Welcome to the forum LAR! It’s a really good question that is well discussed in the following linked thread.
Thread 'Extended Warranty'
Extended Warranty
Lots of opinions for and against extended warranties. Toyota Vehicle Service Agreement (VSA) is an extended warranty by Toyota Financial Services.
The top plan is Toyota Platinum VSA. It is basically an extension of the factory warranty once your factory warranty has expired. For me, I want my warranty to be factory bumper to bumper for ten years or 100k miles. Platinum plan ten years 100k miles is closest to that. That’s just me. Most people are fine with the factory warranty of three years or 36k miles. It’s an individual choice and only you can decide if it’s for you.
I would not recommend thinking of a new vehicle as an investment. That is just a phrase sales people use and it couldn’t be further from the truth. Vehicles are consumer goods that only depreciate. I wouldn’t recommend thinking of an extended warranty as “protecting an investment” either. That is just another phrase used by sales people and it’s deceptive. Think of an extended warranty as insurance to protect yourself from having to pay a large repair bill outside of warranty.
I can only speak for myself when I say that warranties have protected me several times. My current daily is an Audi Certified Pre Owned vehicle. Literally 6 days before my extended warranty expired my engine completely ate itself. It cost over $9600 for Audi to install a new long block (basically a new crate motor from Audi). If I had no warranty I would have had to pay all of that. It was fast and convenient and they gave me a loaner while they did the work. If I had a non factory warranty I imagine it would have been a pain in the ass to file a claim, and would probably not gotten a new motor from the manufacturer. It was all taken care of and I didn’t have any hassles or problems (other than my engine eating itself). Before that I had a Ram 1500 Eco Diesel. That engine failed why still under the original factory warranty. I don’t remember what it cost (covered under warranty) but it was traumatic enough that I told myself on the next vehicle (the Audi mentioned above) I would buy a factory extended warranty. That ended up being a wise choice.
In both of those vehicles I was just commuting home and my instrument cluster just turned into a Christmas Tree. Lights all over blinking and telling me to pull over safely. Recently I watched videos about people with similar experiences when their New Tundra’s suffered similar fates. I also have been following the transmission failures of the new Tacomas. For me it’s worth the $2230 for the ten years and 100k miles to cover anything like that happening outside of the three years and 36k miles. I will sleep soundly and not worry. Our Japanese made Land Cruisers are unlikely to have failures like the Tacomas and Tundras made in the Americas. For me the $2230 is a bargain for peace of mind backed by Toyota Financial. I think that warranty retails for $6500 so I understand the hesitation at retail. Okay, I really didn’t want to turn this thread into a why or should you but I also didn’t want to be rude and just refer you to the other thread. I hope this is helpful for you and I wish you the very best my LC friend!
