Extended Warranty is a controversial topic. But let's keep that for another day and let's enjoy today it's peace if mind cost. Let's analyze the facts surrounding how it works in one of the companies with probably the highest resale value available in the world: Toyota. For this specific article, I will analyze how the Extended Warranty costs and options behave in the Canadian market, specifically for Toyota Corporation Canada.

3 Plans, including the Default One

Every Toyota sold/leased in Canada comes with three years/60.000km comprehensive warranty. This means that any mechanical problem on your vehicle, excluding the wearable components that are only covered for one year/20,000km (I'll mention these later), will be fixed at Toyota's costs. You hear a noise on the transmission, you call your dealership, make an appointment, they fix it, and then Toyota pays for it.

This is just the default warranty coverage and, of course, it makes total sense. This is how it works for any other manufacturer and remember: all maintenance/wearable components are not covered by any manufacturer. An oil change is a maintenance to the equipment you acquired, a bulb is your responsibility too and all these counts as the wearable components covered during the first year, but after that, these all wear and are expected to.

The 2 Extra-Care Protection Plans by Toyota

The Extra-Care Protection (ECP) Plan is what is known as the literal "Extended Warranty" offered by Toyota Canada. Basically, both add up to the original default one and:

• Start right after the first 3 years/60,000km of the vehicle: The default warranty costs are included on the MSRP of the car and then, right after the 60,000km or the 36 months (whichever comes first) the new ECP plan starts.
• Has to be signed at the moment the vehicle is acquired: Otherwise, it cannot be added. On the opposite, it can be added and later on removed at any time.
• It is generally transferable: If you transfer your lease / sell the vehicle, this is a secondary addon on top of the vehicle, very useful for the next person.

Now, depending on how further you want to go with the coverage, there are 2 main ECP plans: the Gold and the Platinum. Basically, one covers most important vehicle components and the superior one (the Platinum) covers the previous plan plus almost every other remaining component.

Seeing it in a simple way (now in retrospective): the default warranty for the first three years is a default ECP Platinum Plan.

Now, what does each ECP Plan Covers?

ECP Gold (17 major mechanical component groups)

• The Engine, Transmission / Transaxle, Front / Rear Wheel Drive or Four Wheel Drive (4WD)
• Cooling System, Fuel System, Front / Rear Suspension, Steering, Air Conditioning & Heating (Original equipment or Manufacturer's Approved Kits only).
• Brake System, Electrical System, High Tech Factory Installed, All sensors, all computers, Body Interior, Body Hardware
• Seals & Gasket / Fluids & Filters, Hybrid Components (For Hybrid vehicles only)

ECP Platinum (Everything else, except...)

To make it simple, the following list is the "Not covered" items of the ECP Platinum:

• Generally covered by your Insurance: All glass (mirrors, heated windshields and rear windows with defroster), body parts (including frame) & paint.
• Wearable Components: fog lamps, lenses, sealed beams, lamps, light bulbs, tires, wheels or wheel studs, trim, seat frames, convertible top, mouldings, weather-strips, bright metal, sheet metal, bumpers, upholstery, carpet, brake rotors and drums, brake linings and pads, batteries and cables, manual clutch disc lining, pressure plate and bushings, throw-out bearings, catalytic converter (which may be covered by Emissions Control Systems Warranties), exhaust system, non-manufacturer installed accessories.

Now, think about this: If I estimate that fixing a vehicle after 5 years would cost me around 3,000 dollars, I would ask that minimum for any coverage requested for a specific client. Now, if it is a massive or more popular trend, then it could be analyzed as an "insurance" business model, where some vehicles will need repair, but some other don't, so maybe charging 1,500 per vehicle will be enough to cover all costs.

Under these premises (in my humble opinion and analysis) and relying on the fact that Toyota is probably the most prestigious car maker in the world regarding vehicle reliability, the following numbers are their costs for Extended Warranties of a sample 2018 RAV4 LE, the second most popular SUV in Canada.

If it is worth or not, there is more to discuss, but if you are looking for peace of mind, that is how much will cost you with Toyota Canada.