Devh

Well I didn't say with air suspension and AWD you will rack up huge warranty repair bills however the odds are you may not break even.

The brake actuator is my only concern. The control arms on my car may are most likely fitted with the revised bushings. Brake rotors are a wearable item that I can go after market or just have them turned if there is enough meat on them. Not a big deal really as there are so many cars that can have a warped rotors and I have had my share. You don't need to go to Lexus for serviceable issues like brakes.

We can go on and on with discoloration of trim pieces and so forth but the bottom line is just because some people encounter problems with a bad part does not mean that I'm going to absolutely suffer the same fate. I have own a good number of cars for which the internet can point to someone having one failure or another but I have never encountered that particular problem because it's a mixed bag.
It was the same with the BMW, a good number of owners had control arm bushing issues, It just so happened that I didn't.

I'm not saying I wont have a problem but I'm more likely to come out ahead within the typical extended warranty period. After that CPO warranty time frame is up years or millage then it's possible (100k+) that you can start seeing repairs but by that time I will have moved on.
That is why from the my fist post on this thread I wished warranty coverage would assess actual risk for each car and set the cost. I don't want to fund someone else's repair bills.

SW17LS

Unfortunately, thats how insurance works. You need people who pay and don't submit claims to make it affordable for people who do submit claims. If it worked the way you want it to work, the cost of the warranty for "problematic" vehicles would equal more than the cost of the projected repairs that would be covered...otherwise there wouldn't be any profit in a for-profit warranty plan. Then there wouldn't be any point.

Do they make more money selling warranties than they pay out in claims? Of course, thats why they sell warranties.

Devh

Yes absolutely agree and don't see why I have to waste money on an extended warranty when even the warranty company feels that I will not rack up enough in repair bills so they can profit.
I make an informed decision and play the odds in my favor.

SW17LS

Its the same way for any sort of insurance. Life insurance, health insurance, car insurance, etc etc. If you look at the amount of money you spend over your lifetime for insurance...its staggering. But...if you're without it and you aren't prepared to self insure yourself if something happens...you're screwed.

Its not necessarily a waste of money, but the odds are that you will pay more for the warranty than you would pay in repairs. If you own one of these cars and you can't part with $5k for a big repair though, you need that warranty.

Devh

I have an extended warranty for a few items that I own like a front loading washing machine or any product due to it's nature of use that might suffer a break down but I try and weigh the odds.
I think the big problem with those that take on warranties of this nature is that they don't realize that the money that you would have paid for the warranty still exists but it's probably squandered foolishly on something else. If you play the odds then you need to be prepared for the eventuality that you need to pay for repair cost out of pocket. If you have to rely on not having that level of personal responsibility like buying items on layaway then I can understand.

SW17LS

I mean...it would never occur to me to buy a warranty for a washing machine...thats exactly the same thing though.

Devh

Front loaders unlike top loaders are notorious for warranty work however the cost of the warranty was very cheap. The problem is I chose a good machine through research and didn't require it.

roadfrog

Except that INSURANCE is meant to protect against catastrophic loss......death, loss of home, astronomical hospital bills, lawsuits, etc. Replacing my starter and being happy because I have a 3k dollar warranty policy does not make sense to me.

To me, it makes more sense to place the money into a mutual fund account and draw from it as repairs arise. I have astrobnomically good odds that I will have money left over at the end of the equivelant time of the warranty term.

williakz

One other consideration relates to eventual selling of the vehicle to a private party. With the Lexus factory extended warranty and SOME 3rd party products, the warranty is transferable to a new owner at no cost. Even better, the warranty is refundable to you (on a pro rata basis) should the new owner not wish to pay your slightly higher price for the car. To me, this seems to be the best of both worlds: you can either provide a private party purchaser with a factory (or 3rd party) warranty on a used vehicle OR you can pocket the money for the unused portion of the coverage.

P.S. As far as putting the cash in the bank, cash really IS trash these days (pays around 0% interest). And I don't recall mutual funds coming with a guarantee of positive returns.

roadfrog

There are other avenues... (though my low-risk mutuals have always returned an average of 7% per year over the last 25 years). But my point stands. RSP's, Savings Bonds etc.

Besides, better odds than a warranty! LOL

Devh

I have had some interesting discussions with a few engineers in regard to reliability and warranties.
Take it for what it's worth. If anything can go wrong it will very early on due to manufacturing defects which is chalked up as infant mortality. Having a manufactures warranty for defects of this nature is essential. As moving parts get broken in and well seated they will pass this initial infant mortality stage and will begin it's service cycle for which the components have been tested at the factory. The failure rates of these parts greatly diminish well into the warranty period statistically speaking. There are some parts with poor design that show a higher failure rate then others and will be well noted in the service bulletins and most likely will be dealt with as a recall well before the factory warranty has expired. Lastly there are going to be parts that just fail after the warranty due to any number of reasons some of which are the roads traveled, climatic, poor maintenance, poor driving habits and just plain bad luck of owning a lemon. Having a car that is garaged kept will also help preserve the longevity of the car.
I take very good care of my cars because I have a philosophy that I'm not the owner but the custodian for the next guy that buys it from me.
I find that extended warranties takes away personal responsibility from others and causes malinvestment in technology that is going to be unreliable so you need a warranty.

williakz

ML, brake actuator, control arms (bushings), air shocks, brake rotors, trim parts (door arm rests), wind noise, knock sensor malfunction, etc., etc., etc. Don't recall ANY recalls dealing with these issues. There ARE some TSBs, but it's up to the car owner to demand action from Lexus to rectify these "poor design" items. Sheesh!

Devh

I know it seems like a long list of issues however every car even the most reliable ones have inherent issues but it doesn't mean that everyone will have all of them or none of them.
One of the big issues for my other car was Pre cat failure which was known to take out the engine and people worried about it so they preemptively removed them from the exhaust manifold. Many years later we come to find out that many cars with high millage that was bought from second hand owners had the pre-cats intact. Other minor issues that people experience did not happen to everyone even though everyone cautioned and worried thinking it was eventually going to happen to them.
The problem with automotive internet forums is that the people that have problems scream the loudest and they often have a small victims unit that scares everyone but the reality is not everyone is going to have that particular problem.
Granted there are some wearable items like Brakes, batteries and 02 sensors but it's a far cry from having to pony up just because someone else had to.
Having said that there are some options I stay away from like the air suspension because they are wearable and expensive to replace.

Nospinzone

You know over the years there have been a couple discussions here about whether to buy an extended warranty. There are good points on both sides, and really I don't think there is a right or wrong response. It depends on each individual's risk tolerance, financial situation, and comfort level with their particular vehicle. There may also be other factors that enter into the decision.

The only wrong choice would be to buy from a company like US Fidelis, or to pay well above fair value.

krava

Bought warranty on 06 GS 300 for $1300. at 98K miles took it in heard like dash noise or something. They replaced cams, rear shocks, etc over $3K worth of things. I was going in thinking Damn I bought this warranty for nothing I hope I get to use it on something and I did.