bostonb

Did anyone purchase warranty with the purchase of their NX? I was told that my warranty covers 4 years or 50k miles, whichever comes first, but I was also sold an extended warranty that covers double that time frame bringing my coverage to about 8 years and 100k miles. Looking back, I feel kind of conned into the extended coverage at the time. Finance manager kept pushing despite my declines and he knew I was trying to achieve under a certain payment / month. He knew I was hung on the APR so he lured me with a low APR (better than what my bank offered) but the payment is slightly higher per month and just a few months longer than the one with my bank. Of course, at the time, I was looking to sign everything and get out of there (after an already long day of work and a 30+ day waiting period) so my brain was only half-working and/or just excited to get out and start driving it. Doing all the calculations when I got home, I realize I'm paying an additional $3,500+ for that extra 4 years, 50k miles, which I don't think is that great a deal at all for the following reasons:

1. I feel like I have more chances to void my warranty (like with a missed service or something) within that 8 years and I'm afraid when the time comes, they'll deny me coverage.
2. Did not anticipate paying an extra $3,500 for just warranty

Just wondering if anyone of you guys ended up purchasing the warranty and your thoughts on the above. Thanks.

tekbiss

Hello, in the last 2 vehicles I've had I purchased extended warranties that cost an average of close to $3000 and to be honest I've never really recouped the investment considering I had a Toyota and the other a Volvo. Despite minor repairs that were covered under warranty these still didn't cost more than the $3000...so I decided that when I purchased the NX that I won't get an extended warranty and when I sat down during negotiations that never even came up as the dealer was trying to get me to take the exclusive-dealership "mandatory" 3 year roadside assistance with tire hazard coverage and etc for $900! I vehemently told them I don't need it as Lexus has the roadside assistance for 4yrs except the tire hazard coverage (w/c I didn't really care for). I told them that should be offered as an option and not mandatory...they ended up eating the cost as I wouldn't sign the deal to purchase the NX if I were to pay for it.

My justifications for no longer getting extended warranty were: learned my lessons, Lexus vehicles are known to be reliable, 4yrs comprehensive and 6yr powertrain warranty are pretty good coverages already plus the $3000 I will be spending for the so called "peace of mind" I'd just put in the bank and use that towards any repairs that may come up after warranty period. Basically I've learned expensive lessons in the past...besides not all breakdowns are covered by extended warranties as they exclude a lot of them like wear and tear items plus more...read the fine print.

If you plan to keep the NX long-term then the extended warranty isn't so bad but you could have negotiated for a much lower price and ext warranty adds equity to the car when you decide to sell it privately. Dealers obviously try to sell you extended warranties as they make a ton of profit on them aside from the profit they make on the new vehicle purchase plus any trade in vehicle (if you had one) and they definitely want lease or financing as they get "kick backs" from banks...when you buy a car as cash that's when they really don't like those kinds of transactions but who pays cash nowadays unless you really have lots of them

kjang

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Here is my take about extended warranty:
You purchased a new model (NX), hasn't been out that long so there is no track record.
You have purchased a turbo. This is lexus first turbo. Turbos do go out.
I think you are perfectly safe on your purchase of the extended warranty.

Another example:
The RX-fsport version. Came out in 2013 with the 8 speed transmission.
It has no track record on how reliable this transmission is.
Do you know how much a new transmission cost after your standard warranty is over....? I tell you its ALOT !

So for those new types of things like that, I would buy extended warranty.
However, if I am buying a standard rx, then I will not buy extended warranty because of its track record.
Basically playing the odds game. If its been out for a while, you see a pattern. If its new, no one has idea of how reliable it might be???

corradoMR2

Agree with tekbiss - nothing more to add.

In the end, it's done. Don't sweat it - just enjoy your NX!

tekbiss

There is no right or wrong answer....basically just boils down to your preference right? If in the long run the vehicle turns out fine and you didn't buy EW then you've made right decision but if there were lots of repairs and you bought EW then you've also made the right decision. To some having EW is like having peace of mind and only question is how much you are willing to pay for that peace of mind.

In my latest example I bought a '10 Volvo XC60 T6 which was also a first year model/production vehicle with turbo engine, AWD and lots of features and toys....bought $3K EW and I only have put in 57K Km on it prior to trade in which was around 5 yrs - only had minor repairs which were all covered under the 4yr comprehensive warranty. It still has 2yrs left of EW and so far there was only a repair made on driver side mirror heating function worth $700 which I could have gotten fixed during the 4yr warranty but I procrastinated and it fell under EW period.

