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Dose the extended warranty cover the many newer safety feature? I have a 2016 Limited with the adaptive cruse, front and rear sensors, blind spot monitoring ,back up camera, navigation etc.. I need to decide soon if I should purchase the warranty,but if the expensive repair equipment is excluded then I am not sure it is worth it.
 
I debated it too. When I bought my 2008, it was the first new car I had bought in decades. It had ABS, traction control, stability control, dual auto climate control, even a power seat. I figured with all this computer controlled high-tech stuff, maybe an extended warranty would be a good idea. So right before the 3/36 warranty ran out, I got an 8 year/75,000 mile Toyota VSA for $659 from Jerry in Kansas. Turns out the warranty paid for itself, not because of some high-tech failure, but because of a bad water pump and steering shaft!
How much was the cost of repair and the time between the day you paid for the warranty and the day you made the fix?
 
Discussion starter · #665 ·
How much was the cost of repair and the time between the day you paid for the warranty and the day you made the fix?

I believe I bought the warranty for $659 in September 2011 which would have been the 34th month of the factory warranty. The water pump was replaced in May of 2015 and would have cost me $483.90 without the VSA. The steering shaft was replaced in April of 2016 and would have set me back $409.85 if I didn't have the warranty. The Platinum VSA had zero deductible.
 
Latest pricing

As of yesterday the the Mass guy and Jenny beat Jerry by $400 on the 10/100 plan.


On picking up my Rav yesterday the dealer tried to sell me the same plan for $3795, like over 3X what I was quoted. I told them I could do way better so they said they would sell it to me for their cost of $1450 plus $150 which was still $350 too high. So in the space of 10 minutes they knocked $2200 off the price. Jeesh. They asked me where I was getting my deal and I said I 'd rather not say, and declined to answer who, where or when.



If you are considering one of these you really have to shop it around, prices vary widely.
 
The thing to realize is that Extended Warranties, and Casinos operate under the same business plan. You spend your money on the chance that you will "win", and at the same time the seller knows the odds are blatantly in their favor. If the odds were in the consumer's favor the business wouldn't exist. Yes, many people "win" the game, but FAR more of them come out behind in the long run.
 
Discussion starter · #674 ·
The thing to realize is that Extended Warranties, and Casinos operate under the same business plan. You spend your money on the chance that you will "win", and at the same time the seller knows the odds are blatantly in their favor. If the odds were in the consumer's favor the business wouldn't exist. Yes, many people "win" the game, but FAR more of them come out behind in the long run.

Yep, and insurance companies work exactly the same way. So I think of the extended warranty like an insurance policy. The trick is to get the same policy as the other guy for a lot less money.
:wink
 
Can someone who has actually filed a claim under their extended warranty please outline what the process is to do this? Does the dealer know about the warranty by your VIN or do you have to present papers before or after the repair? Thanks!
 
Discussion starter · #677 · (Edited)
Can someone who has actually filed a claim under their extended warranty please outline what the process is to do this? Does the dealer know about the warranty by your VIN or do you have to present papers before or after the repair? Thanks!
OK, I just went through this on Monday. My daughter's Camry has a flaky touchscreen on the head unit so we went to the dealership. She said our warranty had expired and it would cost us a $73 diagnostic fee just to look at it. I handed her the VSA booklet, but she couldn't find the coverage listed under the VIN on her "Onrampf" system in the computer. All it showed was the CPO 12/12 that had expired and an 8/100 drivetrain warranty that was still valid. So I had her call the claims number in the booklet and she talked to a Mike there and he gave her a claim number I think. They looked at it and ordered a new head unit and will replace it next week at no charge. I'm not sure what a new head unit replaced by the dealership would cost, but I'm betting it's more than the $735 I paid for the VSA.

Update: Turns out the head unit would have cost $950 to replace without the VSA!

SO, after looking through the booklet, what I should have done was make the appointment with the dealer, then call the claims number in the booklet, talk to the "administrator" and get a claim number from him. Found out something else I didn't know--even though the VSA is sold by Toyota Financial Services, the actual administration is through Toyota Motor Insurance (TMI), which further proves this is really an insurance policy, not a warranty at all!
 
Discussion starter · #679 ·
Okay, so yesterday my daughter took her 2014.5 Camry to the Toyota dealer to get the head unit replaced. The touch screen would not work in the lower right quadrant. They replaced the head unit with a newer model which has more options and features on the screen. They told her the new head unit itself was over $750 and with labor would have cost her over $950 to replace. The Toyota Platinum VSA covered it totally. So the extended warranty we bought for $735 has more than paid for itself.
 
I'm so glad that I found this forum. Earlier this month I purchased a 2018 RAV4 XLE and paid $2100 for the Platinum 8 year 75000 mile warranty. Needless to say I'll be cancelling that and repurchasing. Is it better to wait just before the standard warranty is up to purchase the extended warranty or should I purchase one now? If it's better to purchase one now, does anyone know where to purchase one for the best price?
 
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