Extended Warranty, anyone?
08-25-06, 09:55 PM
#16
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08-26-06, 12:07 AM
#17
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If you are ultimately concerned, consider that I got a quote from warranty direct (or any other 3rd party), and simply asked Lexus to match it. They did, and all was well.
As far as I know too, the companies want you to purchase the warranty with the least amount of miles possible, otherwise the rates raise accordingly. I personally got a 6yr/100,000 mile warranty new (7 miles), as its a bit cheaper and I expect to drive the car often. I expect 100,000 miles to occur sometime at or before the 6 year period has been met.
As far as I know too, the companies want you to purchase the warranty with the least amount of miles possible, otherwise the rates raise accordingly. I personally got a 6yr/100,000 mile warranty new (7 miles), as its a bit cheaper and I expect to drive the car often. I expect 100,000 miles to occur sometime at or before the 6 year period has been met.
i decided to just go with warranty direct. they are financially stable and rated am best. paid $800 - only thing is, when something needs to be fixed, it won't be at a lexus dealer. i have 60 days to cancel it so we'll see.
thanks for the input everyone.
-monz00n
08-26-06, 06:07 AM
#18
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shinobi, so how much did you end up paying for the warranty with lexus? lexus dealer?
i decided to just go with warranty direct. they are financially stable and rated am best. paid $800 - only thing is, when something needs to be fixed, it won't be at a lexus dealer. i have 60 days to cancel it so we'll see.
thanks for the input everyone.
-monz00n
i decided to just go with warranty direct. they are financially stable and rated am best. paid $800 - only thing is, when something needs to be fixed, it won't be at a lexus dealer. i have 60 days to cancel it so we'll see.
thanks for the input everyone.
-monz00n
What exactly did u get for $800?
08-26-06, 06:38 AM
#19
Lexus Champion
As previously stated, it's best to insure yourself. You end up keeping the extra unused money, not an insurance company. Then there is no problems collecting on services, playing the deductible game and getting approvals.
Three thousand in a bank account should be fine with a Lexus.... More for a Ford or Chevy.
Three thousand in a bank account should be fine with a Lexus.... More for a Ford or Chevy.
08-26-06, 06:40 AM
#20
IMO... stay away from aftermarket warranties. I got one for an audi A6, it cost $1500 for 3 years of coverage. The company went bankrupt after only having it one year. Fortunatley for me it covered a cam chain tension seal that cost $1500 6 months into the warranty. Also dealerships do not like to take these types of warranties due to payment issues...you have been warned!!
08-26-06, 07:09 AM
#21
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As previously stated, it's best to insure yourself. You end up keeping the extra unused money, not an insurance company. Then there is no problems collecting on services, playing the deductible game and getting approvals.
Three thousand in a bank account should be fine with a Lexus.... More for a Ford or Chevy.
Three thousand in a bank account should be fine with a Lexus.... More for a Ford or Chevy.
We're basically talking about paying $1400 for an "IS350 everything, including Navi/ML" covered warranty from Warranty Direct (for 7 years, 100k miles), a from-Lexus warranty for the same for $2300, or nothing at all, and you're on your own after 4 years/48k miles.
The only question is whether you feel 3 years of coverage and 52k miles of coverage is worth $1400 or $2300. For a lot of people, especially those with high miles per year, the answer is yes.
At current rate of driving, I'll burn thru the 48k mile warranty in 2.5 years or so, so doubling the miles warranty, to 100k miles, would give me about 5 years of coverage. I'm investigating if that's worthwhile.
Feedback welcome.
08-26-06, 07:33 AM
#22
Lexus Champion
Your driving a reliable automobile, well designed and meant to last six years.
But, what if .... it's totaled tomorrow.
The warranty are nontransferable or refundable. Auto insurance won't cover it, the up front cost is a total loss.
With self warranty, for lack of a better term, it is !
You'll be hard to find an extended that is bumper to bumper for six or seven years. Most only cover the drive train itself.
But, on the other hand... peace of mind is worth something. How much is a personal decision.
