1NICESC430

Somewhere on this forum someone wrote that a Lexus owner could purchase a Lexus extended warranty up to the day before the factory warranty expired. When I asked my dealer about this, they were under the assumption that the Lexus extended warranty had to be purchased within three years after the delivery date of the car.

I was a little concerned because it was just three weeks beyond that date when I asked. After they checked, they found that an extended warranty can be purchased any time up to the end of the factory warranty. The cost is a bit less of it's purchased before the end of the factory warranty, but I don't know yet how much that is.

I expect to be getting an email from the warranty guy with all the details soon.

Anybody get an extended warranty yet?

Umbo

IMHO an extended warranty is a waste of money. An extended warranty is like an insurance policy. The people who sell these policies carefully calculate out the average cost of repair for a car for the duration of the policy and then they jack up the price sufficiently to ensure they get a generous profit. It's always a losing bet for the consumer. It's an especially bad deal for a Lexus owner because the cars are so damn reliable. The only real reason to buy a warantee or an insurance policy is if it would be a hugh financial burden to repair or replace the item being insured. The only thing in my life that fits the criteria is my home. Consumer Reports magazine also recommends against buying extended warranties.

1NICESC430

I pretty much agree with you, Umbo. For the very reasons you state, I've never purchased an extended warranty on any item I've bought. The reason I'm considering it for the Lexus is because I plan to have the car for a long time (barring any unforeseen circumstances) and because the car is so complex.

Even though Lexus makes remarkably reliable cars, things can go wrong and, with a car as complex as this, the chance of something going wrong over time and the high cost of repair makes it worthwhile to at least investigate the merits of an extended warranty.

The top/trunk may be a mechanical symphony, but if something goes wrong, it can be an expensive cacophony. Someone in this forum had to have his entire audio unit replaced because there was a CD stuck* in it. I think he said the replacement cost was about $1,200. Anything that needs replacement on this car is going to be expensive.

I want to find out how much an extended warranty costs, what it covers, and whether there is a pro-rated refund if cancelled. Probably the answers to those questions may spawn even more questions. Stay tuned.

* I don't know if this was the cause of the CD stuck in the player, but It's not a good idea to apply your own labels to your CDs. Use a soft-tipped marker such as a Sharpie; the result is not as pretty, but it's safer. BTW - treat the label side of the CD as gingerly as the so-called "playing" side

For an excellent discussion on CDs see Fred Langa's article here:
http://www.informationweek.com/story...cleID=15800263

Carpe Diem

Hi Ed,

I have a brochure that was provided by the financing guy at the dealership where I bought one of my SC400s. It describes in pretty good detail the various extended warrantees sold by Lexus Financial Services. Try to get one of those.

If you expect to find one that is nearly as good as the original 48/50 bumper-to-bumper you'll be disappointed. These are ok but not that great.

George

tfischer

"The top/trunk may be a mechanical symphony, but if something goes wrong, it can be an expensive cacophony."

Very Nice!

Umbo

1Nice, In the 26 years that I have owned a car, I have never had to make an expensive car repair. I've changed 4 or 5 batteries and had to replace a wheel bearing on a VW Scirocco in 1979 for $190. Granted, I never drive a car that's more than 8 years old and I may have been rather lucky also. If I would have purchased extended warranties on all the cars I've owned and also taken in to consideration the potential interest earned on the money, then I would be out many thousands of dollars. When you buy an extended warranty you are betting having on bad luck. The worst case scenario would be that you don't have an extended warranty and your engine dies. That might set you back 10 or 15K but the chance of it happening to a 7 or 8 year old Lexus is probably less than 1 in 1000. 15K would be a painful expendature but I would venture a guess that most SC430 owners would be thrown into financial ruin by it. Buying an extended warranty is only for emotional comfort. Financially it is unsound. If it made sence financially then the companies selling the warranty would go bankrupt.

lkirchner

Bad Deal. The insurance company has an army of actuaries that have calculated the probability of the various things that can go wrong with the cars and then set the rates accordingly. When the rates are set they insure that the premiums collected will far exceed the repair costs. This is true with any type of insurance and as the saying goes; you can always be insurance poor. Take a look at any insurance company and see how many are not profitable; not many , if any.

Many people who buy extended policies on anything, washer, dryer, TV, auto, lawn mower,etc. are overjoyed when they need to use it but rarely look at what they have paid in the way of premiums. In most cases the premiums exceed the repair cost. Those devilish actuaries are right again.

The reason that your finance guy pushed the extended warranty is that he is paid a hefty commission on those sales. This is one of the dealer's highest margin products that a dealer can sell. This is not speculation but fact as explained to me by a close friend who is a dealer.

