nyardich

Just bought 2007 RX350 with 6,000 miles on it. Loaded GPS, etc. New condition always in garage.
Car was originally purchased Oct 2006.
My dilemma is warranty. 4 yrs up this october because of years not miles driven.
Looking for input from all.
I know its early but warranty expires Oct 2010.
I also have 2007 ES350 and just went over 50k and bought extended warranty just for security.
What would you do?????????????

Nad1370

Just have your car checked at the Dealer for any Recalls, service bulletins, etc....
If needed. Just have the dealer do the work.
To me buying extended warranties are a crap shoot. Some have $50-100 deductibles.
Either buy a warranty for $2k or whatever and not be able to use it---down $2k
Have a catastrophic failure that would cost more than what you paid for the warr---benefits you
Have some small claims on less than what you paid.---still loose some.

If you can afford to pay for the extended warr...go ahead.
For me...Factory warranty is enough.

FWIW...I have a 2005 GX470 with 14K miles. w/out extended warr.

mandyfig

And how much did you snap on this LOW miles RX?


No brainer, get the extended warranty.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I agree and save money and get the Lexus Platimum from Troy Dietrich of Toyota of Greenfield in MA.No sales tax too.
7 yr/75K warranty may work for you..
Email him for a quote or call.(413) 772-0231 may be his direct number.
TDietrich@toyotaofgreenfield.com

salimshah

Warranties for vehicle should be analyzed based on the following:

1. How prone are they for failure [If new model , then you look at the closest]
2. What is the base warranty [manufacturers do their home work before offering base warranty .. there is marketing but they test individual parts that makes the system]
3. How much wear and tear you would subject the vehicle. [like one year in garage .... the warranty is some what wasted].
4. Look at your risk. If you own multiple vehicles, instead of buying multiple extended warranties ... put the combined money in the bank. This is exactly how the warranties work (with larger pool).

Look at the premium and the only time you will be ahead is if you have 2 or more major issues.

Salim
Even if garaged, one should run the A/C once a while.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I purchased a Lexus no deductible Platimum 7/100 warranty for $1730.
Toyota isn't the same Toyota of the 80's and 90's.
Quality has gone down and part costs and labor is high.
The OP would probably pay around $1250 for a 7/75.
I just bought the RX warranty but the best time to purchase a warranty is right before the 4/50 ends.
Warranty cost is prorated from time of purchase even if you're in the standard warranty time.If you sell or total the RX or just want to cancel the warranty,you get less of money back.

nyardich

i paid 20k total plus tax $1400 and bought from close friend.
I drove car for last yr because friend lost license because he was
declared legally blind. And same dealer as on my es350. So i will wait till oct when warranty expires and then buy extended warranty.
Thanks for all your input

veleno

iTrader: (3)

My dealer told me that the cost would be different if I purchased the extended warranty at a later date because mileage will play a factor (my mileage would be higher at that point). I'm not sure if yours is the same but just FYI.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

The cost of the warranty may go up a bit by Toyota raising the price and not because of mileage.
You can have 49999 and but the warranty in the 4 year coverage and buy the warranty.

968racer

I agree with Salim. Also, quality & reliability have not gone down but everyone else's quality has increased with Toyota's quality. Less sets them apart. Cars of the 80"s couldn't touch the quality of todays cars. A ultra reliable car of the 80's or 90's would be considered below average by today's standards.

If you paid $2800 for warranties on both cars, the chance you would exceed that in repairs on 2 Lexi would be very slim. I would bet that you wouldn't get close to using the money you spent for a warranty for repairs.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I respectfully disagree with your theory.
You should read forums and publications.Diehard Toyota lovers will admit quality has gone down.
Toyota's CEO Akio Toyoda said quality has gone down and he would change that.
Jim Lentz, president of Toyota's North American has said that rapid growth could have played a role in a general decline in quality.
Toyota has had a number of issues the last 10-12 years.
Engine oil sludge,Tundra and Tacoma chassis rust,transmissions on '07-'08 Camry's and ES,Tundra Diffs,recall after recall etc.
I owned Toyota's from the '80's and '90's.They were built much better than today with far less problems.
Toyota building vehicles here in the gold old USA with parts made here killed quality.
Toyota has had more issues with vehicles the last 10 or so years than the 20 years before.
As far as warranties on both cars,I'll only need a warranty on the RX.
I don't plan on keeping the ES more than 4 years and it won't hit 50K miles.

968racer

I'll agree to disagree. "Akio Toyoda said quality has gone down " From what time frame?