But, what if .... it's totaled tomorrow.
The warranty are nontransferable or refundable. Auto insurance won't cover it, the up front cost is a total loss.
With self warranty, for lack of a better term, it is !
You'll be hard to find an extended that is bumper to bumper for six or seven years. Most only cover the drive train itself.
But, on the other hand... peace of mind is worth something. How much is a personal decision.
08-26-06, 07:36 AM
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Your driving a reliable automobile, well designed and meant to last six years.
But, what if .... it's totaled tomorrow.
The warranty are nontransferable or refundable. Auto insurance won't cover it, the up front cost is a total loss.
With self warranty, for lack of a better term, it is !
You'll be hard to find an extended that is bumper to bumper for six or seven years. Most only cover the drive train itself.
But, on the other hand... peace of mind is worth something. How much is a personal decision.
But, what if .... it's totaled tomorrow.
The warranty are nontransferable or refundable. Auto insurance won't cover it, the up front cost is a total loss.
With self warranty, for lack of a better term, it is !
You'll be hard to find an extended that is bumper to bumper for six or seven years. Most only cover the drive train itself.
But, on the other hand... peace of mind is worth something. How much is a personal decision.
Your facts aren't correct.
Read the warrantydirect "Luxury" warranty and Lexus Platinum warranty - both cover, as I said, Navi and ML (and everything else under the sun). That's what I'd call bumper to bumper, and the term $$s I quoted were for 7 years, 100k miles, as I wrote.
The warranty is refundable, as another poster on here has already stated, at least in some conditions. I've asked for more information and clarification on that too.
Please take a few minutes and read up on Lexus' Platinum warranty and read up on WarrantyDirect.com's Luxury warranty.
08-26-06, 07:40 AM
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OP: Can you post more details on which warranty you were considering? Comparing Lexus Platinum ($2300 or so) to WarrantyDirect's Luxury ($1400 or so) (7 years, 100k miles, no deductable) it seems WD's is a much better deal, but Lexus' warranty does give you $50 per day for up to 5 days for a car rental, plus up to $100 per day for up to 5 days for hotel/food reimbursements if more than 150 mi away from home....
08-26-06, 07:57 AM
#25
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I don't know abotu you guys but i think I would kill myself if i had to go to Lexus for anything related to service, even if it was just to add air to my tires. They are completely useless and I can honestly say that I got much better service from Mazda then I have gotten from Lexus. What is this "You can only book an appointment with your service advisor" crap? What is the point of this guy anyways, all he does is sit behind his desk and do the same thing that people behind counters do at every other dealership in the world.
08-26-06, 11:42 AM
#26
IMO, i think extended warranties are a waste of money, i have had them on several of my other cars, i tend to keep the car for about 2-3 years, when you go to cash in your warranty it has depreicated. What i dont understand is how do they depreciate something that has not even been used. Example, my v6 accord, it had standard 3yr 36k factory warranty, i bought a 100k, sold the car at 27k miles and was give a depreciated amount on the extened warranty. What i dont get is the extended portion has never even been touched, everything that was done under warranty was under the intital factory warranty. I hope that makes sense, also i was told it does not give any additonal value to the car if you sell it private party. In my experince its not really worth it if you only keep your cars for a few years, now if your going to keep the car 100,000 miles then yes it may be worth it.
08-26-06, 11:53 AM
#27
Lexus Test Driver
IMO, i think extended warranties are a waste of money, i have had them on several of my other cars, i tend to keep the car for about 2-3 years, when you go to cash in your warranty it has depreicated. What i dont understand is how do they depreciate something that has not even been used. Example, my v6 accord, it had standard 3yr 36k factory warranty, i bought a 100k, sold the car at 27k miles and was give a depreciated amount on the extened warranty. What i dont get is the extended portion has never even been touched, everything that was done under warranty was under the intital factory warranty. I hope that makes sense, also i was told it does not give any additonal value to the car if you sell it private party. In my experince its not really worth it if you only keep your cars for a few years, now if your going to keep the car 100,000 miles then yes it may be worth it.
