Where can I buy a Prius Extended Warranty?Dave, at the end of your Extended Service Contracts: pro-business, anti-consumer article, you said "with the extended service contract for my Toyota Prius, if you are convinced that you want to buy the warranty, shop around and find the best price: you have an entire year after purchase to extend the warranty and certainly don't need to be pressured into it by a salesperson at the point of purchase." We are looking for the best price on this extended warranty and are wondering where you found the best price? Is the dealer where the car was purchased bound to honor a warranty that was purchased elsewhere? Let me answer this by quoting a different article I wrote on this subject: I bought a 2004 Toyota Prius almost 18 months ago now, sat on the waiting list for months and months, and finally got a ride into John Elway Toyota of Denver, Colorado to complete the paperwork and pick up my new vehicle. The price wasn't negotiable, so the transaction should have been easy and straightforward, and it was. Until we got to the extended warranty... The thing is, with a major redesign for the 2004 model and an overall hybrid design that hasn't yet been in the field for five years, I was a bit anxious about the long-term reliability of the entire (quite complex) electrical system on the Prius, so I really did want an extended warranty. Turns out that John Elway Toyota is part of AutoNation, so their spiel is that everything's already at the bottom price they can go, and that it's all a good deal because, well, they sell lots of cars and you should trust them. Yeah. Trust a car dealership. The seven year, 75,000 mile, zero deductible extended warranty was what I was interested in, and they showed me an invoice for about $2000 for this addition, but could discount it to $1750. Okay, I say, let's do it. We wrote up the paperwork, I signed it, and drove home in my new Prius, the most wonderful car I've ever owned. That night I got curious and poked around on the net, to see how much extended warranties should cost. What I found out surprised the heck out of me: you can buy an extended warranty from any authorized Toyota dealership in the United States, at any time before the standard warranty expires. Further research produced a bunch of different salespeople at Toyota dealerships around the United States, folk who would be happy to sell an extended warranty at a significant discount. On a whim, I called Troy Dietrich at Toyota of Greenfield (Massachusetts) and asked him about how much his dealership would charge me for an extended warranty on a 2004 Toyota Prius. His quoted price: $750. Wow! I was floored, and the next morning I called John Elway Toyota and said I'd changed my mind about the extended warranty and needed to have them rewrite all the paperwork. They grumbled, but they did, and that afternoon I went back to the dealership and signed the new paperwork, sans warranty. Finally, a few months later (since there was no rush), I called up Troy and this time he said that it'd cost me $690.00 for the 7/75/0 warranty on my Prius. I said "you got a deal!" and faxed him a signed mileage statement, a copy of my vehicle registration (including the all-important vehicle identification number, the VIN), and my contact information. Three weeks later, I received my extended warranty from Toyota corporate and was darn pleased with myself for saving $1060 on my warranty. If you're in the same situation with a newly-purchased car, I encourage you to call a few out-of-state dealers to see if they'll sell you a factory extended warranty for less than your dealer. If you have a Toyota, you're also welcome to call Troy Dietrich at (413) 772-0231. Tell him "Dave Taylor sent me". :-) Finally, it's a generic Toyota warranty, so there's no way for your dealer to know where it came from, and even if they did, they're contractually obligated to honor it and perform the services you need.
