Extra Care Platinum Plan

[Buford5]

Greetings! I am a new owner of a previously owned RX 350 that has gone through the dealer certification process.  I will be picking the vehicle up in a few days and their financial guy has been pushing hard on the extended care platinum extended warranty.  It's not cheap to repair any vehicle these days and possibly a little more so for a Lex!  Just wondering if there are any of you learned scholars out there that has a strong opinion on purchasing this "insurance" one way or another.  Thanks in advance for any help or discussion.

[Lexus Owners Club]

Hi....welcome to the Club

Its a tough one as Lexus are generally incredibly well built and reliable but equally there could be a major issue that would require many dollars being paid out of your pocket if you don't have the insurance.

Me personally,  I would probably waive the insurance as any inherent issue would be covered under their initial sale warranty and any remaining manufacturers warranty period. 

Another thing to consider is that a lot of issues could be rejected as 'wear and tear' which is excluded from the policy.
As long as it is maintained as it should be then I would not be too phased about taking the insurance.

[Buford5]

As I noted above, we purchased a Lexus Certified 2018 RX 350 after looking at several at different dealers and lots.  We made our decision on a vehicle and were brought to meet with the dealers financial guy to determine how we would be paying and to sign the necessary paperwork.  Our vehicle had about 5mos remaining on the original factory warranty and two years on the Lexus Certified warranty.  Little did I realize that we were about to receive a somewhat lengthy sales presentation for the various extended warranty (insurance) plans that Lexus offers.  Now, I've been around long enough to not be surprised by this, but I was a little surprised by the intensity.  It started with the rep offering the Platinum Plan for $3,000 and I informed him I was not interested.  After several minutes of additional "sales" points the price suddenly dropped to $2025, IF.... IF...I agreed to purchase the plan today!!  Well, my BS alarm went off immediately at the URGENT need to make a decision and I explained I would not be making the purchase at this time.  The rep indicated that he was really surprised at my decision as it was "very expensive" to get a lexus repaired and continued to press for a bit longer until I stated I was not going to make the decision until I could look into it further.

Since that initial encounter I have done some research on different sites and have come to realize a couple of things: First, It is not necessary to purchase this product at the time of vehicle purchase.  In fact, by bundling this cost into your purchase price you will be paying interest on the cost of the insurance and what if you sell the vehicle before you get out of the factory warranty?  Secondly, you can purchase these insurance plans from other Lexus dealers and it may pay to "shop around" a little bit.  The insurance is tied to the vehicle, not the dealer and will be honored by Lexus dealers regardless of where it was purchased.  My plan is to make sure my vehicle is regularly maintained and near the end of my current warranty I will make the decision to purchase or not.  Maybe this will help someone else going through the decision-making process.

[RX400h]

I've posted this link, quite a few times within the last few years.

Should You Get an Extended Warranty for Your Car? - Consumer Reports

Essentially, if you insist on buying a known unreliable brand (like Tesla, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Chevrolet, Ford, etc), then an extended warranty may be a good idea. Better yet, skip buying a vehicle from one of the aforementioned companies, altogether.

I went through the same type of sales pitches you did when my daughter was buying her first new car, a Subaru.
Your intuition is right in that if the salesperson is pushing hard to get you to sign, then the dealership profit margin is almost definitely very high, due to infrequent use of the policy by the consumer.
I advised her to keep saying no.

One of my sisters recently bought a used Lexus and the sales/finance person did the same thing. She called me and of course, I told her that she should pass. 
You did the right thing.