I learned from that experience, and from hearing many others, that extended warranties are for suckers. You're essentially betting against yourself. What's more, many (most) people finance these things, so they end up paying interest on an insurance policy they may never use. CRAZY!
Think of it this way: if Lexus wasn't making a good profit on selling these warranties, they wouldn't sell them. Simple logic can only lead to the conclusion that you're not likely to need repairs equalling the value of what you paid for the extended warranty. You could invest that same amount of money, or simply put it in a savings account, and keep the difference at the end.
There's always "that guy" that had a castastrophic engine failure and was fortunate to have the extended warranty. For every "that guy", there's countless others that threw away money. Your decision.
08-26-06, 11:57 AM
#28
Be careful with the aftermarket warranties.
They are generally cheaper, but the companies are not always that well capitalized, and are not regulated in the same way as insurance companies. I have had three cars with aftermarket warranties and two of the companies are now bankrupt. Fortunately, one paid for a several thousand transmission claim before it went bankrupt. The best after-market warranty I had was with GE financial. A very strong company, but even here it's not the same as a factory warranty. There are many exclusions that you won't find on the factory warranty. There are typically deductibles of $50-100 per claim. Some after market warranties are cleverly worded to exclude coverage on any factory defect or claim related to a Technical Service Bulletin.
Bottom line, if cost is a consideration, do your research--an aftermarket warranty from a reputable, well capitalized company can provide valuable protection from a major repair bill. But it's not the same as a factory warranty, and IMO, not worth the hassle.
They are generally cheaper, but the companies are not always that well capitalized, and are not regulated in the same way as insurance companies. I have had three cars with aftermarket warranties and two of the companies are now bankrupt. Fortunately, one paid for a several thousand transmission claim before it went bankrupt. The best after-market warranty I had was with GE financial. A very strong company, but even here it's not the same as a factory warranty. There are many exclusions that you won't find on the factory warranty. There are typically deductibles of $50-100 per claim. Some after market warranties are cleverly worded to exclude coverage on any factory defect or claim related to a Technical Service Bulletin.
Bottom line, if cost is a consideration, do your research--an aftermarket warranty from a reputable, well capitalized company can provide valuable protection from a major repair bill. But it's not the same as a factory warranty, and IMO, not worth the hassle.
I couldn't possibly have said it any better. I totally concur!! Not worth it at all. And the exclusions are incredible!
08-26-06, 01:25 PM
#29
I purchased the Lexus warranty (100k miles for about 2k) and am happy I did so. At least I know that I can take it to Lexus and NOT worry about getting nickel and dimed. Also, the above warranty is a no deductible warranty.
Finally, I got 2k off MSRP on my car, so it worked out great.
08-26-06, 01:35 PM
#30
Here's a great reason NOT to buy a warranty from a 3rd party... I had a problem with the transmission in my M3. I took it to the dealer and they said it had to be replaced, NOT repaired (BMW does not repair M3 transmissions). They said I needed a new one or a rebuilt one (rebuilt by BMW) but not a repaired one.
The 3rd party warranty company said I had to take my car to AAMCO and let them tear it down and then they would inspect it. If they found it was defective, then they'd let BMW replace it, or they'd let AAMCO fix it.. Otherwise AAMCO could put it back together and that would be that.. (I could imagine lots of parts on the floor after they put it all back together)
Of course I said NO way in hell am I letting AAMCO mess with my transmission, so it never got fixed.
I did get my money out of the extended warranty because I drove the hell out of my car, and took it in to BMW for every little thing, but if I had been able to purchase an extended warranty from BMW they would have replaced the tranny, no questions asked.
Moral of the story, at least to me, is if you want the dealer to repair whatever is wrong with your car, buy the warranty from them.
Of course if you are not driving a luxury or sports (or sporty) car, then maybe it doesn't matter. If I had a less expensive car I'd be less choosy about who worked on it. My 350 is too expensive to have AAMCO work on it, or MAACO paint it, or whatever...
</rant off>