There may be more issues (that being mostly minor ones) but maybe only because there is a lot more technology & parts than there were 20-30 years ago. Even if you could pull data such as JD Power, through the years the number would be skewed since features on cars today didn't exist. I would doubt Toyota had 0 common issues on transmissions or engines in those 20 years. I could be wrong but it just doesn't seem realistic to me.

"Tundra and Tacoma chassis rust" Do you not remember seeing the pickups of the 80's rusting so bad that you could see into the beds through rust holes on outside?

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

The new guy says the last 10 years.I agree but feel the 4-5 were the worst years in terms of quality decline.

"In a press conference after taking over in June, Mr. Toyoda acknowledged the company erred in the last decade with an all-out push to become the world's largest car maker and drifted away from its core value of focusing on the customer.

"I do not think we were wrong to expand our business to meet the needs of customers around the world, but we may have stretched more than we should have," Mr. Toyoda said."

In his opening statement today before Congress.

"Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers' voices to make better products has weakened somewhat.. We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization, and we should sincerely be mindful of that"

"Since last June, when I first took office, I have personally placed the highest priority on improving quality over quantity, and I have shared that direction with our stockholders."

salimshah

All we can do is provide nyardich the best information we can, without hype and without fear so that he can make the best decision for himself. We all know on the whole, the insurance is means of making more money for the insuring company. There are individual cases who may have claimed more than what they paid. That is what insurance is.

Every year, the rates of getting extended warranty are set. If any one opts to wait when the base warranty is about to lapse, they will be paying more for it [there are other things to consider .. time value of money, length of ownership etc... premium at the time of purchase ..they typically go up]

Another thing to consider for folks who are looking at the extended warranty is that they need to think what they are really buying. Ex: Base warranty 60k and 5 yrs ... extended warranty 75K and 7 years ... then the premium is for 15K miles and 2 yrs (which ever ends first)

Rambling ... [skip if you like]
From engineering point of view, there are changes as well as an effort to reduce cost. If not then you have a dying manufacturer. Please do not assume a reduction in cost equates with poor-quality. [discrete components vs Integrated circuits]. These changes always bring in a chance of increased failure. An improvement in one area may end up with its own set of problems. [ex: to reduce weight, we have gone to smallest and light weigh engine blocks. For emission purposes the engines are now running hotter than before. Net is the oil passages are now narrower but they demand higher rate of flow. If the owner still thinks that they can use poorer quality oil and change it not so frequently, the failure rate is going to soar. Contrast that with Older time .. with large engine block with larger oil passages .. it could withstand less-frequent oil change. Conclusion people will draw (as you see being mentioned) is that the engine quality of toyota/Lexus has gone down.

The other touchy subject in CL has been RX300 transmission. I agree that Lexus should have stepped up and provide extended warranty on it as it is clearly the weakest piece. For a recall, there has to be a smoking gun. Consistently the same part must fail. Although lately the best theory seems to be the planetary gears, but it could be the pump or other things. It seems like Lexus rode on this issue till the said vehicles are slowly vanishing. Their (RX) working value is getting to a point where people are not too upset. Remember the days when a car reached 100K miles and then even it falls apart, the owner did not feel bad.

Salim

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Salim,the basic warranty is 4/50 on a Lexus and 3/36 on a Toyota.
As far as buying a warranty at the end of the basic warranty,it will cost a few dollars more but buying early(like I did) is maybe not a good move because whether you get to the 4/50 or not,you will lose more $$ if you total,trade or sell the vehicle and cancel the warranty.
The warranty is pro-rated from the time of purchase.There may be a 100% refund before 30 days.
I know pro-rating doesn't make sense if you never get to 4/50 but that's the way it works somehow.
As far as buying one or not,I wouldn't buy a Toyota extended warranty on the Toyota vehicles I've purchase 10+ years ago but will buy one now because regardless of how one feels about Toyota,the quality has gone down and it's no secret.Especially when the guy that runs Toyota says so.
I've bought Toyota products for over 25 years and the quality was better in the past.
It's true that taking care of the vehicle using quality parts and lubes helps.I'm a premaintenance junkie and still bought a warranty.
I use synthetic oil and 93 octane Shell most of the time and other brand name gas.At 21K miles I changed the diff and transfer case fluids with Amsoil Severe Gear and also did a brake fluid flush.At 30K I'll do the trans fluid and filter change and coolant change.
I still feel better have the warranty.It's a roll of the dice.If things happens like a A/C problem or Alternator etc at $120 per Hr.,$1730 isn't enough to cover the costs down the 7 year/100K mile road.
The OP asked for opinions on whether he should buy a warranty.I gave him mine and you gave him yours.

As I'm posting this,Akio Toyoda is giving his opening statement at the hearing in DC.
I'm watching the hearing on the net.