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Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader. Picking my jaw up off the ground here..... WOW!!!! I am so glad that I decided to do some browsing on Prius stuff and subsequently, extended warranties. I can't even believe it. Just 2 days ago, I paid a whoppin' $1976.00 for my Toyota Extra Care Platinum Warranty!!!! I am definitely going to follow your advice here!!! Thank you TONS!!! -Bren :) P.S. I LOVE my Prius!! :) Posted by: Brenda at July 3, 2005 8:39 AMSaw your comments on the Toyota Extended Warranty. I have an 06 Scion xB on order. Will the extended warranty they try to sell me be a warranty from Toyota or one special for Scion? In other words, could I contact Troy Dietrich for a warranty that would cover my Scion? Thank you very much for your help. Posted by: Bill Morris at November 5, 2005 7:51 PMDon't know for sure, Bill, but it seems reasonable that Dietrich should be able to help you with a Scion warranty too. Good luck! Posted by: Dave Taylor at November 6, 2005 2:46 AMRemember that Oregon has NO sales tax! I bought an extended warranty for my father's Cadillac from a Portland dealer and will do the same for my Prius. I live in New Jersey. Gotta save where we can. Posted by: Peggy at November 9, 2005 5:18 PMThanks, Dave, for providing such great info, particularly alternative sources for Prius warranties. When my gas guzzling Sienna (which I loved!) was smashed, egg-rolled 1-1/4 times, and ultimately wrapped around a telephone pole by a side blow from an errant school bus (no kids on the bus and no grandchildren in my van, thank god!), I was provided with the opportunity to Go Green. I felt safer in the Sienna, and it did save my life. After a month, I'm beginning to appreciate the way the Prius handles and I love love loved watching the 40+ mileage on my first tank of gas. Troy Dietrich at Greenfield Toyota was great, and getting the warranty from him was a painless process. He apologized for the slight increase in warranty price, bringing it up to $695. Though it's true that all approved Toyota dealers must honor the warranty for repair services, it is worth noting that STEP 1 of the process to submit claims (page 6) explicity states: "Contact your selling dealer for all repair work. If this is not possible, then YOU MUST (caps mine) contact the Administrator PRIOR TO PROCEEDING WITH REPAIRS (caps theirs)." Posted by: elaine at February 4, 2006 2:01 PMYou can also find good deals on Warranties from companies online such as The Auto Club (www.theautoclub.com). I paid almost 40% less for my Toyota warranty using them. Just make sure to check to see if they are backed by an A+ rated insurance company or you can stand to lose your coverage if they go under. Posted by: Mark "Warranty" Peterson at June 16, 2006 3:58 PMThank you so much for providing such great info on alternative sources for Prius warranties After substantial research, I elected to purchase the Toyota Extended Service for a VERY new, 2006 Prius (Platinum 6/100,000/0 was the best fit for me). Toyota lists the plan at $1675. The dealer where we bought the car offered it at $1475. I contacted Troy Dietrich at Toyota and Ford of Greenfield [(413)773-5455] and joined his many happy customers at $875. Troy was great to work with and easy to manage the deal long distance. I am certainly happy to offer my high praise to what many others have reported here. Posted by: T Teller at August 8, 2006 12:27 PMI read with great interest about buying my own warranty. I'm a little concerned about the part that says to contact the "administrator" prior to proceeding with repairs. Could someone advise me who and where that is, and if can they refuse to do any work because you did not THEIR warranty. Of course I would hate to buy the warranty only to find out no Honda dealer will honor it where I live. Thanks Posted by: Dennis Rios at September 1, 2006 11:03 AMJust recieved my warranty from Troy. $880.00 for a Platinum 7/100000/0. This iwas on a 2006 TRD 4X4 Tacoma. What a bargain! Hope I never have to use it. Glad I found your comment. Always greatful for a bargain, Thanks so much for the tip! I called Troy this morning, and he offered me the 7 year/75,000 mile warranty for $695, and the 7 year/100,000 mile warranty for $990. My husband and I are delighted to have saved over $900 off of the dealer "discounted" price. I'm picking up my Prius this evening and couldn't be happier. Thanks again! Posted by: Christine at September 29, 2006 11:42 PMI've read that there is a law in California that prevents anyone other than the selling dealer to quote or sell an extended warranty? Is that true? I read your article about getting an extended warranty for a Prius (which I will get in a few days), so I really would like to know if I can get the extended warranty the way you describe it. Thanks, Troy Dietrich (Toyota of Greenfield - 413-772-0231) was wonderful offering me 7 year/100K miles/$0 