Extended Warranty ??

[rkser]

I usually do not buy Extended Warranties due to their exclusions & cost. But due to high repair costs of Lexus IF some part or system does need repair, I am being tempted.

What do you guys think ?


I am buying a 2018 Lexus RX 350 from Carvana & they are offering CarvanaCare, a extended warranty for $1125 for 60 months from the now on (Date of Purchase).

Manufacturers Basic Warranty will be on for another year till 2022 after the Purchase as Lexus offers 4yr/50k miles Basic Warranty & 6yr/70k miles Power Train on their Vehicles.
In effect, the Carvana Care will cover 4 yrs more starting 2022 in this case for $1125 or $23/month as the Manufacturer's Warranty will be in effect till 2022.

Although there is a good chance I may not use it, but a single repair usually costs around $500 as was the case in our 2010 Lexus Rx350 which we are trading in.

There are many exclusions in the Carvana Warranty like regular maintenance, Tires, Brakes etc.. But it does cover things A/C, Electrical, Blue Tooth etc...
Have you had a chance to buy a Extended Warranty for your cars & in general how has been your experience ?

Thanks

 

[ProspectiveBum]

I probably would not buy an extended warranty from a 3rd party, only from the manufacturer. Lexus has some of the best reliability ratings around, so I’d probably just park those funds somewhere as a vehicle emergency fund, and skip the extended warranty.

I bought an extended warranty for a 2005 Honda Odyssey minivan because it was loaded with electronics (rear entertainment system, GPS navigation, etc.), and I was worried about the cost of repairing them. We still have the van, and none of those things have ever required a repair. We did get some use out of the warranty when 2 pricey motor mounts failed outside the normal warranty period, but I don’t think we recouped the full cost.

 

[Out of Steam]

I have almost never bought extended warranties for anything, on the theory of only insuring against things I can't afford to have happen.

While new cars are more complicated, you are buying one of the most reliable cars on the road. If the Carvana warranty is unlimited miles, and you would expect to pass 100K miles during its term, I might reconsider it. Though, it would depend on what I could find out about the quality and availability of the warranty service.

 

[Montecfo]

I don't buy them. I buy reliable cars.

 

[Markola]

We buy 2-3 year old cars and we do buy the extended warranties. I think we came out ahead on the Swedish cars (2 Volvos and a SAAB) but probably lost money on the Japanese ones (a Honda and, so far, on an Acura.)

 

[RunningBum]

The one time I bought one (3rd party thru my credit union when I bought the car through their car buying service) it was a headache to try to use. The repair shop didn't want to deal with it, and said they would have to use inferior parts. I don't remember if I wound up using it or not (less than $1000 repair) but I swore I'd never deal with that again.

My GF had a similar issue with a car she bought at CarMax. I don't remember if it was their regular or extended warranty, but when her A/C went out they called it some kind of wear and tear issue or something like that and wouldn't cover it. $4000 repair and she might still be battling it. I know it hasn't been fixed.

If they did what they said they do it would seem like a better deal. But I think the standard first response is "not covered" and you have to try to knock them off that, and there's no one really on your side for it.

 

[Montecfo]

The one time I bought one (3rd party thru my credit union when I bought the car through their car buying service) it was a headache to try to use. The repair shop didn't want to deal with it, and said they would have to use inferior parts. I don't remember if I wound up using it or not (less than $1000 repair) but I swore I'd never deal with that again.

My GF had a similar issue with a car she bought at CarMax. I don't remember if it was their regular or extended warranty, but when her A/C went out they called it some kind of wear and tear issue or something like that and wouldn't cover it. $4000 repair and she might still be battling it. I know it hasn't been fixed.

If they did what they said they do it would seem like a better deal. But I think the standard first response is "not covered" and you have to try to knock them off that, and there's no one really on your side for it.

Heard other folks say the same. There are highly desirable--to the issuer.

That is why I get unsolicited calls just about daily trying to sell them to me.

It is insurance for non-catastrophic risks.

 

[jazz4cash]

I have almost never purchased, but my thinking is changing. I do think the mfr warranty is generally superior since they have better access to specific parts. Have you looked into getting the extended from Lexus before the base warranty runs out? The offer you got looks too cheap to be worthwhile. Where can you take it to honor the warranty? DD bought an extended warranty from Carmax against my advice and the local Chevy dealer honored it.

I just threw out a 4 year old refrigerator because to repair shop told me they were'nt worth fixing. A few weeks later the mfr sends me an extended warranty offer even though the unit was 2 yrs out of warranty. Too late.

 

[brett]

We don't buy them.

Was offered one for $1000. when we bought our new Camry in 1997. Passed on it. Dealership business manager was not a happy camper.

260K miles and 20 years later we gave the car to our son. Never had a problem. Only routine mtce.

I would not consider one for a Lexus. If I was, I would never consider one from a third party. Only from the manufacturer.

OTOH....our friends bought a Ford Aerostar van (remember them). They bought the extended warranty. It paid for itself several times over. They claim that they replaced everything on that van at least once. Traded it within a month of the expiration of the extended warranty.

 

[travelover]

I go back to basics - I never insure against a loss I can easily sustain.

It is hilarious how the salesmen tell you what a wonderful car it is until you buy it, then get a sad face and tell you how unreliable and expensive the same car is to repair. Don't play their silly game.

 

[Koolau]

Yeah, I never buy the extended warrantees. I WOULD be interested if anyone ever offered a special warrantee on JUST the electronics (infotainment and so forth.) I hear those things die all the time and are $2K or $3K! Of course, no factory would ever do that. It would look like they HAD to to sell the product. Well, guess what! I won't buy a car with those devices - well, at least until there are no used cars without them, anyway. YMMV

 

[foxfirev5]

No extended warranty on anything. Overall you will benefit over the profit margin of the insurer. Not to mention the low life third party insurers that infiltrate the low life car dealers. As Travelover states it kind of makes you wonder how good that Lexus is. However the Lexus is a good car but this time I resisted the appeal and bought a Toyota.

 

[Car-Guy]

When I was trading in for a new car every year or two I never thought much about extended warranties. However, I bought an extended warranty with my last new Jeep purchase.... My logic was, I just spent ~$100k on a new vehicle that I plan to keep for 4 or 5 years and drive 100k miles or more... I got the full coverage extended warranty for about $1800.... Cheap insurance from my POV on a vehicle like that.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Our car came with a lifetime powertrain warranty from the dealer, but via a third party, IF we did all our servicing through the dealer. So we did all servicing through the dealer and a few months after the manufacturer's warranty expired, we had problems with the transmission. Dealer would not address via the manufacturer's warranty since it was expired. Third party didn't honour the lifetime powertrain warranty because we rotated the tires ourselves when putting on our snow tires instead of having the dealer do it and even though we run it by our dealer to confirm it was ok.

We ended up writing a polite WTF!?! letter appealing to the manufacturer.
And after repeated follow-ups, they finally ended up covering the parts and labour with the dealer in replacing the transmission.

 

[Ready]

Who does Carvana authorize to do the service on a Lexus? Will they pay Lexus dealership prices or try to get you to go through an independent mechanic?

A number of years ago I found a Lexus sales guy in the Midwest who was selling Lexus factory extended warranties for just a few dollars over cost, and substantially less than all of the local Lexus dealers. I paid $1,900 for 4 years of coverage. At the final year of coverage the control arms began to wear down and it looked like they were going to need to be replaced, which is typical in a Lexus LS. I got the dealership to cover it through the warranty which saved me $4,000. But I got lucky. If they had worn out just a few months later it would have been out of warranty.

 

[travelover]

........Third party didn't honor the lifetime powertrain warranty because we rotated the tires ourselves when putting on our snow tires instead of having the dealer do it and even though we run it by our dealer to confirm it was ok. .............

 

[Markola]

I go back to basics - I never insure against a loss I can easily sustain.

It is hilarious how the salesmen tell you what a wonderful car it is until you buy it, then get a sad face and tell you how unreliable and expensive the same car is to repair. Don't play their silly game.

Best Buy used to be very, very aggressive with pushing these pure-profit warranties in their electronics stores, to the point that I stopped going in them. I once got irritated and told the sales person, “If you guys didn’t sell junk, then I wouldn’t need the extra warranty.” He finally backed off.

Somehow, Best Buy seems to have gotten the message and, lately, they politely ask once, then drop it. It’s a far better customer experience.

 

[latexman]

I buy reliable cars, squeeze all I can out of the factory warranty, and am self-insured after that.

 

[Music Lover]

In effect, the Carvana Care will cover 4 yrs more starting 2022 in this case for $1125 or $23/month as the Manufacturer's Warranty will be in effect till 2022.

Although there is a good chance I may not use it, but a single repair usually costs around $500 as was the case in our 2010 Lexus Rx350 which we are trading in.

The new vehicle would need three $500 repairs in 8 years that are covered under the extended warranty (not the manufacturer's warranty) for you to come ahead. How many $500 repairs has your 11-year old Lexus had that a similar warranty would cover? Just the one?

 

[rkser]

The new vehicle would need three $500 repairs in 8 years that are covered under the extended warranty (not the manufacturer's warranty) for you to come ahead. How many $500 repairs has your 11-year old Lexus had that a similar warranty would cover? Just the one?

Our 2010 Lexus Rx 350 SUV had 1 repair cost of $850 for the Amplifier Replacement.
We did not elect to get the bad Rear Door (Trunk) ($300) pistons replaced, and the door needed a hand going up, and
The Engine Bonnet pistons went bad ($350) & needed the Rod for the Bonnet to be held up, which we did not repair.

All the above items went bad in the 7th tp 9th year, so yes no repairs needed for first 6- 7 years.
Carvana's Warranty Company is Silver Rock, which has good & bad reviews on the web.

The used Car is $40k purchase & the 5 year Silver Rock warranty which cannot be added later is $ 1125.
Lexus Warranty is around $250/month & Silver Rock Warranty is $23 a month.

Tempting & tough to decide.

 

[CRLLS]

I would approach the question this way. Assume for a moment that you bought the car new back in 2018 and now, 3 years later, the factory warranty has run out. Would you now seek a 3rd party warranty?

Disclosure: A few years ago, I bought a car from CarMax, off a 3 year lease and purchased a multi year FACTORY warranty from an online dealer. There are dealers out on the internet selling mfgr warranties well under MSRP. At least for Ford products. I would never (I think) buy a warranty other than one that is manufacturer-backed. I feel that as cars get more and more technical, nobody knows your car better than the mfgr and their dealers. Sometimes it is more than a strict financial decision of "Do I eventually come out ahead or behind?"

I still do my own brake service and such. I have rebuilt engines and restored cars, You name it, I probably have done it. And yet I did buy a mfgr warranty. For me, it was peace of mind that I was buying. With it, if something goes wrong, I don't have to stop what I am doing to repair the car. I don't have to search out a reputable repair shop in network. If something goes wrong while DW is driving, she only has to get it to the nearest Ford dealer and have them deal with it.

 

[CoolRich59]

I don't buy them. I buy reliable cars.

Yep. I went with my in-laws when they bought a Toyota Camry. When the salesguy started the pitch on the extended warranty, I cut him off and said 'no thanks' for them, adding 'the premium you pay for a Toyota is the extended warranty'.

 

[Dash man]

Some people don’t realize that manufacturers extended warranties are negotiable in price. I’ve gotten them for as much as 50% off the asking price. They know it’s a high profit item, because even if they sell it to you at cost, you’ll bring the car to them for service and warranty work, of which the warranty work gets billed to the manufacturer. It’s a win win situation for them even if sold at cost.

 

[braumeister]

Yep. I went with my in-laws when they bought a Toyota Camry. When the salesguy started the pitch on the extended warranty, I cut him off and said 'no thanks' for them, adding 'the premium you pay for a Toyota is the extended warranty'.

Right. When DW bought a new car a couple of weeks ago she insisted that I go with her because I'm "much more effective at telling them no".

It was a good idea because she was really tempted the way he laid it out (we all know they're good at it) but there was no pushback at all because he realized why I was there.

 

[Sunset]

Some people don’t realize that manufacturers extended warranties are negotiable in price. I’ve gotten them for as much as 50% off the asking price. They know it’s a high profit item, because even if they sell it to you at cost, you’ll bring the car to them for service and warranty work, of which the warranty work gets billed to the manufacturer. It’s a win win situation for them even if sold at cost.

I bought a $1,100 manufacturer warranty for my new Sienna I bought.
<Edit>: I felt after the purchase that I had made a stupid decision, based on the fear of repairing the sliding doors. </Edit>

Last time I brought the van in for oil change (I have them do it so they cannot deny repairs due to improper oil changes).

They found a bad boot and small oil transmission leak, which was covered and I think motivated by the warranty.

I checked under the van, and they did replace the boot, but no idea if it was needed.