To Warranty Or Not To Warranty

[N18RKS]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum having just prurchased my first Lexus, sorry to say its not a new one, its a previously enjoyed RX450h, late 2009 with 20k on the clock.

I live in the better part of the Essex area (eastern edge with green fields and where the sea joins the land) and quite frankly am surprised by how few there on the roads. Not sure what drew me to the RC450h but having decided to get one a few months ago i been a bit besotted with looking at the used car sites, used car garages and newspapers until i finally found one the fitted my pocket,conditions etc and effectively with just over 20k on the clock its a new car.

My pondery is and i will apologise in advance as this may cause a bit of a debate do i:

a. steer clear of lexus and 3rd party warranties and put the 900 pounds in the bank towards any potential repairs

or

b. Go with Lexus 2 yr warranty 995 pounds (no wear and tear)

or

c.Go with ie Warranty Direct, 2yr policy about 900 pounds but with wear and tear included (seems to cover everything) and the diagnoses/repairs can be done at Lexus (only problem is that Lexus is 30+ miles away)

Looking forward to your views,comments and advice

regards

[ChrisKaye]

Hi,

I'd go with B - Lexus Warranty - assuming you have full Lexus service history, all your hybrid components would be covered which almost (if not) all 3rd party warranty providers would shy away from.

Enjoy your new ride!

[PCM]

I think a lot of it depends what you WANT from your warranty?

I wanted peace of mind - as far as is possible.

Buying used from Lexus, i got 12 months 'free'. Though did buy 2 more years also. ( less than £900 )

But as important is buying a decent one in the first place - such that any warranty is more of a fall-back than a necessity.

Maybe...?

[Bluesman]

Hi Mark and welcome to the LOC, we are a
friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull them to bits and
put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer
left over. Regards Mike.

[royoftherovers]

I doubt that Warranty Direct will cover the Hybrid System.

Go with Lexus B......,it`s a no-brainer.

I presume that you bought from a Lexus Dealer and if so you can start the B as soon as your DEALER wARRANTY (12 MONTHS?) expires.

Regards

John

[rayaans]

Id stick with no warranty - at 20k its highly unlikely anything is going to come up - even then, most likely itd be wear and tear

[N18RKS]

Thanks for the comments so far, i did not purchase throough Lexus but it has had Services (every year not by milage) done by Lexus and part of the sale was supplier got the big service due at 5yr60k done by Lexus at their cost so it does have full Lexus service History - i personally am swayed towards the Lexus warranty but as i said does not cover wear and tear and items found to be faulty at services or MOT's.I do have the 1yr Hybrid warranty that comes part of of the Lexus service but not sure what cover there is in either the lexus or the 3rd party cover.Something i will have to check out.

Getting on for 6yrs and albeit only 20k the car has been used around town, possible as bit of weekend toy so short journeys etc is probably the usage - what sort of problems have other 450h drivers experienced ? - i heard a couple of times about door mirrors but not much else -

[Stuno1]

I had warranty direct before and a top policy they claimed to be as comprehensive as a manufacturers one. I had 2 claims turned down. One for a broken window switch and can't remember the other. If you want a policy id go with Lexus. Not had a claim turned down yet.

[PCM]

I din't know the answer... but if you didn't buy from a Lexus garage, can you subsequently still get a Lexus warranty?

[Stuno1]

I believe you can but they inspect the car prior.

[rayaans]

No problems whatsoever on mine yet. It's just over 3 years old with 32k miles on. Mine makes a light clunk when coming to a stop but it's brake pads moving in calipers apparently. Hasn't got worse or been a problem though

I wouldn't worry about short trips on a petrol motor. It's diesels where it's a problem.

[royoftherovers]

Not had any problems to use the warranty for in 20,000 miles. It exists to gives me peace of mind.

Potential problems lie in the eye of the driver !

Regards

John

[ColinBarber]

FYI the hybrid warranty that comes from a hybrid health check only covers that Battery. The motor(s), inverter and ECUs aren't covered.

No problems with short journeys for a Toyota/Lexus hybrid system. Standard issues still occur such as corroding exhaust but warranties wouldn't cover that anyway.

[Thin Tiger]

My RX450h is nearly 7 years old (can't believe it!), 65k miles and the only things so far (fingers crossed), have been a new 12v Battery and an intermittent engine warning light diagnosed to the O2 sensors. I put off replacing the O2 sensors and then there was a 'recall' (or whatever they call it) and had them replaced free.

The only other thing has been tires - I have found these very very expensive! but obviously not covered under warranty.

I've been offered extended warranty every time I've been into the dealership. I um and ah, about it too, but have always decided against it eventually.

[ColinBarber]

The problem is there is no precedent here. 2009 is the first year of the RX450h so we have very little data to predict longer term reliability.

If we base an opinion from the RX400h then there is little need for a warranty (although anybody can be unlucky even with the most reliable car). If we base it on the GS450h series III then I'd certainly recommend a warranty as the series III GS, along with the IS220d, certainly fall short of the reliability image that Lexus has built up over the years.

[DanD]

I am in the process of changing up from a 400h to a second hand 450h and I am planning to pay for the extended Lexus warranty, which is £995 for 2 years.

A couple of points you may want to consider...

- the standard 1 year warranty DOES NOT cover the sat nav and the entertainment system

HOWEVER

- if you opt for the Lexus extended warranty (£995 for two years) in addition to the standard 1 year warranty, the sat nav and entertainment system are then covered for the whole three years

- the extended warranty also includes recovery (can't remember whether it is AA or RAC)

All in all, given that the sat nav and entertainment systems are probably the components that are the most likely to breakdown over the years because of the cd/dvd players (and they are very expensive to repair/replace), and if you take into account the cost of European wide recovery cover, I think that the Lexus warranty is not a bad deal at all.

[ColinBarber]

The Lexus used car warranty should cover the Nav system, if not the sales of goods act will be your friend.

"All Approved Pre-Owned Lexus Car Warranties have the same level of cover as the Lexus new vehicle warranty, with the exception of batteries, interior trim and corroded exhausts."

[DanD]

Interesting one Colin, thank you... I'll have to check the paperwork I was given as the information came from the dealer.

[mick4545]

Before considering economising on warranty take a look at the thread I started in the LS section.

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/90233-what-a-time-for-this-to-happen/

[Nick W858]

If you want peace of mind then the obvious choice is the Lexus warranty. We have had our 2011 model now for getting on 18 months - it's got around 85k on the clock and there has been not one single thing that has gone wrong. I would be surprised if there was anything much outside of regulation wear and tear that you would need to be done. Might be worth banking the cost of the warranty and taking a chance. I do have the warranty on my ISF but I have never thought about putting it on the RX.