I recently bought a 2008 Certified Pre-Owned Toyota Yaris. As part of Toyota's "Certified Pre-Owned" vehicles, the everything in the car was brought up to factory standards before they gave it to me. I was also given a 1 year bumper to bumper warranty, and a power train warranty up to 100,000 (currently at 42k) or 2013. I got a great price for it, and with my large down payment, I was able to get my monthly payments to an amount that even a broke college student like myself could manage.
However, when I went in to sign the check and the papers and actually get the car, they bombarded me with tons of information about an "extended bumper-to-bumper warranty" that "everyone gets" and "is a mistake to miss out on." While the warranty did extend my bumper to bumper coverage up to 100,000 miles, and offered free repairs when taken back to the dealership, it also nearly doubled my monthly payment and added a whopping $5000 to the price.
Now, a little background information:
Before I purchased my Yaris, I drove a 2000 Volkswagen Beetle. I LOVED my Beetle. I did NOT want to sell it, but the transmission was going out, and on top of a myriad of other problems, the repairs would have cost more than the car was worth, and as I'm going to grad school in the fall, I needed something dependable. With my Volkswagen, however, I was lucky if I could go 3 or 4 months without needing at least $300 in repairs. Parts and labor for Volkswagens are expensive, and needed often. For that reason, the extended warranty sounded awesome. However, a big part of why I went with Toyota was to cut down on the need for repairs, and I was promised by my dealer as well as other Toyota owners that Toyotas are very dependable.
Back to present day,
I was told I had to sign up for the warranty right then and there if I wanted it. I am a 22-year-old girl, and I didn't have anyone to talk it over with, or any time to think about it, and I'm sure that's part of the reason they pushed me so hard. I know they get commission off of that, and I didn't really have any idea what I was doing, but I tentatively agreed after they told me I could cancel at any time if I really wanted to.
So now I'm struggling to make these payments every month, and I am wondering if this warranty was worth it. I considered keeping it for the first year just to see if the car was going to cause me any problems, but I'm barely scraping by from month to month. However, if I get rid of it, and then some kind of computer system fails or something in the car, I could be out way more than my monthly payment.
I just don't know what to do.
Anyone out there a Toyota owner? Should I keep the warranty? Or trust my car's dependability?