[lo bux racer]

So I'm sitting here thinking about all the posts I've seen with stern warnings about doing this or that and not doing this or that because it will void your warranty. While I appreciate having a guarantee any defects will be repaired by the manufacturer, I'm curious why so many people are afraid.

Is it because you have absolutely no idea how it all really works, and are completely at the mercy of someone who tells you what your car needs to have done for repairs when something breaks?

Is it because you have some idea how it all works, but lack the tools, knowledge, skills, and time to do car maintenance yourself?

Is it because you believe no matter what, the manufacturer should fix anything wrong with your car while it is under warranty?

I'm having some difficulty with this, mostly because there isn't anything that can go wrong that I can't fix myself. I might not have the luxury of the time I need, but that's a different problem.

So, why is the whole warranty thing important to you?

 

[SilverX]

I fall under #2 and 3.

One thing I wish I could do was to spend some time with my friends doing little things to a car. Hanging out while doing car work, but not entirely focused on the car. Know what I mean?
Like doing Shocks or springs for a car.
I, however, lack the knowledge to do either.

Just to show you how little I really know about cars, I learned how to change a cars oil last year. My parents, friends, anyone, never told me how or whatnot. Just got tired of not knowing and looked it up on the internet. I feel pathetic.

 

[hamster]

Is it because you have some idea how it all works, but lack the tools, knowledge, skills, and time to do car maintenance yourself?

^^^^ thats me... also.. money... being a poor college student... if something breaks... it cost money just for the part... money i dont have...

if i have a good set of instructions... maybe i'd take on some stuff.... but its all about the money in my situation.. if i do screw up... i dont have the money to fix it

 

[krzy]

I personally feel its all about the bathtub curve when it comes to product failure.

I'm sure this is a concept that many of us are familiar with even though it isn't often articulated.

If a part were to fail early in the life of a car, I would prefer that the problem not be agitated by any 'mods' done by me that may or may not affect failed part. It eliminates the question of whether or not my modification could have caused the problem and it allows Toyota to improve their quality by fixing their own mistakes. I'm not a big fan of fixing other peoples mistakes.

As the 'newness' wears off, I'm sure I'll be willing to take more risks since I won't be as concerned about failures. However, being that this is a first year car, I'm a bit more concerned about the early component failures. If I were to buy a 3rd year Scion tC, I would be much more comfortable voiding the warranties on certain systems within the car.

The key question here is when does the possibility of infant mortality go down far enough that we're comfortable voiding warranties, or do we just wait until the warranty expires all together.

 

[courier11sec]

The warranty is very important to me. Now I am a mechanic with quite varied experience and given proper equipment, I'd be suprised to see anything go wrong I can't handle on my own. That said, The reason I bought this car was so I wouldn't have to fix what I'm driving anymore. I spend plenty of time fixing other peoples cars and sometimes the last thing I want to do is have to work on my own rig at the end of the day when all the customers have picked up there vehicles. Not to say I don't enjoy working on cars. I have a drag car I enjoy working on and won't mind handling any modifications I decide to do to my tC.

 

[Camel]

It's a money issue for me as well. I'm not exactly Scrooge McDuck when it comes to the amount of money I have in the bank, and it's nice to know that in the unlikely event something were to go wrong with my car, it would be fixed at no cost to me during the warranty period.

 

[TcTuner6]

I am with courier11sec. I am also an ase certified master tech and I am currently employed at a dealership. I know that a warranty is important, especially in regards to major component failures and the cost incurred to repair them. I am more worried about the cost of the repair on a new vehicle than I would be on my 86 fiero. New engine for a Tc= $5000 +-
Fiero= $1500
I also enjoy working on cars but if I can get away from doing expensive and time consuming REPAIR work, i will. I enjoy modifying my vehicles, not repairing them. I guess as a technician working every day repairing vehicles, it just gets old. I have so much more fun playing with my car.
Anyway back on the subject I have the platinum warranty on my car, so NO parts that will void my powertrain warranty will find there way on to my vehicle until it is out of warranty, at that pointall bets are off.

 

[Boombacloud]

^^^^ Word.

 

[LaVaism]

My previous cars were all POS my last one being an 92 Accord with over 180,000 miles. I got tired of having it repaired and the whole cost of the car so now I have a warranty my god its a relief I don't have to worry about anything breaking if it does I don't have to pay for it.

Another thing is you put me in front of a computer I can fix it, repair it and do anything you want with it. Put me under the hood of the car and I'll get lost. I can put gas in it, and change fluids, except oil. Thats about it. I could do stereo just I am scared of screwing something up with this car. Even if it breaks dealership still wants there money.

speaking of warranty: will after market stereo and amps void it? I am also getting the accessories just not through the dealership?


Michael

 

[basilisk4]

I have some idea how a car works, but I don't have the time or money to figure out how to fix the car myself. Every person has his or her own set of skills, and while it's always good to learn new skills, it's risky and generally stupid for someone like me to try to fix my car myself when I need it for everyday driving. If my computer stops working, sure, I'll fix it myself. But my TV? I don't think so.

Also, if I'm going to spend $20,000 on something, I expect some sort of guarantee that it will continue to work long enough for it to be worth something and usable for awhile.

I can't believe any of this would really be surprising.

