JohnnyCake

An extended warranty is designed to protect you from the risk of a repair cost you can not easily afford. But like the house always wins in Vegas, most people will pay more for the extended warranty than they receive from having it. If that were not true, than the extended warranty would be a loser for Lexus or whoever is selling it. No business survives paying out more than they take in.

If you could handle a big ticket repair cost in stride, then an extended warranty is a bad idea. If you couldn't, then an extended warranty is a great idea. Only you can determine whether you need that protection.

AusTexLex

Frankly I'm quite surprised to hear all these Lexus owners emphatically stating they needed an extended warranty. I bought a Lexus instead of BMW or MB because of reliability and not needing expensive repairs. I'm gettin' a little nervous now - maybe I should extend my CPO warranty? I have a 2008 with 49K miles.

VVTiBob

Each car and the circumstance of ownership is unique to each owner's situation. In my case, I bought an 02 in 2009 with 50K on it. I made a conscious choice to purchase an extended warranty for peace of mind, which it gave me. My car has been reliable and now has 61K on it, but there have been issues. The biggest being the trunk lid hinge assembly. Even my Lexus dealer was surprised when it failed, (never seen one fail, except from collision damage) so it's highly unusual. Nevertheless, that repair alone cost twice as much as the warranty.

I suppose my point is, it's a risk vs reward vs peace of mind issue on a used vehicle. The fact is you don't know how the previous owner(s) really cared for or abused the car. I also believe it's about unexpected financial expenses/cost of ownership versus one now mitigated by the warranty. In these financially trying times, it's not only prudent, but responsible to have a plan in place.

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

AusTexLex-just like Johnnycake's Vegas analogy I think we all take some sort of calculating risk buying either a new or used car. Cars are not "investments" they are generally liabilities...especially if you talk to conservative finance people, lol.

For me it was a simple math proposition that I quickly saw with my first few service visits on my 2002 when it was still under the original 4/50k warranty. I had a ML speaker popping...$600 total to replace. I had the motor mounts replaced...$1200. For me, buying a 3year/100k piece of mind for $1800 was a GOOD gamble, but I'm also quick to say no every time the Best Buy cashier asks me if I want to buy the extended service plan on some times (except for Samsung TV's which are notorious for having power supply issues after warranty expires) to the plans on toasters, speakers, etc. To me, IMO if the warranty price is less than 10% of the item you are buying then it's a good deal. Now, there are some folks that bought really expensive $3k-$4k super-extended warranties for like 5years plus I think I would pass on.

All cars eventually have issues. IMO the difference between Bimmers and Benzs is that a Lexus will have $200 here, $600 there MAYBE $1k as a biggie repair. You can swallow that. At the Bimmer and Benz shop bills are typically $500 and up every time. Case and Point: My Mother in Law's 2001 S500 just had the drivers seatbelt coil retractor break and it was $1800 to repair out of warranty. BUT...my buddy's 2003 GS300 had an a/c compressor go out and it was $600 to replace. See my point? Both out of warranty but Lexus is much more affordable. I would guess that it's because they share in the mass production of parts other other Lexus and Toyota cars.

In the end, it's all an individual choice. Some folks "gotta have" a NEW car and lose tens of thousands in depreciation the day they drive the car off the lot and don't even think about it, while others shop around for the best deal to save $5 on an oil change but both folks could have the same income level, demographics, etc.

I guess that's why the TV show was popular in the 70's called, "Different Strokes" lol

azkaty

Only answer to this question ...YES..got my from a Toyota dealership and saved allot.
AZkaty

SlvBullet

iTrader: (8)

Do some of the mods i read here invalidate the extended warranty? Such as after market coilovers, spacers, intake, exhaust? I imagine it depends on the policy but what is typical?

AusTexLex

I have a CPO warranty and just took my 2008 SC430 to North Park Lexus in San Antonio where I bought the car to have the mirror seals replaced and front end aligned. I've added an Injen intake and Megan mid pipe and catback exhaust. No hassles - in fact, they asked me to start it up in the pickup area so they could hear the exhaust note!

