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Would you buy the DriveTime warranty on a 2 year old Toyota?

  

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Single mom needing advice! I am purchasing a 2019 Toyota Corolla XLE with 42,000 miles no reported accidents no dings or evidence of an accident from drive time. (I inspected everything Scotty recommended 😋) It was a single owner lease car. The high mileage in 2 years gives me confidence the previous owner just did a lot of highway driving but I can’t be sure and inspection of the interior is immaculate tells me they respected and took care of the car. I put a down payment so they would hold it for me because I wanted to decide about the warranty first. The warranty is 5 year/50,000 mile warranty. It’s called the DriveTime Silverrock drivecare powertrain warranty. Aside from powertrain it covers a few big things like the AC, but I feel like a lot of the things are bait because they aren’t very expensive (starter and a few other things).  I am switching from kia (4 previous kias and Hyundai’s all with issues recent one is a lemon) to Toyota based on the reputation and reliability factor. The cost of the warranty is $3555.00 and it would be an extra $80 a month on my car payment since I would need to finance it. I think it’s doable but it brings my car payment higher than I initially wanted to pay. I dont think it’s necessarily a “scam” and can be cancelled and refunded after purchase (prorated to how many days since you purchased), but once you drive away after purchase you can’t change your mind and add it on. The Price Tag was $17k on the car and with my trade in and down payment I’m financing 13k. My brother says get the warranty, my parents say “maybe, maybe not..” and I’m kind of lost for answers at the moment. I feel like it sounds like a good idea but
 I also feel like a 2 year old Toyota Corolla isn’t going to have engine or transmission failure within 5 years. If I give DriveTime $3555 for this warranty and don’t use it one time I won’t get any money back in the end. I was considering putting my faith into Toyota’s reputation, skipping the warranty, and instead just putting $80 a month into a separate savings account for emergency or repairs. My instincts tell me this isn’t the right car to spend $3500 on just in case. I feel like I would need it for a Kia lol, but not a new Corolla. Please give me any opinions or feedback. I drive about 7,000 miles a year. I am certain DriveTime makes a lot of profit off the warranty and while it’s not a scam, the car isn’t old enough to warrant the money in my opinion. I also checked online to see if the Toyota powertrain warranty is transferable to second owner and it appears it’s void after 2 year/20,000 miles so I have missed that window. What would you do? Drive it with no warranty since it’s Toyota? Or buy the warranty and pay the extra money knowing something might never happen within those 5 years. Any help is greatly appreciated. 


2 Answers
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I would save the money and forgo the DriveTime Warranty.  It’s the reason you buy a Toyota (and pay more for it) in the first place.  Also, Toyota Powertrain warranty is 5 year/60,000 miles starting from the in-service date of the vehicle and is transferable to the next owner.  Now, ToyotaCare is not transferable beyond the 2 year/25,000 mile window (not sure if you were confusing with that).  The bumper to bumper warranty is out since the vehicle is past 36,000 miles.

http://toyota.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7769/~/is-the-new-vehicle-limited-warranty-transferable%3F


Yes!!! I did get Toyota care confused and I thought I was out of luck. And you’re right it’s the reason I wouldn’t settle for anything but Toyota or Honda this time. Thank you so much for the link!! That made up my mind! If the powertrain is covered by Toyota it feels like I am covered and good maintenance will keep me going. ☺️


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Listen to @daywalker

Invest the $3555 & use it as and when your Corolla needs any major repairs over the period of your ownership. 

All the best & congratulations on your new car!


Thank you!!


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