[trainfun]

The extended warranty begins from the day your car went into service (when you picked it up from the dealer). So the 7 year, 125,000 mile warrantee would give you 7 years of coverage and up to 125,000 miles total coverage. For the first 3 years both warrantees overlap and run in parallel. You do not add 7 more years and 125,000 miles to the original 3yr/36,000 mile warranty.

So, you are actually buying 4 more years and 89,000 more miles of coverage, as most of the Platinum Plan benefits kick in after the original warrantee expires after 3 years or 36,000 miles. There are some Platinum Plan benefits like towing, loaner cars and motel/meal money that are not in the new car warranty that you will pick up in the first 3 years. Whether you wait until you have 3 years or 35,000 miles will not affect the in-service date of the Platinum warranty

In some cases, if you drive a lot, you will hit the 36,000 miles and end your warranty in 15-18 months. Then you get more bang for the buck from the extended warranty. If you hit 36,000 miles at 18 months, then a 6 year extended warranty gives you continuous coverage for 6 years.

For example, I will be buying an extended warranty for our 2010 RAV through Jerry as we drive about 20,000 miles/year and would be out of warranty after about 20 months. We will probably go for the 6 year/125,000 mile plan. I just picked up a 5 yr/125,000 mile plan for my son's Corolla from Jerry. My son averages about 25,000 miles/year, and would be out of warranty after only 17 months. If you drive a lot, the extended warranty really makes sense.

I'm fairly handy at fixing cars, but more and more components are controlled electrically and not easily fixable. And the repairs are very expensive, so I will look at the extended warranty as inexpensive insurance. A look at the thread on fixing the power door lock actuators shows that a new actuator runs over $300, if you can't do the repair yourself. Add in the labor and fixing 2 power door locks could pay for your warranty. If the electric power steering goes, that's over $2000. So, I'll play it safe with the extended warranty.

If you don't drive many miles, it may not be worthwhile for you. Everyone has to evaluate their own circumstances and finances and make their own decisions.