Auto extended warranty

[radhak]

Do I need to buy extended warranty for my 2008 RAV4?

I checked online and find a 100,000 miles/ 6 year extended (ie, upto end-of-2014) from WarrantyDirect for about $1200.

It's a bumper-to-bumper 'exclusive' coverage - which means they explicitly mention what they exclude from coverage, instead of listing what is covered. CarBuyingTips.com says it's the best possible, better than from the dealership, for coverage and price.

But even before that - do I really need it? Do you have one?

[Daryl]

Depends, is it under manufactures warranty?
If you have an interference engine I would say to get the warranty unless it is specifically covered by the manufacturer.

[KLF]

Consumer Reports always recommends declining those warranties, and I have to agree. Toyota makes a good product (it's all I buy) and the RAV is one of their better ones, so it's a safe gamble that nothing serious will happen. They tried to sell me one for our Highlander, it was insanely expensive. I had to just about get up and walk out to get them to produce the place where I could sign to decline it. I'll never go back to that dealership again.

I would never get one, but besides the obvious reliability of the brand, there's nothing that could fail on most vehicles that I would hesitate fixing myself.

[KLF]

Depends, is it under manufactures warranty?
If you have an interference engine I would say to get the warranty unless it is specifically covered by the manufacturer.

Not knowing the engine in the RAV for sure, Toyota generally has a policy that if it has a timing belt, then it is non-inteference-fit. If it is driven by a chain, then it is inteference-fit. The one engine that breaks that tradition is the 1HZ V8 that is in the Tundra, Sequoia, and Land Cruiser.

That being said, timing belts are MUCH more reliable than they used to be. Toyota generally recommends replacement every 90,000 miles on their belts now, but I know of many folks that have gone 120K-150K with no problems, and they still looked new when they were replaced.

[dbhost]

I don't know about the RAV4, but my ex MIL had a Tercel that would put the most loyal Toyota buyer back into the American auto camp... Made 1980s Chevy's look like good cars...

I got the 100K exclusive warranty on my -04 F150 when I bought it at Car Max only because I had no clue what the history of the truck was. I am glad I bought it. I had a prior maintenance induced transmission failure at 45K miles. With my truck being 4x4, the R&R itself ran nearly $1K.

[crokett]

I bought one for the Vibe. It paid for itself after the 36k mile factory warranty expired and I needed the O2 sensors replaced.

I also bought one for the van. I may never need it but

a) it is deductible
b) assuming I do it is easier to pay for the repairs over time
c) makes budgeting for the repairs much easier and more predictable.
d) unlike KLF short of an oil change there isn't much I care to do on a car myself.

[KLF]

The Tercel is their "bottom of the barrel" model to get kids onto the lot. Very cheaply made, I would never buy one either. Thankfully, it's gone from the lineup now.

The RAV4 is based on the Corolla, which is one of the most reliable cars ever made. I've owned 4 of them, my daughter has a '93 now that she mistreats daily, yet it still keeps going.

[radhak]

I was told this RAV4 does not have a timing belt, so changing of that; but does that make the engine less reliable? Not sure about engine coverage specifics.

The manuf. warranty is still alive, for the next 3 years/ till 36000 miles, ie, another 16k miles, apart from the powertran warranty which is for 5 year/60k miles.

I am not a car-guy; David is better than me; the best I've done is fill the cooler-fluid-whatchamacallit in the past (and boy did I feel empowered )...

[Sparky2002]

Be Careful

I can't say whether this vehicle needs one, but I will warn you of my misadventures with online car warranties. I purchased a used 2002 Explorer in 2005. I wanted some peace of mind so I found an online warranty outfit called 1stsource. I got the whole bumper to bumper package. I was afraid a sensor would end up doing me in at the dealer. Instead a few months after my purchase the Attorney General of Hawaii did them in; forced them to close up shop. There was a class action lawsuit, but I was still without a warranty. I just want to warn you to be careful and choose wisely.

[herb fellows]

Sorry to disagree, but I had a Tercel as a second car, mostly used by my wife. We put 130k on it, then gave it to a medical student who needed transportation and he proceeded to put another 50k on it.
An extended warranty is something that if you don't get and then you need it, you regret not getting it.
On the other hand, I've owned nothing but Toyota's since 1974, Tercel, Corolla and Camry. In 34 years, I have never had a repair of any failed part. Once, on a 1997 Camry, an ignition wire came loose in the steering wheel. I found it and fixed it myself.
If you're looking for reliable, I don't think you can beat Toyota.

[KLF]

I was told this RAV4 does not have a timing belt, so changing of that; but does that make the engine less reliable? Not sure about engine coverage specifics.

Toyota doesn't have a specific replacement interval for timing chains. Their lifespan is directly related to how it was treated, mostly based on the oil change intervals and how the car was driven. What you are supposed to do is listen to the engine as it gets older, if it starts rattling at startup this indicates the tensioner is wearing out. You check the chain for stretch when the rest of the engine is apart, if it's beyond the allowable then you replace it.

As long as you change the oil frequently and not take it on a lot of short trips, then that chain should last well over the 100,000 miles that any warranty will cover.

[Kristofor]

If you opt to purchase an extended warranty, check out rav4world.com's forums.

There's usually a thread about a specific Toyota dealership that will sell the extended warranties much cheaper than MSRP. If you still want to purchase from the local guys, this would at least give you an idea about how low they could go and still make money on the transaction.

Kristofor.

[LCHIEN]

Once again I look at extended warranties as a form of insurance...
Insurance is intended to spread risk around for calamities that would be too great to bear if it happened to you. The insurer bears the risk but sells so many policies he actually makes a profit since few will actually suffer a big loss.
Car maintenenace can be burdensome if a serious problem (transmission, $2000) happened to you. But, it should hardly be too great to bear. If nothing else trade in on a used car that runs. Meanwhile the insurer makes money.
Finally, you have to realize, your car is probably covered for 3 to 6 years with new car warranty. You are actually buying a warranty for the last 4 to 7 years only. And with time value of money, your $1200 now may be worth $1800 by then if invested or saved. Not to mention if you car is stolen or totalled or (maybe sold, are they transferable?) you will have lost the future value of the insurance with no recovery.

[Ed62]

Loring has a good point in the 4 - 7 years coverage. Personally, I would not buy the warranty.

Ed

[stormdog74]

I agree with Loring. Warranties are like the lottery in that you only hear about the ones that pay off - people don't brag about the expensive warranty they bought and never used. From a mathematical perspective, warranties are very bad deals for the consumer - it is highly unlikely you will gain much beyond the money you put into it. If a warranty costs $1000 and you are "lucky" enough to have a $1200 repair, then you have gambled $1000 to save $200. And even a case like that is probabilistically unlikely.

Also, I remember my father spending a lot of money on one and when it came time to use it the company had gone out of business. The dealer sold the warranty, but it was a separate company that handled it. I heard that this was a common thing with those companies - collect a lot of money, go out of business, and then set up a new company. At least that was how some of them worked back then.