when you say "third party warranty", are you meaning to describe a warranty that is purchased from somewhere OTHER THAN the dealership that the car was purchased from....or just a "non Lexus brand" warranty?? There is a MASSIVE difference here. There are tons of independent service contract providers out there. Some very reputable one's (highly BBB rated, fully insured by highly rated reinsurance companies, long track records, sold by reputable dealerships, etc)...and there are plenty of bad one's (uninsured, deceptive claim practices, crappy limits of liability, crappy labor rate limits, per claim limits of liability, poor reputations, etc).

Sure, the safest way to go is to purchase a Lexus brand (administrated/underwritten through Lexus and SOLD through a Lexus store). However, if you're dealing with a reputable Lexus dealer and they happen to be selling an "independent" or "non Lexus brand" warranty/service contract....then there's a very very good chance that this warranty company is good...otherwise the dealership would not be carrying them. Trust me...they don't want to do business with vendors that cause the dealership problems/issues/heat cases from their customers, which would jeopardize any chance for future repeat or referral business. Just make sure the company is insured, make sure the contract will honor the labor rate that the Lexus service dept will be charging when you have to be there (dealerships have warranty labor rates and retail labor rates...and yes..they are different), make sure the deductible is "per visit", rather that "per every unrelated failure" and you want "exclusionary coverage" if at all possible...not "stated component coverage". Big difference.

Now what you must absolutely avoid.....is buying a truly 3rd party warranty...which is really a warranty that a buyer finds on his own and not provided/offered through the dealer selling the actual car. These kinds of companies are almost guaranteed to cause heartburn and grief. If you purchase a 3rd party VSC online, over the phone, etc...prepared to be severely disappointed come claim time. A selling dealership has to perform due diligence on the cars (reconditioning, checking all systems for existing issues/and fixing prior to retail sell) in ORDER to be able to offer service contracts through reputable/quality warranty companies. A true 3rd party seller (i.e., you auto insurance agent, internet site, etc)...have virtually no way to know what condition the car is in and therefore the warranty company will deny claims due to "pre-existing conditions". I would never recommend to anyone that they buy an extended warranty/service contract from any place other than directly from the manufacturer of the vehicle or from the dealership selling the vehicle.

Lastly, if you have your repair work done at a dealership other than where you bought the car/warranty.....you're more likely to have claim issues. (unless you have a Lexus warranty and you're at a Lexus service dept)

 

Actually the sound system has been replaced twice, however the 1st time was during the original warranty. Each time the cause was CD's randomly ejecting and the radio turning on at the same time. The car now has 71k miles on it, and the extended warranty will expire the beginning of July (or if I reach 75k miles, which appears very unlikely). When (if) the time comes to replace the car, I'll get exactly the same thing, although I regret they no longer offer my car's color - smoky granite mica.

 

Thanks everyone for the great feedback.

The warranty is through a company called "Century" however sold by my Lexus dealer - so not truly "3rd party independent" like you mentioned I should avoid.

Ultimately, I'm going to just hold off and bank the money. The car has always been serviced at Lexus (since I've owned it - 4 years and counting) so fingers crossed!

 

I don't know if Lexus Extended Warranty goes along to a future buyer.
If the answer is yes the real price is much lower than it seems, as it definitely would increase the value/liquidity of the car.

 

The warranty through Lexus is transferable...but some 3rd party (any not backed by the manufacturer) are not...so always read the fine print.

 

"Extended warranty is it worth it?"

Rarely. If you are doing this to try and save money, you will be disappointed.

 

Waste of my 2100... I had the alternator poop on me & was not covered. I also had to pay out of pocket for my fan clutch that needed to be replaced. Warranty I purchased was for engine (internal parts like pistons or camshafts) and transmission. Almost frustrating that I bought that thinking that it would be covered but wasn't because it was considered as a external part of an engine rather that internal. WHAT? lol... just sharing my experience with warranty being so "technical."