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Service agreements / extended warranties a ripoff?

3K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Bumpy06 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok, so I did the one thing that I said I never would (and one that Dave Ramsey warns against! :lol:) I purchased the Vehicle Service Agreement. (EDIT: Read that: Extended warranty) An extra $2,000 on my bottom line. I have researched it now, and even looked at the contract. To me it looks useless. I have even found the company listed on some of the "ripoff report" websites.

Opinions?

For me, I think I am cancelling the service agreement this week. I think the $2,000 will go back to Toyota if I am not mistaken.
 
#3 ·
:thinkerg: Sorry.. I guess I should have said extended warranty. (the dealer calls it extended service) I did some reading and it more or less says in the very small print that if you modify the vehicle then the warranty is no good. It also has a clause that states "if the vehicle is used for a purpose for which it is not designed" the warranty is no good. To me, that just leaves too many loopholes.
 
#4 ·
If you got the extended warranty, which one did you get? I forget their names but there is the normal 3 year/36,000, then there is the 7 year/100,000 powertrain, and then there is the 7 year/100,000 bumper to bumper.

I bought mine earlier this year, 3 years old, she had about 45,000 on her. I paid to have her become a Toyota Certified Used Vehicle, which come with the 7 year/100,000 power train. I paid $500. I'm just waiting for the powers that be to give it the go ahead, but here in the next few days/weeks (don't know how long it will take) I'm getting a new transmission put in, for free. So me personally, I feel as though even if I never use the warranty again, it's already paid for it self.

Now for the whole "if you use it for what it wasn't designed" thing. That is a gray area. I mean technically these things are designed to tear up the trails, but there are a number of stories on here, where people's warranties were refused because of trail damage. It really is a hit or miss on this one.

As to the modifying portion. You do have the Magnuson act on your side.
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Basically if you modify your vehicle, and something breaks they cannot blindly turn down your warranty claim because of the modification. They have to show how the modification caused the damage. Which in some cases they can. It is a gamble. But as Bandi recently put it to me, if you don't want to take the risk of paying for repairs out of pocket, don't modify it. (paraphrasing).

Hope this helps.
 
#5 · (Edited)
If you got the extended warranty, which one did you get? I forget their names but there is the normal 3 year/36,000, then there is the 7 year/100,000 powertrain,
The vehicle has a 3yr/36K mile warranty on parts and labor. I.e. if the window motors break, they replace the parts and do the labor, you pay nothing.

The drivetrain has a 5yr/60K mile warranty.

The Toyota extended warranty is 7yrs/100K miles.

As to the Magnusson-moss act, im not positive, but i am not sure how that applies to extended warranties. Not to mention that if in the paperwork for the extended warranty it says "if you modify your vehicle, you void the warranty completely", you would have signed agreeing to this.

I definitely agree with Bandi. If keeping the vehicle 100% under warranty is one of your primary concerns, buying an offroad 4x4 vehicle is a stupid idea. Some dealerships have tried to get out of warranty items on stock FJs just for seeing some mud under the vehicle.
 
#10 ·
True true. Technically in my case I "bought" the warranty, but that was only because the dealership I bought it from didn't feel like putting my FJ though the Toyota required three ring circus to make it a legit TCP vehicle. I just said, hey, I want this thing to to be TCP to get the warranty, what'll it cost me? But yes, I do see your point. I need to quote some photo posts for you now.

Side note, do you stay up really late, or wake up really early?
 
#11 ·
My vehicle is 100 percent stock and I plan to keep it that way till my warranty runs out then I am gonna eff around. So I don't get how I made a bad purchase in any way?!


Care to elaborate on this?
 
#12 ·
I live by honesty. If i screwed it up its my fault. I'll pay. If I pay for a warranty and they don't cover it I'll strike in front of their business until its fixed. I've done it twice in my 42 years of life and its harsh but so is $500 an hour for an attorney. Best part is its legal if you use the words "I THINK" Small letters this dealer sucks. Sounds extreme but so does the ceo with the deny mentality.
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#13 ·
Noob here - but what sticks out to me in the 2010 warranty and maintenance guide are the following statements:

Replacement Parts

It states that warranty coverage is not dependent upon the use of any particular brand of replacement parts. However, Toyota recommends using only Genuine Toyota Parts when you need to replace a part on your vehicle.

"Non genuine Toyota Parts, or any damage or failures resulting from their use, are not covered by any Toyota warranty."



What is Not Covered (New Vehicle Limited Warranty)

"Alteration or tampering, including installation of Non-Genuine Toyota Accessories."


Interpret that as you will but I think it seems the warranty is still valid as long as your mods/replacement parts don't cause the damage.
 
#15 ·
Interpret that as you will but I think it seems the warranty is still valid as long as your mods/replacement parts don't cause the damage.
I had a tacoma in the other day with a leaking front cover with a 1gr. (Known issue) it was lifted 6inchs, big tires and a HUGE bumper / grille guard. None of that caused the leak, so, I did the repair under warranty...granted, I was cussing, and not to happy since all that **** made it a TOTAL pain in teh ass, and I only got paid warranty time. Now, if he had a blown own wheel bearing, I would not approve that, obviously.

We have to prove, that whatever aftermarket part/parts you have installed, are directly related to what is broken. and even then, my dealership will still warranty it :lol:
 
#14 ·
Depends on the extended warranty company. Toyota Car, MPP, and others like that, are good. I do extended warranty repairs EVERY DAY. hell, most of the time, they cover **** that normal warranty wouldn't. such as modified cars, and stuff customers have ****ed up beyond belief and brought it and played dumb.

can I ask what company you got?
 
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