surteco

I know it's been discussed a lot, but I am at a crossroad with my 2007 PB. I love the car and have decided to keep it for a few more years. I have never kept a car long enough to be out of waranty without extending the waranty.

Quote from dealer was $2600 less 10% for 5 more years and 40,000 more miles (curently 35k on the clock). That's a lot of repairs for a car that has been totaly reliable so far.

Those of you with cars that have high mileage, would you buy the waranty or take a chance. I may keep it one year or 4 years, just don't know.

?????
Thanks

Peter_Klim

I would never purchase a warrenty for a car. Especially not for a reliable one, and MOST especially not for one of THEE most reliable car ever built. It's the main reason I purchased an SC430.

ausbun

Generally, I don't buy extended warranties either.

However, you are the person who's been driving the car for the last 35,000 miles.
Nobody knows it better.

Do you think anything expensive is likely to break? Have you already had any substantial repairs? Can you afford the extended warranty? (I'm not snooping; it's a question to answer for yourself.) Will you have peace of mind if you get the warranty?

Sometimes you have to trust what you feel and what you know, then decide.

KaiserSea1

I bought the Lexus used car warranty to cover my 03 to 2014. I would go naked on this car for the first six years, but 11 years after build date odds change. Does not matter how good of a car it is 11 years is old.

A decade ago my house was worth twice as much, Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and Michael Jackson was alive and still black. Things change over time.

Peter_Klim

I had a 1990 LS400 for the last 2 years (until 2 months ago). a 20 year old car. Nothing went wrong except a bad headlight - repair cost: $200.

Lexus = Relaibility = No need for warrenty.

Warrenties are just another way to make money. I use to sell them during my college days and my manager would laugh : "We just sold free air! Nothing!" I hate doing something I don't believe in, that's why I won't ever do sales again.

azkaty

My 2004 SC had an extended warranty that I got my money out of. In a word, I had 2 of the four TPMS go out, had a bar in the door replaced that was causing a clunk noise, the home link went bad, and all of that was within 7 months!

Do not get me wrong, I consider the SC430 the most reliable car as well. But think of all the electronics that can go.. not to mention speakers which we all know go out, lower control arm bushings which go out, motor mounts that go bad. Etc. How about the AC?

I have well used the $1625 I paid for the extended warranty I purchased. For peace of mind.. I would not be without it.

I will be getting the warranty on my new car before the time frame runs out. The key is to shop warranty price, and you can do very well that way.

My warranty was for 6 years and 100,000 miles. I think $1625 was a steal.

I think SC Drop top has gotten his money out of his warranty as well.

Katy

cjs18

Those who sell warranties know their math. They are betting with a high degree of certainty that there will be fewer dollars claimed during the warranty period than the consumer paid, including a margin for profit. The risk they take is that from time to time someone will have claims that far exceed the warranty price, but on average they will be well ahead of the game. So what this tells those of us who decide to go naked is that ON AVERAGE the amount we can expect to spend on breakage is measurably less than whatever you paid for the extra warranty. We are always glad to hear the success stories from those who have had immense claims and gotten more than their money’s worth. Others who don’t and are less vocal may simply feel it was worth having the peace of mind that the warranty offers. (Then of course there are those off warranty who have paid out the wazoo and they probably aren’t talking either!) I can’t fault anyone’s position since the choice is truly a matter of personal risk management, but I believe it’s irrational to think that a warranty provider would sell its product at a loss.

robsvdp

I looked at mine as insurance - I don't expect it to pay for itself, but for $500 a year I'm covered is something major goes wrong. I pay thousands for comprehensive insurance, although I don't expect to cause a car accident with the low mileage I drive either.

JerryB

Hi cjs,

Well put. I used to own a '97 BMW 840 and, at first, it was under original warranty & I had a few claims ( $50 deductible each time ). I talked with the gal at the dealership about another warranty when mine ran out; they sold a 3rd party warranty. She said that it was not worth the money; it had so many exclusions that, in effect, they really never paid out.

Just my thoughts,

Jerry Baumchen

2004SC430D

I would not buy a warranty on an SC430, nope, never. Unless you have zero maintenance history on your car and have no idea where it came from.

cjs18

It clearly IS insurance against large unexpected repair costs. In your case you place a $500 “bet” each year that you will have a serious expense and your warranty provider (insurance agent) takes the money and bets that you won’t have serious problems. They hold the $500 but agree to pay out in certain situations when you do have a covered expense. If you “win” you’ll have a lot of problems that they pay for and you’ll get more than your $500 back in repair reimbursements. If you “lose” you have uneventful motoring. Sounds non-intuitive, eh? Whether you win or lose, the company keeps your bet. You can think of it as the cost of peace of mind if no benefits are paid out.

From some of my assertions you might guess that I would carry bare-bones insurance on my vehicles. Not so. I have high limit coverage and an umbrella policy – but I do utilize fairly high deductibles to keep the policy costs in line. That in itself is a bit of a gamble, isn’t it?

KaiserSea1

My SC has been pretty much trouble free. The GPS went bad, blew my front speakers, and the drivers seat motor. The bill for these would have been over 7K, got a brand new ML since the GPS is built in.

Our LS needed a new eyeglass holder, the rear shade broke, and two struts were replaced. One of the keys also failed. Repair cost about 2.5 K

Both warranties have now paid for themselves. Both cars still have four more years of coverage.

surteco

Thanks, all good points, I will probably not buy the waranty. Who knows, I may find something I like better in one year. I just sold a Mercedes G 500 my wife was driving. I had a 100k waranty on this suv and it was well worth it, however it was a much more tempermental vehicle.

76210Guy

With the purchase of my SC this month I am on my 4th extended warranty for cars I've owned and have to say I have not regretted any of them. The car came as CPO and I extended it for 6 years/100K miles for $1695. I may not use it. It may have been wasted money in some opinions, but it is peace of mind for me right now.

My Mercedes E320 EW paid off in spades - one taillight assembly corroded for > $1100. A few other things and I was well over what I paid.

I am currently awaiting my check from Toyota on the EW I had on a 2007 Prius. I "used" less than 3 months of it so they tell me to expect a decent check (I originally paid $2500 for the extended warranty at time of purchase.)

For some, peace of mind is what it buys. I do not mind admitting to being one of those folks.

m3nv

For what its worth, when my car was expiring out of Warranty my service advisor told me in his honest opinion, you never get your money back with a Lexus extended warranty because the cars so darn reliable. That being side, there are always exceptions to the rule. I told him I wanted to get the extended warranty on either the LS430 or SC430 and which one he recommended me to get it on, and he said neither. They're both bulletproof.