Lexus Offering An Extended Warranty Through Assicated Dealers

[gizandra]

My 2008 Lexus RX350's warranty and maintenance plan expires December 24. The dealer is offering me an extended warranty plan that covers four years or 60,000 Miles. It is offered through Associated Dealers Warranty Corporation. Does anyone have experience with this plan? Is it worth the money?

[pj8708]

My 2008 Lexus RX350's warranty and maintenance plan expires December 24. The dealer is offering me an extended warranty plan that covers four years or 60,000 Miles. It is offered through Associated Dealers Warranty Corporation. Does anyone have experience with this plan? Is it worth the money?

Hi Gizandra, and welcome to the Lexus Owners Club!

Almost every dealer offers some form of extended warranty plan. It is a big profit maker for them. But, dependent on the circumstances, it can be a safe decision for the owner or a big waste of money.

First off, we need more information about the circumstances. How many miles are on your RX? So far, have you had the car serviced on a regular basis based upon the schedule in the owners manual or that recommended by the dealer? What repairs has the RX had since you owned it (any work at all)? How many miles do you drive a year and how long do you plan on keeping the car?

What were trying to do is determine what condition the RX is likely to be in, and what might be the likely hood of it needing repair in the future based upon the histories of other RX350's of the same year. Also, we need to know what your car is worth now. Once we know the mileage I can look that up for you. Again, How much money do want to invest in keeping a car going if the market value is steadily declining.

An extended warranty simply needs to be weighed between how much would I have to pay in repairs out of pocket between now and when 60,000 miles roll around, and how much the warranty cost. My guess is that you'll probably say no to the warranty.

Please collect you information should you decide you want to proceed and write back as soon as you wish.

Paul

[gizandra]

My 2008 Lexus RX350's warranty and maintenance plan expires December 24. The dealer is offering me an extended warranty plan that covers four years or 60,000 Miles. It is offered through Associated Dealers Warranty Corporation. Does anyone have experience with this plan? Is it worth the money?

Hi Gizandra, and welcome to the Lexus Owners Club!

Almost every dealer offers some form of extended warranty plan. It is a big profit maker for them. But, dependent on the circumstances, it can be a safe decision for the owner or a big waste of money.

First off, we need more information about the circumstances. How many miles are on your RX? So far, have you had the car serviced on a regular basis based upon the schedule in the owners manual or that recommended by the dealer? What repairs has the RX had since you owned it (any work at all)? How many miles do you drive a year and how long do you plan on keeping the car?

What were trying to do is determine what condition the RX is likely to be in, and what might be the likely hood of it needing repair in the future based upon the histories of other RX350's of the same year. Also, we need to know what your car is worth now. Once we know the mileage I can look that up for you. Again, How much money do want to invest in keeping a car going if the market value is steadily declining.

An extended warranty simply needs to be weighed between how much would I have to pay in repairs out of pocket between now and when 60,000 miles roll around, and how much the warranty cost. My guess is that you'll probably say no to the warranty.

Please collect you information should you decide you want to proceed and write back as soon as you wish.

Paul

Thanks Paul

The car has 36,000 miles. I put about 10,000 a year on it. I love this car and plan on keeping it at least another 4-5 years. It has received all scheduled maintenance checks. It is in impeccable condition, but does have a few scratches on the doors from carts, etc. We do not smoke nor do we allow others to smoke in my car. We live in south Florida and we do not garage the car.

the floor mats were replaced. It has brand new tires. We just bought a new battery. Other than that, this car is in great shape. It will cost 2600.00 for five years or 60,000 miles. It can be paid for on a monthly basis for 18 months with no interest. My husband is capable of doing most of the minor repairs,, change break pads, oil changes, other fluids. He does not do rear end alignments, or transmission work. Given the history of this car, I need to know what types of problems other owners are experiencing for the next 4 to 5 years and are they significant enough to purchase the warranty. Our dealer is very reliable and very customer friendly.

Thank you in advance for your response.

[pj8708]

Merry Christmas!...you two just saved $2600.00 dollars!!

If ever there was a an example of a owner/car that did not need an extended warranty, your it.

First off, you have maintained your RX just as you should. You have followed the factory scheduled maintenance as described. This means that all points of wear and those in need of attention have been cared for. Secondly, You put very few miles on your vehicle. Ten thousand a year is considered "low Mileage" by industry standards. Third, in four more years you will have 76,000 miles on the car. The spark plugs won't need to be changed until you have between 100,000-120,000 miles on it. You won't even have worn out the spark plugs yet! Additionally, the new battery should be good for another three years or so,(depending on climate and hard use). Your husband is able to replace the brake pads ( should be every 35-40k miles). This car is in excellent condition. The RX350 has been a reliable and well like part of the Lexus crossover family. It has a good history of low maintenance and good reliability.

In other words, in my opinion, I would not buy the extended warranty if it was my RX350. You would only be protecting yourself from a major loss such as a transmission failure or engine loosing all of it's oil at once while driving down the highway. Those repairs would cost more than $2600.00, so you can see that since the dealer/insurance company is only charging $2600.00 for the coverage they figure the likely hood of those things happening are pretty slim.

Paul