Toyota Extended Warranty - Do You Have One?

[blue monster]

Greetings all,

Prior to buying our RAV4 T180 I did a fair bit of research and found issues such as head gaskets, cat's, failed satnav units and a few other bits & pieces that could be very costly should you have to pay for them.

So, when we bought our motor & I was offered the opportunity to extend our warranty from 1 year to 3 years at the cost of £36 per month due to it being under 3 years old - I jumped at the chance as I know all too well from previous experience with my Honda when I had a gearbox problem that garage bills can sky rocket if your motor is not under warranty - thankfully mine was and still is due to me continuing to extend the warranty.

Since owning our T180 I have read many issues on here where I am fairly certain an extended warranty would have sorted the issue - even if you had an initial fight with Mr T. I appreciate that if you bought your motor privately then you would not have had this option but surely if you bought from a main dealer this had to considered given how much these vehicles cost?

Have people bothered & if not why not?

[Heidfirst]

when I bought my 2.2 Avensis I was unaware of the potential head/gasket problems & the car had 2 years manufacturer's warranty left anyway.

Having been on here & realising the potential cost of fixing the major diesel engine problems (injectors, turbos etc.) just before my car's 3rd birthday I took out the Toyota extended warranty for the next 2 years. Given that this also included breakdwn, recovery & at home cover for 2 years I reckon that it was good value for the peace of mind (even if Toyota have an unpublicised extended warranty programme on the 2.2 for head/gasket problems that was likely to cover that).

You can buy the Toyota warranty even if your car wasn't bought from a Toyota dealer.

[Mistermena]

when I bought my 2.2 Avensis I was unaware of the potential head/gasket problems & the car had 2 years manufacturer's warranty left anyway.

Having been on here & realising the potential cost of fixing the major diesel engine problems (injectors, turbos etc.) just before my car's 3rd birthday I took out the Toyota extended warranty for the next 2 years. Given that this also included breakdwn, recovery & at home cover for 2 years I reckon that it was good value for the peace of mind (even if Toyota have an unpublicised extended warranty programme on the 2.2 for head/gasket problems that was likely to cover that).

You can buy the Toyota warranty even if your car wasn't bought from a Toyota dealer.

The warranty has to be taken out before the car hits a hundred thousand miles. I tried to take out the warranty for my car but I was over this limit by a few thousand and they just wouldn't budge. Thank God for the 112k extended warranty or I would not have been a happy chappy.

[Jan&tone]

I believe the extended warranty has been discussed on here in various forums over the months that I've been a member.... the general opinion is that as it is what it says on the tin and EXTENSION of the original 3 or now 5 year warranty and covers pretty much the same things it is definitely worthwhile if you intend to keep the car. Other 'outside' warranty policies tend to be insurance based and may not give you the same cover as the Toyota extension....

I'm sure if Kingo sees this post he will confirm this!

T

[Davrav]

I believe the extended warranty has been discussed on here in various forums over the months that I've been a member.... the general opinion is that as it is what it says on the tin and EXTENSION of the original 3 or now 5 year warranty and covers pretty much the same things it is definitely worthwhile if you intend to keep the car. Other 'outside' warranty policies tend to be insurance based and may not give you the same cover as the Toyota extension....

I'm sure if Kingo sees this post he will confirm this!

T

Am I right in thinking that there are some exclusions such as interior trim?

[wardude]

Yes im pretty ure interior trim isnt covered, along with other many other items that are expected to wear through normal use. brakes, exhaust, clutch etc etc

[Parts-King]

I'm sure if Kingo sees this post he will confirm this!

T

Yes its an entension of the original warranty, however there are some exclusions such as trim, glass etc. Just like a new car, they cover manufacturing faults for the period of cover. NO off the peg warranty will be able to cover what is covered on a manufacturers extended warranty, they are insurance based and just do not cover the same things. For instance, if a wheel bearing was to go noisy, your extended warranty would cover it, with an off the peg warranty, it would not be covered until the part actually failed, broke, fell off. Parts on off the peg warranties have to actually break, suddenly and without warning for them to be covered. A lot of off the peg warranties are not worth the paper they are written on,

Kingo

[acetip]

I'm sure if Kingo sees this post he will confirm this!