deductible warranty for our sweet 2007 Prius. I would highly recommend him and glad to have checked the internet. Thanks, Hello, Just out of curiousity, has anyone ever had to USE their Toyota Platinum warranty?? Reading the above post on the 2007 Matrix 7 year 75K 0 deductible warranty I must say I just bought a 2007 matrix and got a 7 year 75K 0 deductible warranty from Crown Automotive for only 499.00. That's much cheaper than $570.00 I called over 13 dealerships and Crown was the cheapest. If you are buying a car next year they are lowering their warranty cost even more in 2007. Check out their webpage www.crowntoyotawarranites.com Call and ask for Neil @ 785 691 6149, or simply send him an e mail at neil@crownautomotive.com Tell them Kevin sent you. Posted by: Kevin Poole at December 15, 2006 8:42 AMHey this is Neil Hull and I have moved to the number one Toyota dealership in the midwest. We are #1 out of 75 Toyota dealerships for 9 years straight, and with that I can give even deeper discounts on extended warranties and service plans. For any Warrant, GAP insurance or vehicle needs drop me an e-mail at neilh@molletoyota.com Neil Hull CIO I contacted Neil Hull at Molle Toyota and purchased a factory Toyota Platinum warranty for our new Prius at a huge discount over what our local dealer could offer. Neil was great to work with- very responsive and straight forward- I would highly recommend anyone who is considering purchasing an extended warranty for their Toyota to call him first before committing to anything. I called Neil Hull at Molle Toyota and it could not have been easier for our brand new 2007 Prius. Very responsive, best price, quick turnaround.....the absolute best. Posted by: Linda at April 27, 2007 1:22 PMI have been told that in California you can only by the extended warranty form the selling dealer. Is this correct? Posted by: Jesse at July 9, 2007 3:12 PMYou can buy your extended care agreement from any Toyota dealership. All Toyota dealerships purchase them from Toyota Financial Services. You are not required to contact any before having your warranty work performed. The dealership performing the work contacts Toyota to authorize the work. The dealership performing the work prefers you to have bought the warranty from them because most dealerships loose money on warranty repairs. This is what drives some dealerships to swear that you must buy it there. So if in the future you do need to use it, they have made some profit up front in the sale of the warranty. Feel free to e-mail me for any questions and the straight scoop on purchasing your extended care, or maintenance services. I promise great prices and the best customer service in the industry. Neil Hull CIO I am purchasing an 07 Tundra and after much research, wheelin' n' dealin' I have them down to the price I want. Next we discussed the extended warranty (I am cursed when it comes to cars so it has always paid off). I was told unless I buy it at the time of purchase it will cost me $2200 because then the truck is considered used but they are willing to "knock off $300" just for me so it will only cost me $1680. Is this true or was I flat out lied to in order to get me to purchase the warranty? After reading all these posts and getting some numbers and names to check out, I am going to look around. I appreciate your feedback. Cory, You do not have to purchase the extended care plan at time of purchase. You have up to 36 months or 36K miles to buy it. Sounds like your dealership is pressuring you into a corner. Feel free to drop me an email and I would be glad to clear up or answer any questions you can think of. Neil Hull CIO
In January 2008, I bought a Platinum Extended Warranty for my new 2008 Toyota Highlander from Neil Hull @ Molle Toyota @ 816-942-5200 Everything went smooth--no complications. THANK YOU NEIL. rj Posted by: rj at February 24, 2008 10:02 AMHas anyone had to use the extended warranty on a Prius? I'm about to buy a 2008. Thanks! Posted by: Andrea at March 10, 2008 2:26 PMIt was mentioned to me that Toyota warranties may only be extended through Toyota. I was told it it unlawful for any outside (non Toyota) warranty company to extend a Toyota warranty in California. Is this true? Posted by: kelly at May 1, 2008 5:32 PMJust bought my 7 yr / 75K mile extended warranty from Neil Hull at Molle Toyota. Very happy with the low price of $645. My local dealership couldn't touch it. Thanks Neil! Not sure if the previous poster's question was in regards to this, but Neil is at a Toyota dealership and is selling Toyota warranties. Posted by: Steve at May 13, 2008 3:21 PMHi, I am looking to purchase a 7yr/100K/$0 ded Toyota platinum extended warranty for 2009 Camry LE this week. Can someone suggest what they have recently paid for that? I am planning to contact Neil of Molle Toyota and Troy of Greenfield Toyota this week. Thanks, I have a lot to say, but ...
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