Extended Warranty

[RX400h]

If so, how much do they typically run? Is it true that you can buy it anytime before the original warranty runs out? The big question is: Is it worth the money?

[RX in NC]

In 35 years of owning vehicles I've never purchased an extended warranty. If you are inclined to take proper care of your automobile, the statistics generally show that extended warranties are a waste of money - those funds would be better allocated towards establishing a maintenance account for said vehicle.

But our RX300 AWD may be one vehicle for which an extended warranty could have proven beneficial. If I was not the aggressive, research-oriented, refuse-to-take-no-for-an-answer owner that I am, and Lexus had therefore not provided the $9,000+ in repairs to my wife's RX that it has to this point, then I would have been seriously up the creek with this vehicle from a financial perspective (and would have already dumped it and reluctantly accepted a significant depreciation hit).

Still, taking my total years of ownership experience into consideration, I won't purchase an extended warranty with a conventional vehicle. But your hybrid RX will be a very different animal, and there is really no track record or history to navigate by. It's a very tough call for you if you do indeed decide to go through with buying the vehicle. Personally, I would never buy the first version of ANY vehicle to use as my primary means of transportation. There's still far too much undetermined troubleshooting ahead to even know what to expect at this point, and the depreciation of a first-issue vehicle usually spells financial disaster unless you're lucky enough that it becomes a collectors' item. I think the 400h is going to turn out to be too pedestrian for that to have much of a chance of happening.

For those of you who decide to roll the dice and risk it, I hope that you won't be too badly burned when the dust settles a few years from now....

[Lexusfreak]

If so, how much do they typically run? Is it true that you can buy it anytime before the original warranty runs out? The big question is: Is it worth the money?

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It's a risk one takes either way. Having said that, I personally would only go with a 'Lexus' extended warranty (offered of course only at a Lexus dealer). I purchased it for my ES & I am covered until 120,000 miles (currently have about 58,000 miles). It's not cheap, but neither are major 'Lexus' components should they fail. I have not used it thus far, but it's there if I should ever need it. ;)

Either way, one of the most important things to have is ALL service & maintenance history on the vehicle from day 1 it went into service. If records are missing, it would be a no brainer to get the extended coverage or find another vehicle. Good Luck! B)

[PizzaTurtle]

For those who have bought the Lexus Extended Warranty, would you mind to share how much you paid (and info about Platinum or Gold plan, and the year model of your car)? Just wanna have an idea how much we can bargain with the dealer for the extended warranty.

Regarding to when is the last time you can purchase the extended warranty. A dealer told me that as long as the car is under 12K miles, it can be purchased.

Thanks in advance!

[JDC]

The RX300 is known as a reliable vehicle as was my Acura CL and my Cadillac Fleetwood. With the Acura I had no intention of buying the extended warranty - my wife convinced me otherwise and it paid off in spades. Both rear brake caliper housings cracked (Cdn$1000), the radiator (Cdn$842), front ABS sensor (Cdn$500), and a couple of other things. It's a 98 with only 89K KM's on it. The Cadi proved most reliable with only the disk brakes and starter going over 8 years.

Rightly or wrongly I did buy the extra 2 years for the RX. The dealer almost tried to talk me out it.

The key is it's insurance. You may not need it, like any insurance policy, then again it may pay off time and time again. It's a gamble like many business decisions.

[monarch]

I have a million miles of Toyota driving experiece and would never ever pay for an extended warranty. Instead I put a little extra money into performing scheduled preventive maintenance more often than suggested in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide and always using genuine Toyota parts, fluids and filters. When a Toyota / Lexus vehicle is maintained in this way, mechanical wear and tear is reduced to very low levels so the chance of ever needed an out-of-warranty repair is very low too. The extra maintenance also optimizes vehicle reliability, engine power and fuel economy.