 

[Zygote55]

I'm actually not too worried about warranty. My problem is making sure that my car will pass the visual smog inspection we have in CA

 

[Azrael]

krzy's curve is a good visual representation of what I've considered the only reason to get a warranty. Any failure that's going to happen early is something I don't feel I should have to pay for, as it is the responsibility of the manufacturer to make sure these don't happen. They obviously do on occasion, hence the warranty.

Wow, there's a really bad run on sentence in there.

 

[kckid]

I like the warranty because I worked for a ford shop when the new F150 came out in '99 and also the new cougars. Man those cars were peices of junk. Everything was enginered wrong on those cars. I just wanted it for the fact that I know how to fix cars but with the computer controlls nowdays I dont want to have to by a $5000 PCM or car computer just to pull the codes. I used to know toyota techs but they have since moved on to other dealers so now I dont have access to those machines. I am also in college and cant afford to fix a $5000 engine.

The other reason is that I have previously owned a Pontiac Grand Prix. I bought it used and purchased and aftermarket warranty. Good thing I did to. In a year and a half the put $8600 work into the car. Shortly after the warranty was out a $500 half axle went out followed by a ball joint (which was my own fault for not replacing it sooner) and then the engine blew a head gasket. All leaving me with empty pockets and owing $6000 on a $2500 POS. Thats why now I always have warranties on cars. Now trucks thats a different story my Dakota mad it to 170,000 mile on the factory front brakes. needing only to replace the water pump, heater core, evap core, muffler, radiator, rear brakes and serpantine belt. Thats it except for normal maitnence. So sometimes its just a toss up.

 

[BabYBoomer]

I like knowing I have protection of this worthy investment and my hard earned money...besides I went with Extra Care warranty(through TMS - Toyota Motor Sales) $995 for 6yrs/75K coverage. (I hold on to my cars for a while) They offer a full money back guarantee if the car never has a warranty issue. Sooo...if all goes well, $995 back in my pocket in 6 years! And if I need it, I have it.

 

[lo bux racer]

I bought that warranty, but I didn't see any clause indicating I got my bet back if there were no claims. Where is that written?

 

[OliverThomas]

For me, it's important because I can't afford to pay for the car monthly AND pay 300 here, 800 there, 1300 here again to keep it running. This is why I had to get out of my ford focus, in the one year i had it, (it was a 03) I had over 2800$ of work under the waranty put into it. Problem after problem. I don't have the money to pay for that stuff, and pay for the car. Some people would argue that in that case, i dont have any business buying the car, but that's like saying unless you have cash in hand, you shouldnt buy a house in case it burns down and you have to rebuild. Psh.

 

[BabYBoomer]

Originally posted by lo bux racer@Apr 7 2005, 09:27 PM
I bought that warranty, but I didn't see any clause indicating I got my bet back if there were no claims. Where is that written?

It is not included in the standard warranty language but is a separate agreement. My understanding is that it is somewhat of a special offer/incentive to buy the warranty (and the dealer had to verify that it would apply to a Scion purchase as opposed to Toyota). I purchased my tC in February.

 

[510sciontc]

warranty is important becuase you never know what will happen in life. LoBux you mentioned that you can do most of the work yourself but even todays cars almost everything is diagnosis with computers now at days. So having the technicals competence is one things, having the tools is another. An most people do not have all the tools at home unless your John Forces pit crew manager. I guess you could say I am a backyard mechanic. I've been working on my old school hot rods and pick ups since I was 12. A older car is easy to work on and parts are easyto get and install. With newer vechicles I don't even try. I think cars in general are to difficult for your average joe to repair or fix on your own. So I would say I guess not understanding how to fix my car but also mainly to becuase the manufactures also want you to bring your car to them. If you make something perect how will you ever have customers come back again for buisness. So really I guess you are forced to have the warranty or feel more assured by a extended one. They play on your fear and also on the feeling trying to be cautious.

 

[moriarty]

i am not sure why i am posting this. but, I just watched this movie and found this both funny and true.

QUOTE

Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted, why do they put a guarantee on a box? Hmm, very interesting.
Ted: I'm listening.
Tommy: Here's how I see it. A guy puts a guarantee on the box 'cause he wants you to fell all warm and toasty inside.
Ted: Yeah, makes a man feel good.
Tommy: 'Course it does. Ya think if you leave that box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter.
Ted: What's your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the Guarantee Fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy, but we're not buying it. Next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser and your daughter's knocked up, I seen it a hundred times.
Ted: But why do they put a guarantee on the box then?
Tommy: Because they know all they solda ya was a guaranteed piece of ####. That's all it is. Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for right now, for your sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality item from me.
Ted: Hmm. Okay, I'll buy from you.
Tommy: Well I... What?[/b]

 

[The Deal]

Time and money Lo Bux. The warranty is built in into the price, so in essence, i've paid for that sucker, why void it and leave myself susceptible to having to pay more to fix anything my mod effects... plus my skills are not at your level so id be paying some one which means, mo' money mo' time. That being said, some mods will be worth that risk i.e. springs etc. but a 4k turbo on the heart of my 17.5k car is not an acceptable risk.


As far as the above mentioned quote...


Tommys father could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman wearin white gloves in july....

classic