Extended warranty vs. Mechanical breakdown insurance

Aloha everyone. Picking up my first Tacoma TRD sport 2018 today. Excited is an understatement. Stumbled upon this forum and absolutely love it, you guys rock.

Hoping you can help with my question on whether to get an extended warranty versus getting mechanical breakdown insurance?

The extended warranty through Toyota is for 7 years and I believe ~$2000. The mechanical breakdown insurance through Geico is quoted at $15/every 6 months and covers 7 years/100K miles. Basically the same coverage in terms of bumper to bumper with standard exclusions. Only downside is $250 deductible for each claim with Geico.

I'm leaning towards the mechanical breakdown insurance simply because of the price. But I'm skeptical and don't wanna get duped.

Any suggestions/opinions?

 

Read the fine print. All of it. For both. That is a hefty price delta.

And keep in mind that on a 7/100 you really should subtract the std 3/36, so your price is actually for a 4/64.

If you are a 'keep my ride 20 years' type, it *may* be worthwhile. If you have your head turned easily by a shiny new bauble every couple of years, forget it.

I bought an extended warranty on one new vehicle I bought, and it more than paid for itself. But it was a late 80's Ford.

I never buy extended warranties on anything else I purchase, and to date, I've never wished I had.

 

aloha back at you from maui. shop the internet you might find a toyota dealer will to sell you the extended warranty at a discount. i got mine for $700. 7/75K on the internet. since then they hare hard to find but give it a try. also go to the dealer and just ask what is your best price, try more than one dealer. i will PM you with the person where i got mine give it a try, tell him you are in hawaii and too expensive here. look for my PM

 

Not for any reason should you buy any manner of extended warranty from a dealership.

 

I believe our Tacoma's already have 5 year 60K drivetrain warranties so you would get 2 extra year and 40K miles .
Depending on what it really covers it seems pretty cheap . 7years at $30 a year is only $210 .

 

Um, as a former VW and Ford owner, I disagree. Both of them more than paid for themselves...like two or three times more easily. Now as a toyota owner I bought a 5/100k one for $750. Maybe I wasted $750 dollars cause Toyotas are bullet proof...but I beat my vehciles and drive them hard, so I'm willing to take that bet.

 

you did the right thing.

 

Welcome to the forum, like others have said, shop around because $2k is too high. I paid $1,400 for mine and could have gotten it cheaper if I was willing to work at it. Never used one on any of my Toyota’s but an extended warranty saved my butt on a Dodge once.

 

I wasn't going to get one, they introduced me to the finance guy early on, and he started yapping about it. I told him I wasn't getting it, not happening, have a good time I'll see you in a bit. Once I got into his office to sign all the papers, he told me "I'm gonna make it so you have to get it". I'm wondering what he would have charged me if I was more receptive the first time we talked. It wasn't a negotiation tactic, just dumb luck.

 

Both are forms of insurance, which means on average you will lose money with either option. I'd recommend the Geico plan because typically you can afford repairs under $250. Leave the warranty for the $$$$ big-ticket items (rear diff grenades, head gasket leaks, etc. after the powertrain warranty expires).

 

Haha is funny how even sided these threads normally are. Some say its a waste of money some say it'd be stupid not to have.

I'm in the waste of money camp. Especially on a Toyota Tacoma

 

I normally fall in the no warranty camp, haha, but this time I bought it. It’s covered until 120000 km. Big warranty repairs don’t usually happen when the truck is new but later on, like the day the warranty expires, haha. Modern vehicles have a lot of electronic equipment in them that’s almost harder and more expensive to repair than mechanical components. If any of this stuff goes down it can be a hassle and hard to fix in your driveway. I got a good overall deal on the truck, but it’s hard to tell what you’re true itemized cost is when you buy something big like a truck. I paid cash and the bottom line was good and it included the extended warranty. When I sell this vehicle, I’ll sell it with some extended warranty left on it and it will give peace of mind to the purchaser - call it buyers psychology. I’ll sell my truck faster and for more money with an extended warranty. Who knows how it will turn out but I’m betting it will be worth it when I sell this truck.

 

Personally I wouldn’t suggest getting any extended warranties from Toyota... everytime you go Into the dealership with something wrong with the truck all your going to get is “we coulding duplicate the issue” or there favorite one “it’s a normal characteristic of the truck” so your basically paying to be able to hear those 2 lovely phrases a little bit longer... Toyota warranty sucks. Trust me I’ve had a hell of a time with some warranty repairs and at the end of the day only got 1 of the 5 problems approved for warranty

 

welcome. I went the route of car insurance 7/100 for $2 a month. When I bought my truck I didnt want my monthly payment higher. My insurance actually went down when I bought my truck so I added the $2 a month.

 

I bought a 3 year Toyota/Lexus extended warranty with my GX (it was ~1500 and they lowered the price 1000, so it was really only 500). It has more than paid for itself. Granted, it's a 10 year old vehicle, but I've had both exhaust manifolds replaced ($1500 a pop), two wheel bearings, steering column spiral cable, speakers, blower motor, and drive shaft replaced under the warranty. I've never had a problem with the dealer denying service. It's literally a manufacturer backed bumper to bumper warranty on a 10 year old vehicle.

 

Same, l normally fall in the no extended warranty camp too, but advanced electronic equipment is so expensive, plus they usually don't sell individual components but force you to buy entire modules.

 

Buy quality vehicles and I maintain they are purely for dealers to make money on hand-wringing worry warts. If you buy shitty cars you deserve what you get.

 

Thank you for all the responses! It really helped me make a decision.

Just got back from the dealership and decided to decline the extended warranty ($1800). *knocks on wood*

I am going to use the mechanical breakdown insurance for coverage, and I think I'm going to try to put away some money every month in a separate account as a rainy day fund. $50/mo saves $600 a year x 7 years = $4200.

 

Put that $50 a month into a retirement fund and just enjoy your new truck.

 

You must be like some superhero, the "magical mechanic" who can guarantee his trucks will run perfect forever, with just a touch of oil and some air in the tires.