I hate to get on my soap box but having been in business for many years I have a fairly good prespective of the insurance mongers. In addition my son is a successful actuary and gives me the insiders point of view.

Unless you are extremely big hearted or a philanthropist and love to give away money, stay away from the extended warranty.

tfischer

And if the sales commission is high, as observed above, that means even less of the premium is going to the warranty company, which indicates an even smaller likelihood that it will have to pay for a large repair bill.

I feel that the purchase price of the Lexus includes the peace of mind factor. I have had 2 Lexus cars over 15 years, and my two brothers have owned several others, also over the last 15 years, and although I hate to generalize from insufficient data, none of us has ever had major repair problems. This reflects the general surveys of which we are all aware which show Lexus as a highly reliable and well built and designed car. An extended warranty is not a wise expenditure under these circumstances, in my humble opinion.

1NICESC430

I really appreciate all of your opinions. You have extremely good arguments, but you know how it is with kids - they just gotta find out for themselves. After investigating, I may come to the same conclusions that you have.


>Very Nice!<
Thanks, Tim.

JCtx

I've never gotten an extended warranty, never needed it, and will never get one for the reasons explained above. Bottom line, I'm thousands of dollars 'ahead', so even if I get slapped with a big check, I'm still much better off than if I had paid extended warranties all these years. I'm self (extended-warranty) insured, and happy to be that way

But there's more. Have you read the 'fine print'? Most items you want covered, especially electronic components, are NOT. And some companies are even worse. The 'covered' components only have certain life left (according to pro-rata sheets they use), and that's what you get, because 'everything wears in a car'. It makes sense to me, but you don't know this up front.

I think most people here are 'sophisticated' buyers, and can afford to pay a repair out of pocket, so it's not surprising most of us pass on scams like this (it's a legitimate scam, but still a scam in my book).

Later.

PS. Hey Umbo, have you checked your home insurance policy lately? Man, I reluctantly renewed mine while I study this crap thoroughly; nothing is covered anymore. And out of $300K liability, only $5K of medical payments to others? Geez; what a piece of mind.
I consider a catastrophic medical policy essential, as well as car and home liabliity, but I still cringe everytime I have to write a check.

1NICESC430

>Have you read the 'fine print'?<
I haven't read the fine, medium, or even the large print yet. In my original append I wrote that it was my intent to learn what was covered as well as other details.

If by "sophisticated" you mean wealthy, rather than the standard definition of "more worldly/less naive", then in the former sense, I'm not, and in the latter, I am, kinda.

I can get all the way up to "G" in a single burp, though.
Wait a minute, that's not sophistication, that's class!

JCtx

Wealth doesn't mean sophistication; not by a long shot man. And I'm not wealthy either, and happy not to be.
I probably should have said 'educated'. And what I meant by that is we all have made our share of mistakes 'assuming' a product is what we're told, and we now know better, that's all. Now I read every darn document I sign and make no assumptions. Then evaluate the cost/benefit ratio in my own situation and make a decision.
Sorry for the confusion.

bjoraker

Components covered by Lexus Platinum plan:

All manufacturer-original equipment parts installed by the manufacturer or your selling dealer are covered (except for the following)

Accessory drive belts, batteries brake linings, pads and shoes, bumpers, carpet, chrome, clutch friction disk and pressure plate, dash cover and pad door trim, handles and fabric, filters, fluids, glass, headliner, heating hoses, lines and tubes, hinges, hoses, interior and exterior trim and moldings, including but not limited to, cup holders, ash trays, covers and vents, light bulbs, nuts, bolts, clips,retainers and fasteners, paint, rust and corrosion damage, seat covers, shiny metals, spark plugs, tires, vacuum hoses and lines and tubes, weather stripping, wiper blades (rubber component).

Sounds pretty comprehensive to me except for above items

JCtx

I bet the price is pretty comprehensive as well. Having said that, there are a lot of other factors people who believe on those things should consider. If you're going to rack up the miles, then it starts making more sense. If you don't have the ability to pay for a repair out of warranty, same thing.
Just like we all have different budgets (but we all should live WITHIN our budgets), we also have different opinions of the cost/benefit ratio such a product provides.

Al least you now know what the plan covers and what doesn't, and you know Lexus will be around for the duration of the 'policy' (I would never do it with anybody but Lexus). Now you just have to determine if it's worth it to YOU. Just buy it at the very end of your 4/50K warranty. Otherwise if you sell or wreck the car, it's money down the drain. Sure, you can probably transfer it for a fee, for hardly for what you paid for.

Take care.

bjoraker

I agree.