Like I said earlier those were a few reasons for me not buying the EW but everyone is different and has other opinions. I do know that Lexus has a very good track record in terms of reliability and will stand by their products whether older or newer models so let's just say I took the gamble....besides, I really maintain my vehicles well and only put in low KMs compared to most drivers and the average in the industry. Hopefully my decision turns out to be the right move in the long run...

tekbiss

Hey Corrado, i agree...just enjoy the new NX and don't look back on the purchase of EW but rather move past that and go forward to enjoy. For you, Having had Lexus vehicles in past how would you say your experiences were so far in terms of the reliability? I ask since this is going to be my first Lexus vehicle though I've had experience owning a Toyota before and Lexus under same company then I may have an idea but no real experience yet with Lexus...

corradoMR2

^^^ I'm into my 7th Lexus and I had one major problem with the RX400h at 92k km related to a pump issue tied to the CVT. It turned out my oil change visit to mr lube days prior was the culprit as they tampered with the tranny fluid and a whole bunch of other things where symptoms surfaced days later. My Lexus dealer noted the tampering (literally finger prints/fluids all over) yet they still fixed the issue under the standard warranty. Long story short, the issue may not have ever occurred if it wasn't for the tampering and needless to say, mr lube is blacklisted in my book. In fact I only service my Lexus vehicles either at Toyota or Lexus.

As for other Lexus vehicles I owned, all mechanically bullet-proof #1 reliable which is backed by years of JD Power and other awards over the last 25 years. No car/machine is 100% perfect and besides the major "issue" above, the extent of my seldom issues has been very minor:

1. some squeaks (I'm OCD) with this stuff
2. a couple of battery drains (mostly my fault, except IS)

both surfaced within the first year of ownership and fixed either myself or under warranty.

tekbiss

Good to know and thanks for the feedback...brings more confidence to my purchase. I assume you don't buy extended warranties then? Did you buy for the NX? Just curious...

sublexus

Extended warranties are just another form of insurance. We have collision, liability, health, life, homeowners and many other types. To me, they give peace of mind. The key factor is to shop for price and value. Best situations are when you buy it, but never collect on it (in my opinion). As corradoMR2 said, enjoy your new NX! I'm envious!

bostonb

Wow, great replies guys! Thanks much for your input. I've only owned one other car my entire life (I'm 35) and it was a Toyota. Bought it before my first job out of college. During the 11 years that I've had it, I've had no major issues with it and have never had to use any warranty -- hence my inexperience with how they truly work, or moreso how easy/difficult it is to get an issue repaired under warranty. I've heard some horror stories of some people missing a service and then the dealership saying that it voided their warranty.

The service guide for the NX indicates to service the car every 5k miles. To me, that's just too frequent. I know for sure I'll miss some of these services given that I drive a lot to and from work. I'm just going to be able to do some of the 5k mile services and of course, the big ones at 30k, 60k, 90k, etc (if I keep my vehicle that long). Are my fears legit regarding the voided warranty? Does anyone have experience in getting hassled about receipts for missed services when performing a repair under warranty?

4482

You can get the Lexus warranty at anytime while your factory warranty is in effect. You can also shop around to other Lexus dealers for their "best price". They do have flexibility in it's cost !
You may want to wait to see if you like your new car...before even thinking about extending the factory warranty.

The good thing about the Lexus warranty is that if you sell the car...Lexus will rebate the time left on it in cash.

LexBob2

I agree with the others, enjoy the new NX.

If you still have doubts about extended warranties, their is a lot of good information, and discussion on them at various spots here on CL which may come in handy for future purchases.

You can negotiate the price on most of them, as well as locating discounted Lexus Platinum warranties from other dealers.

bostonb

Really great info all around. You guys have definitely made me reconsider keeping the warranty. The finance manager is going to call me to discuss this further, though. I still have some final questions for him before I ultimately decide to keep it.

You guys are great. I really appreciate the info, knowledge and experience from all!!

sg021

We did not purchase the extended warranty for my wife's IS. The main reason was that Lexus main selling point is reliability. Even if the turbo engine had some kind of inherent flaw, I would guess it would be a recall item. I just have a hard time believing you'll have $3.5k of covered problems in that time frame, but like others said you'll have piece of mind.

My VW did not show any problems within 100k miles, and some of several mechanical mishaps that later happened ended up being covered by recalls.

corradoMR2

Correct, no extended warranty purchase. For reference, I don't buy it for my appliances and electronics either.

If this is not yet firmed up, ensure you clearly understand what is covered and what is not since some items that may "break" are considered wear and tear as opposed to an abnormal failure due to a defect.