Can't say enough good things about North Park Lexus. A class act.

Jefff1

I am looking for an extended warranty for my soon to be delivered 2003 SC with 49k in mileage.....Have any of you heard of Enterprise Financial Group? $650 per year for a 5 year/50k coverage.....$100 deductible on each repair....Any opinions and thanks for the good advice....I have enjoyed reading the threads on this forum and the expertise

mandyfig

Welcome to CL. Extended warranties are very tricky. We have relied on Lexus extended warranties, Aftermarket ones, hit or miss.

Need to research.

Anyway, good luck.

Jefff1

. Thanks for the reply....I inquired about the Lexus extended warranty and was told my 03 didn't qualify because of it's age....so I started looking into the aftermarket warranties....I also filled out a request for Carchex and got a call back in about 45 seconds after submittal....They have the same plan as Enterprise for about $750 less.....$2475 or $2725 with Navigation coverage....Carchex sells the warranty but it's actually Enterprise that does the paying..interesting.... Carchex seems have a lot of big time endorsements..

VVTiBob

Many extended warranty companies offer different "levels" of coverage from the very basic power train only...all the way up to bumper to bumper ones. The trick is to carefully read the contract for its EXCLUSIONS and to understand the deductibles.
I picked up my 02 in 09 and purchased an aftermarket warrant sold by the Lexus dealer but it is NOT a Lexus product, i.e. a CPO warranty...for the same reason you were told, the age of the car. In my case the warranty has paid for itself almost two time over, but I did have a unique failure of the luggage sliding roof hinge which was a $5500 repair.

Jefff1

Thanks Bob....I read all about your roof issue which really got me to thinking about the extended warranty....I did specifically ask about convertible roof coverage and she said they would cover the motors.....It does seem from what I read that the Entertainment Group is NOT covered....I need to verify that...

I also read your Beatsonic thread....does the Pioneer unit you installed replace the Mark Levinson unit in some manner?

Solman

Check for third party with your credit union if you belong to one and also your insurance company. I even found out my union offers one as well. My 02 SC has a 7 yr warranty that I bought in 08. I paid $1230 for a zero deductible platinum coverage and that is the price for all 7 years. They have paid over $6k in repairs and I still have 3 yrs to go. Btw my insurance co (mercury) also offered the same coverage for twice that price but that also would have been worth it. My SC only had 23k miles on it when I bought it and that is the main reason why I got a low premium. I have since checked prices for other SCs and the lower the miles when purchased the better the deal on the warranty. I found out that the cut off for the kind of deal I got was 25k miles.

Jabberwock

There are quality warranties available and there are crap ones available. To shop for a high quality car warranty, first go to Lexus or Toyota for an OEM extended warranty or if your car is too old for OEM warranty, check your credit union if you use one, or with your car insurance company, or with Costco if you are a member. Way less chance of getting ripped off with a crap warranty if you buy from a quality well known consumer oriented provider. Don't buy anything from an unknown salesperson selling you on the phone via an internet inquiry.

VVTiBob

Actually the OEM head unit, radio, tape deck and CD player is made by Pioneer, not Mark Levinson. Funny Lexus does say it, but markets the hell out of the Mark Levinson name. The ML components are the amp and nine speakers. Sadly, its the ML components which have presented more problems over the years, although complaints of "older" CD players jamming seem to be on the rise. (NEVER, EVER, insert a CD with a paper label.)
My radio upgrade with just that an upgrade the head unit, keeping all other components in tact. My warranty had already replace two door woofer and the sub-woofer, and I am fine with the Lexus NAV especially after I upgraded it to GEN 4 from the original GEN 2.
I also wanted my steering wheel controls to remain intact and the BeatSonic adapter gave me that option where others could not.
But the main reason...2012 state-of-the-art electronics, for what I wanted....although Solman went Pioneer flagship and his unit does more...