most if not of those exclusions. So with the extended warranty you should be covered for most everything till 100,000 miles.

 

For $900 - you could end upspending that on a power sunroof or mirror motor or some other gizmo after 36 months. Also, the entire system (hybrid and standard) is covered. With the technology in this car the last thing you'd want would be a "system" problem during the fourth year of ownership. Cars can break - no matter who makes them or how well they're made - they are still a bunch mechanical components that wear over time. Just my opinion....

 

Perhaps you were shown a 3rd party extended warranty rather than a Toyota Care warranty?

The battery is already covered for 10 years, 150K miles. The longest Toyota Care extended warranty only runs to 7 years, 100K miles. Including the battery in the extended warranty is thus irrelevant.

The battery ECU is covered. See the full list here. That page also states very clearly that everything on the car is covered by the extended warranty except what's explicitly called out on the excluded parts list (which is also available on that page).

Short list of the reasons I purchased one:
1) First model year of the car
2) Transferable warranty increases resale
3) Peace of mind/risk buydown
4) Cost rolled into the note
5) It won't take long for me to burn through the standard warranty
6) Refundable (though prorated once you begin using it)