I took delivery of a 2006 Toyota Prius today, thanks in part to the good advice I have been getting from members of this listserv. One of the things they wanted to sell me, but I have not yet purchased, is a bunch of protective stuff: Paint sealant, interior protection, undercoating, corrosion protection. The cost for all of it is pricy, $1298. Is any of it worth it?

They also wanted to sell me an extended warranty. I researched posts on that. It looks like it might be worth it, but there is no rush as I can buy it as long as the primary warranty is in effect (though the price might go up). I also found the posts for the place in MA that has a good deal on it. Still, if anyone has any comments in this regard, I would be happy to hear them.

 

I bought extended warrnaty for both my 02' and 06' Prius. You needd it. It is because my 02' Prius had ECU problem. If I didn't have warranty, I would have $1700+ labor.

 

I plan to get the extended warranty, thought I would wait until close to the end of the primary warranty to order it. I was was told that the guys on Car Talk recommend against corrossion, etc. protection--that is good enough for me.

 

diver110,

I bought extended warranty when I bought the car. It wrote into the loan. My car doesn't paint sealant. I'm going to take detail shop and let them to put paint mirror finish. They told them I won't need to put wax to keep it shine for next 3 yrs. Just wash it.

 

Wow, they offered you the protection pk for just $1295; and you didn't take it?
Just kidding. The protection pks are RIP OFFS-NEVER BUY THEM!!
Have you noticed that Protection pks aren't factory options; they are dealer or dist. options? There is a good reason the munufacturer doesn't offer them-they are BS the dealers add on to soak the buyers. A good rule of thumb is to NEVER BUY ANY DEALER OR DISTRIBUTOR OPTION IF YOU CAN DODGE THEM.They are always ripoffs, and are usually inferior to factory options(like dealer leather pks,dealer alloy wheels,moonroofs, pinstripes, etc).Get audio stuff and alarms from the aftermarket-cheaper,and you get to pick what you want.
My 2006 Prius is undercoated a bit. Aftermarket undercoating sometimes isn't a blessing; it can actually promote rust if it doesn't have good adhesion to the metal.
The paint sealant is fancy wax. Once again-toyota thinks it does a good paint job. The local yokels at Joe Blow Toyota aren't likely to improve on it. Just wax you car with high tech wax.
The fabric protection is Scotch guard($5 can). Heck, current fabrics are so stain resistant, why bother.
Extended warrantys-depends on whether you like a little risk? They are written so the sellers can make money;most folks "lose" on extended warranties, but $1000 might be worth the peace of mind. Remember in some states-some expensive stuff-batteries-are covered by law to over 100,000 miles.
I would try to beat them down on the price of the warranty. You have plenty of time to buy a warranty. Luck,Charlie

 

diver110,

Congradulations on your new cars!!!!! Extended warranty is worth it. They were going to charge me for $2195 and they called it a special. I told me that my brother bought extended warranty for his Civic Hybrid 06" for $1600. We talked him down to $1695.

 

Regarding corrosion and paint protection. i know for sure that these two jobs are not done at the dealer, they send your car out to their "friendly" garage who does it for them and charge you many hundreds more than what it should really cost. At least that's my experience here in toronto, not once ive seen any mechanic in any toyota dealers do those things in their garage except fix cars. Anyway, I say anything extra other than buying the car itself, you should go out and have it done elsewhere and not at the dealer. just be careful though when doing the corrossion protection because there are many different types of products out there and some drill holes into your car and that can potentially ruin your waranty; ask your dealer what wont ruin it, i asked mine and they said they dont care as long as they dont drill holes in the car. Toyota is usually pretty good and they dont wont make a big deal if you have those things done with them or not, they are in the business to make money and i dont blame them for trying to get you to buy those from them

One more thing, I even told them that i will be doing MY OWN maintenance and all the inspections, they said, they said they dont care as long as i keep all the reciepts for the filters,oil, and all the other parts, it wont ruin my waranty.

 

You are being mislead. Vehicles no longer come fully factory undercoated and there's a good reason for it. Only about 15 States in the US actually use SALT on their roads in the winter. (Mainly Northeast & East Coast States). Once upon a time, EVERY vehicle from Factory was coated...and you paid for it to. It was listed right on the Monroney Sticker! Customers living in the other 35 States in the US were literally being FORCED to pay for something they did NOT need. After a lot of media attention and the involvement of the Government, Factories stopped applying this to ALL vehicles.
If you live in the following states:
Virginia
California
Iowa
Minnesota
West Virginia
Illinois
New Jersey
Maryland
Maine
Delaware
Indiana
Ohio
Wisconsin
Michigan
New Hampshire
New York
Vermont
Massachusetts

You SHOULD get undercoating. Most dealerships in these states offer it and it's not very expensive. (Couple hundred dollars). The only exception to this would be if you are purchasing a Mercedes Benz or a BMW because they still undercoat all of their vehicles.

By the way, I have been a toyota mechanic for 18 years and I can tell you that the Corrosion Perforation Warranty does not cover undercarriage corrosion. It only covers Side Panel Body Rust that is large enough to poke a pen through!

As far as paint protection, I think Toyota actually recommends this to customers. Mainly because the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned Lead-based Paint from being used on Automobiles in the US meaning you car is now more likely to get permanent damage from UV Rays, or even something as simple a bird crap! NASCAR even puts a protective film on their race cars!!!

I hope this helps!!!!