Extended warranty for a car bought privately

Drpellypo · September 27, 2016

Sorry if this is a dumb question; I've genuinely searched and not found an answer. If I bought a Lexus privately, say a 2007 rx, could I then purchase a 2 year warranty from Lexus? Or is a requirement of purchase that you've bought the car from them? I'm looking at RX's with 70k ish on the clock and they are £7,000 private, and £11,000 from a Lexus dealer. £4K is a hell of a premium especially if you can buy a warranty for under £1k and get the same cover as a main dealer purchase.

Shahpor · September 27, 2016

Yes, any Lexus model can buy an extended warranty, assuming it is not over 10 years old, or traveled over 140,000 miles, when the warranty is purchased.

After buying the car, you would need to take it to your local dealer to have a visual safety inspection done. This is free, and provided it passes without any issues, then the extended warranty can be applied to it.

The only requirement during the warranty period is that it is serviced at the dealer no more than 1 month or 2000 miles from its due date.

Drpellypo · September 27, 2016

That's great, thanks! So makes total sense to get a used one and then just purchase the warranty. Makes you wonder why they command such high prices because the £7k ones I've looked at have full main dealer service history and typically low mileage.

Shahpor · September 28, 2016

That is how I did mine. Drove directly from where I bought it to the dealer.

I suppose the premium is because they supposedly sell only the best examples. Add to that the fact that they provide 12 months warranty, and guarantee no mechanical faults, along with a comprehensive once over means it can cost a bit to get a car prepared.

Mainly though, it is because they can charge what they do and people still buy them.

Drpellypo · September 28, 2016

I appreciate buying from a dealer is especially important for things like BMW's etc. What I've found in my search for the RX400h is that most of them are low miles, full dealer service history anyway, so if you can drive to Lexus and get a 2 year warranty for a grand, it's an absolute no brainer!