T

Yes its an entension of the original warranty, however there are some exclusions such as trim, glass etc. Just like a new car, they cover manufacturing faults for the period of cover. NO off the peg warranty will be able to cover what is covered on a manufacturers extended warranty, they are insurance based and just do not cover the same things. For instance, if a wheel bearing was to go noisy, your extended warranty would cover it, with an off the peg warranty, it would not be covered until the part actually failed, broke, fell off. Parts on off the peg warranties have to actually break, suddenly and without warning for them to be covered. A lot of off the peg warranties are not worth the paper they are written on,

Kingo

Hi Kingo,was talking sometime ago to chap who owns a seconhand car dealership.

he used to sell these cars with a warrany supplied by one of those warrany firms.

he had a customers car that the clutch was slipping badly,but the warranty company refused to pay for the repairs because the drive plate of the clutch had not collapsed,but was just slipping.this is just an opt out.

the dealer dropped using this company and supplied his own warranty and did any work under it himself.

[MarsKy]

Yes im pretty ure interior trim isnt covered, along with other many other items that are expected to wear through normal use. brakes, exhaust, clutch etc etc

And the OEM alloy wheels - won't do them if they are bubbling after the 3 years.

And the OEM sidesteps (rust spots - on aluminium!), which were not even covered by the 3 year warranty never mind an extended one.

If you are to go for one, the Toyota does seem to be the best of the bunch. Previous experience of Warranty Direct (air con failure) was that the they wanted me to pay to get the system taken apart, inspected by an independent engineer, and if it was a fault, then they would replace the parts with reconditioned ones. If the engineer could not find the fault, I had to bear the cost of garage services and independent engineer's report.

[Parts-King]

That is a classic example Acetip, I wish I had used it as for burning oil, there would be no chance of an engine strip, rebuild etc to cure that and expect the warranty company to pay

Kingo

[blue monster]

I was aware that the Toyota warranty did not cover things such as wheels, paintwork, interior trim, etc - that didn't bother me, I was more concerned with the electrical & mechanical cover.

As mentioned in the opening post I had read about failures that would be expensive to cover out of you own pocket and I see again more recently another satnav unit failing & Toyota qouting £2600 + VAT for a replacement.

I had the unfortunate experience of a head gasket going on a car I bought a number of years ago from a dealer with an indpendent warranty and they would not pay out for any work as they stated the head gasket is not a moving part!!

If nothing at all the Toyota warranty it is piece of mind motoring for me for the next few years.

[*srjp*]

Just tagging on the end of this thread that I've recently received a payout from Warranty Direct for the replacement of parts which manifested as an intermittent loss of power normally attributed to EGR / VSVs / SCVs (I don't know what most of those mean so apologies if misquoted).

The mechanic at the garage seemed quite surprised when they approved the work in advance, perhaps given that nothing had actually 'broken' as the policy states it must, but perhaps we just got someone on a good day!

Given the age and mileage of my car, a 10% contribution from myself was deducted along with a £50 admin fee, but the cheque was sent within a couple of weeks of the claim being submitted without any further question.

The end result is that the payout has covered the annual cost of the insurance/warranty itself and contributed towards a quarter of the repair costs, so in theory I have made a small profit from it but then the job itself came in at only £450.

My own suspicion is that most people who complain about these types of warranty/insurance don't understand what they have bought; many many things are not covered in the basic policies so you have to be very careful which policy you're taking. I found that by ringing them a week or so after getting a quote online I was offered much greater cover (4x4 system, turbo, air con etc) and for an additional month at no extra cost.

Update: I've amended this post slightly and am adding the following today: Warranty Direct have just honoured a large portion (2/3rds) of the bill for replacement of the DMF on my Rav. Deductions from the full invoice were made relating to uncovered parts of the clutch system, to the age of the vehicle, and the usual 'admin fee' nonsense. All in, through a year of policy costing under £300 they have reimbursed parts and labour to the tune of around £1,500 so I can only recommend them.

Edited November 19, 2011 by *srjp*

[Monitorlizard]

Just completed one year of ownership of my 56 reg.T180.This came with 12 months warranty included.During this time I was asked to drop the car off for a routine check,which found that the head gasket had gone.Covered under the warranty.Now that the 12 months is up I received a reminder that the warranty could be extended,there was no hesitation to extend this for a further 2 years,as it`s possible to pay monthly by direct debit,interest free.No big lump sum out of your bank account.Plus breakdown cover & home start included.

BJK

[catseye27]

BJK - out of interest, how much was this 2 year extended cover?

cheers

norm

[Davrav]

BJK - out of interest, how much was this 2 year extended cover?

cheers

norm

See attached PDF Norm

Extended warranty prices jan 11.pdf

[catseye27]

Davrav

Thx, downloaded, will read later.

[Monitorlizard]

catseye27,

can confirm that I paid the same as per the price list.2 year warranty,my T180 is 56 reg.Will see whether I keep it,after the warranty runs out.Might upgrade to a newer model.Love the car.

BJK