just bought a 2003 prius with 102500 miles on it. warranty direct offers a power shield warranty for $1400 and AA Auto Warranty offers one for $1400 also. Neither covers the alternators, brake calipers or wheel bearings. both cover engine, transmission/transaxel assembly, water pumps, and constant velocity joints. AA auto warranty covers the air conditioner compressor. of course, there is noone who covers the hybrid battery. the car runs well. any advice on which warranty, if any, to buy would be appreciated. and also if you know about either company and how well they process claims.

 

Hi,

First, welcome to the CLUB!

I have a 2003 Prius bought over two years ago when it had 49,300 miles. It now has over 100,000 miles and counting. However, I'm not a great fan of buying any car with over 100,000 miles unless you are willing to do the self-maintenance. In my case, I bought the maintenance manuals before I even picked up the car.

I can not help you on the warranty services because I always planned to do my own maintenance. I'll offer some early maintenance suggestions but it would help to know what area of the country this car came from. States that follow the California regulations have an extended 8 year, 150,000 maintenance so if you are from those states, you may be OK with a Toyota warranty.

Do you do your own oil changes and feel comfortable with putting in air filters and air in the tires? What is the most challenging mechanical thing you feel comfortable handling? How are you set for tools . . . metric socket set . . . torque wrench . . . special tools? Do you have any mechanical helpers?

The reason I ask is $1,400 could also give you a good base of tools and documentation so if something breaks, you can fix it yourself and not get into arguments with a warranty company. However, if you are committed to a warranty service, I'm not sure I'll be able to help. I really have no experience with them.

Now for some early things to look at:

• tires - check the side wall, maximum pressure and pump them up as soon as possible. The ride will be harder but it will help keep the tires running longer and give you better traction.
• transaxle oil - a fairly simple process, this gets old, worn out oil before it can wear any more of the valuable transaxle parts.
• clean throttle body - get a safe to catalytic converter cleaner to clean the throttle body
• filters - replace engine air intake filter and the cabin air filter
• oil level - the engine oil probably looks good but make sure it is below the top mark

Let me know how this list looks to you and we'll go from there. I don't want to scare you from the vehicle, just make sure you understand that older cars respond best if you can get a leg up on the preventative maintenance early. There are more things we can go over but let's get these out of the way first.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson