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I'm seriously considering purchasing a bumper to bumper (wear items excluded of course) warranty from Dealer Services for my '03 IS300.

Since the car just went out of factory warranty two months ago and only has 30,000 miles I qualify for 100k, 5 year coverage with a $100 deductable.

There seems to be very little committment considering they'll do, after a little bargaining and "first time buyer discounts", a $195 downpayment and $83.XX a month for 24 months with zero interest. This equates to $2200 total. Initially they proposed the same service at $2975.

Other perks include:
-a rental/loaner from the dealer or Enterprise up to one week
-free towing <150 mi.
-24 hr. roadside asst.
-right to cancel anytime and get a pro-rated refund based on mileage/time if I'm dissatisfied

This company seems fairly reputible being the largest in the nation and backed by the third largest bank, US Bank.

Any tips/ thoughts?

thanks!
Matt

Since the car your talking about (Lexus) isn't that likely too have a major problem in the next five years you are probably wasting your money. Buying a warranty like this is like gambling in Vegas, as in the house always wins.

If you really need some peace of mind, why not just take that $195 and open a savings account with it, then set up an automatic draft to put the $83 a month into that account. That way if something does go wrong you have a nest egg to pay for at least some of it. On the other hand if you get lucky and you don't experience any major problems in five years you'll have ~$2200 plus interest to spend on whatever you want.

Shawn (ps I hate extended warranties)

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OK so I'm back in. Now which tire should I buy??

I agree with 100% of what Shawn wrote.

And possibly the cheapest man alive agrees as well.

I will add that if you sell me your R, you'd have plenty of extra cash left over for those emergency IS300 repairs.

Jim

What they said...

Seriously, the 2JZGE is a pretty well established and reliable power plant. I wouldn't bother.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm still in limbo about the whole thing because I've got terrible luck with stuff breaking on my cars, except the ITR for some reason.

I had the clutch replaced at Lexus under warranty six months ago and they replaced all the surrounding components: bearing, pp, disk, and even the flywheel due to some rattling sound. Parts can crap out anytime I guess, even on Toyotas.

My interpretation is that the extended warranties are just serve as a 'pre-paid' safety net for the unexpected gremlins that always find me. Why they're scarred of the R, I'll never figure out but I'm not complaining...

Agreed. I wouldn't do it unless there is a known design flaw (ie. 90% of the transmissions dies at 80K) that you expect to not be covered by the normal warranty.

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

The only thing crazier than buying an extended warranty at that kind of price is *financing* one.

Shawn's post wasn't just some cute little analogy, it's a CORRECT analogy.


--Donnie

Well even with the one with the one my wife bought with her 2001 VW it was a slight loss. It gave her some peace of mind for a few hundred bucks by the time you levied all the totals. Not sure I'd ever agree getting one unless was for something like an M3 or a Porsche....even then?

When I bought my 540i it had a remainder of an extended warranty and a leaking valley pan gasket. After going through the labyrinthine phone maze and getting someone on the phone she couldn't even confirm if it would be covered under warranty since it wasn't covered by name in the description of what a cooling system "is". Her only recommendation was to have the work done and submit the paperwork to see if it was covered.

Turns out the cost of the parts needed was less than the deductible on the warranty. Plus I got to spend a couple of evenings bonding with the car

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

I am NOT advocating a purchase of a warranty, but I thought I'd share that Southern States VW always handled the warranty admin work and made it work. The few times that we had the car repaired, I always expected the dealer to not care and leave me hanging. Kudos to SS.

I guess I'd check around to see what the mid-life service history for items like the transmission (if auto), A/C - especially if has climate control and nav system and other fancy electronics, to see if there's a pattern of failure that would justify the warrantee. But at this point, I'd probably do as Shawn said and keep the money upfront. Besides, you might decide to trade...

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Art McDonald
Premier Amateur #518
2008 Dishman Cup
Pivot Cone Snob

Rodney is a waxer (but in a good way)

scamalamadingdong.

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RedLanternRacing, builders of the fastest cars in last place.
Success is not an option.
1981 Scirocco, "Vera"