Does anyone know who offers the best extended warranty? where can I find information about extended warranties? When is the best time/latest to purchase the extended warranty? Thanks.

 

I ONLY purchase an extended warranty from the automaker (I purchased the Lexus extended when I purchased it from my Lexus dealer). Did you buy the car from a Lexus dealer I do not trust aftermarket warranty companies as I've heard too many horror stories about many of them with claims & a lot of them went out of business &/or were 'fly by night operations'. Just my 2 cents.

 

Thanks Lexusfreak.

 

Happy to help.

 

If a Toyota / Lexus car is not driven abusively and serviced on time with factory original parts, fluids and filters, the chances of an unexpected mechanical component break down are extremely low because the amount of mechanical wear that will occur during the extended warranty period will be very low.

 

Everyone has to decide what peace of mind is worth but you should remember that the extended warranties sold by the dealership have an extremely large profit margin and are somewhat negotiable in cost as a result. You can search and read any number of posts in which someone saved a big chunk as a result of something that occured during the extended warranty period but also remember that the dealers don't push these things so hard TO LOSE MONEY! So the odds overall of using the extended warranty are slim as has been pointed out.

And Lexusfreak is quite right: don't go with aftermarket. WarrantyGold was a big player with an excellent rep for quite a while with both consumers and dealers but ended up hosing quite a few folks when they got into financial difficulties. Edmunds has a number of threads re WarrantyGold and others on their TownHall if you're interested..........

So stick with Lexus backed product if you choose to buy.

 

Agreed moore Saber, I do't totally disagree with you on the points you make.....however one has to also consider that if something does occur that is a major repair.....Lexus replacement parts are not exactly cheap & even if your complete air conditioner system were to go, you have gotton your money back with the extended warranty as an example. Yes the odds are in favour of nothing happening during the extended warranty time (hey they are in business to make money right?), but piece of mind IMO has to be worth something & I'm covered till 120,000 miles or 2006 & only have 53,000 on the car now.

 

A Lexus air conditioning system, just like a Lexus engine or transmission contains internally lubricated parts that can last 500,000 miles if the system isn't abused and the lubricant is not lost. So once again if the owner takes care not to abuse the system the chances of a serious mechanical failure are extremely remote and would most likely be caused by a manufacturing or assembly defect. And manufacturing defects nearly always show up during the first year of vehicle ownership so they would be covered under warranty.

I doubt many mechanics purchase extended warranties for their Toyota's / Lexus's because they know any internally lubricated componet is not going to wear much during either the regular or extended warranty period.

I do agree extended warranties can make sense for other makes of cars such as European luxury cars with poor reputations for reliability .

 

Auto extended warranty is never worth it. You don't get your money back if the car is stolen or totaled. Also if the car is unreliable, you wouldn't keep it after the factory warranty expired anyway.

If you really want to buy extended warranty, check AAA or your auto insurance company. They usually have pay-as-you-go plan so you can drop the coverage should you change your mind later.

 

I have a 01 gs430 with 23k miles and I just had the entire differential and one rear half shaft replaced via warranty due to a humming sound. Would have cost like 3500 bucks.
Most differentials probably last people 200k miles. My point is anything can happen and just because it's a lexus doesn't mean all parts are perfect.