[RX400h]

For those who have bought the Lexus Extended Warranty, would you mind to share how much you paid (and info about Platinum or Gold plan, and the year model of your car)?  Just wanna have an idea how much we can bargain with the dealer for the extended warranty.

Regarding to when is the last time you can purchase the extended warranty.  A dealer told me that as long as the car is under 12K miles, it can be purchased.

Thanks in advance!

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...just a bit over $2400 for 7 years, 100,000 miles if purchased at time of auto purchase. If you don't buy it then, the price goes up $300 per year.

[Lexusfreak]

For those who have bought the Lexus Extended Warranty, would you mind to share how much you paid (and info about Platinum or Gold plan, and the year model of your car)?  Just wanna have an idea how much we can bargain with the dealer for the extended warranty.

Regarding to when is the last time you can purchase the extended warranty.  A dealer told me that as long as the car is under 12K miles, it can be purchased.

Thanks in advance!

←

...just a bit over $2400 for 7 years, 100,000 miles if purchased at time of auto purchase. If you don't buy it then, the price goes up $300 per year.

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WOW! I paid $1700 (Canadian) for the top Lexus extended coverage for the same amount of time & mileage :o B)

[RX400h]

  But your hybrid RX will be a very different animal, and there is really no track record or history to navigate by.  It's a very tough call for you if you do indeed decide to go through with buying the vehicle.  Personally, I would never buy the first version of ANY vehicle to use as my primary means of transportation.  There's still far too much undetermined troubleshooting ahead to even know what to expect at this point, and the depreciation of a first-issue vehicle usually spells financial disaster unless you're lucky enough that it becomes a collectors' item.  I think the 400h is going to turn out to be too pedestrian for that to have much of a chance of happening.

For those of you who decide to roll the dice and risk it, I hope that you won't be too badly burned when the dust settles a few years from now....

←

I must remind everyone that the RX400h is not even close to being the first of its kind. It uses the same technology as does the Prius, including the CVT tranny. Do you remember when Lexus came out with the first LS400? It was the first V8 engine that Toyota ever dropped in a car, yet it was extremely reliable right from the start. Nissan coupled a CVT tranny in the very potent Murano SUV. Consumer Reports rates it as very reliable. It was their first CVT here in the US.

So, "roll the dice" is, in my opinion, not a very accurate way to decribe the purchase of the latest Lexus. I believe that Toyota wil stand behind every one they sell and should some catastrophic failure occur (highly unlikely, given the excellent reliability of the Prius), I am certain they will make things good.

That being said, I must also thank everyone for their opinions. All are well-taken.

[kh046]

Can I still get extended warranty even if my vehicle is over 20K? It's barely 1 and a half years old (RX330). How much will it cost? I don't know if there are any fellow Fresnans here on the posts. However, if you have dealt with Fresno Lexus, about how much is there extended warranty? Thanks.

[cruznroadking]

I bought the extended on my first Lexus which was a 1990 LS400. I kept this car for many years & the extended warranty came in handy. They paid for leaking air suspension shocks which paid for the price of the warranty. I did not purchase it on my last 2 RX's because I lease now & get a new car every 3 years. It's worth while if you plan on keeping the car for a 100,000 miles which is the length of the warranty.

[Lexusfreak]

  But your hybrid RX will be a very different animal, and there is really no track record or history to navigate by.  It's a very tough call for you if you do indeed decide to go through with buying the vehicle.  Personally, I would never buy the first version of ANY vehicle to use as my primary means of transportation.  There's still far too much undetermined troubleshooting ahead to even know what to expect at this point, and the depreciation of a first-issue vehicle usually spells financial disaster unless you're lucky enough that it becomes a collectors' item.  I think the 400h is going to turn out to be too pedestrian for that to have much of a chance of happening.

For those of you who decide to roll the dice and risk it, I hope that you won't be too badly burned when the dust settles a few years from now....

←

I must remind everyone that the RX400h is not even close to being the first of its kind. It uses the same technology as does the Prius, including the CVT tranny. Do you remember when Lexus came out with the first LS400? It was the first V8 engine that Toyota ever dropped in a car, yet it was extremely reliable right from the start. Nissan coupled a CVT tranny in the very potent Murano SUV. Consumer Reports rates it as very reliable. It was their first CVT here in the US.

So, "roll the dice" is, in my opinion, not a very accurate way to decribe the purchase of the latest Lexus. I believe that Toyota wil stand behind every one they sell and should some catastrophic failure occur (highly unlikely, given the excellent reliability of the Prius), I am certain they will make things good.

That being said, I must also thank everyone for their opinions. All are well-taken.

←

The RX400h is still much different technology than the Prius & hybrids are still very new in the marketplace all things considered & still in their 'infant' stage if you will. Sure they are reliable & should continue to be. I wait 7 - 10 years from now & wonder what things will bring then. The test of time will be the real proof, unfortunately, the vehicle will be out of warranty including the battery. I just hope the prices of replacements have come down large by then. ;)

[patt]

...just a bit over $2400 for 7 years, 100,000 miles if purchased at time of auto purchase. If you don't buy it then, the price goes up $300 per year.

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The Lexus site has list price of $2150 for the Platnum 7 years/100,000 miles no deductable and $1775 for Gold for the same term. At list price that seems pretty steep considering that it is just covering 30,000 miles over the original warranty on the powertrain and 50,000 on the rest.

I know that when I bought my Toyota Camry about 10 years ago I got it for about half list price. At a discounted price, it seemed like a good idea. I went home and totaled my service costs for my previous Toyota - items during the period added up to enough over the price to make it seem like a good idea. It turned out that I would have been better off to not get the extended warranty. Almost nothing broke during the period. One of the things that did break, they at first said wasn't covered, but I brought in the policy and in the end they did cover it.

For the Rx400, the hybrid system warranty goes out to 8 years/100,000 miles so the Extended Warranty isn't buying any additional protection for those components.

At full price, the Extended Warranty seems like a poor bet. Even with a discounted price, I may not get it.

kh046, the website says a car is eligable for the warranty up to 3 years/36,000 miles.

[scoobie]

The Lexus site has list price of $2150 for the Platnum 7 years/100,000 miles no deductable 

Here's another take on it, let's say you drive an average of 14000 miles a year (so 7 years just about equal 100,000 miles). You'd use up the original warranty on the power train in 5 years (70,000 miles).

Option 1: Instead of purchasing the extended warranty you put that $2150 into an investment that yields 8% (conservative, I think), then in 5 years you'll have about $3159.

Option 2: If you buy the warranty, then at the end of 5 years you'll have the peace of mind that your car's major components are covered for the next 2 years (at this point you can average 15000 miles per year).

So it seems what you're really buying is just 2 additonal years of coverage for $3159.

[RX400h]

Well, I figure it this way - As long as I don't have loan payments at the time the factory warranty is exhausted, I shouldn't have a problem with repairs. Therefore, I passed on the $2400 extended warranty. Thanks for the advice, Patt and Scoobie!

[Lexusfreak]

Best of luck! B)

[RyanLBart]

You can see how much a warranty will cost at http://www.lexus.com/models/warranty_vehic...tion/index.html

I am waiting for my Lexus to arrive, but I currently have a BMW. I bought my extended warranty on my BMW (after market) for $2,000 and I bet the warranty company has paid out at least $7,000 towards my car. It was a LIFE-SAVER! If you ever decide to sell the car, you can either transfer the warranty or get a portion of the initial investment back. I plan on buying one when my Lexus arrives!

Ryan.

[Dave_02RX300]

The CeritifiedPreOwned warranty for my 02 was part of the purchase price: it runs 3yrs bumper to bumper (factory warranty) or up to 100kmi (not likely with me driving less than 7kmi/year).

But the dealer offered to EXTEND that for 1 extra year for about 1200-1300$.

I declined.