96 tdi wagon warranty almost up...what to do?

[toyrex]

06.... Not 96 as previously stated.sorry


We loved this car and drove it everywhere.
Our warranty is up in 2000 km.. probably a month tops..
My question is what to do next?
Should we take it to an independant mechanic and get a once over then take it in for the final service at 80K.
We have a few tiny issues that we would like to get fixed before the warranty is up... ie.. '
1.noise issue,, seems to be a lot louder now that it's 2 years old when driving on the highway compared to being new.
2. I believe the front right strut is shot. i've mentioned it to the dealer and the just blew me off.
3. Transmission will periodically stay in kickdown mode for longer than it has to when accellerating
4. speakers seem to crackle when a bassy song is on.. they never used to. but it's not terrible.
5. A/C never seemed to be as cold as my 4runner
Being that this is my first new car as well as first car that warranty is expiring. I was looking for some tips on how not to get screwed over when the warranty expires.

thanks in advance.
sorry for the rambling post.

[sdhelzer]

Doesn't sound like you do much work yourself on your TDI.

Since the vehicle is over 10 years old I doubt if you be able to get a third party warranty at a reasonable price.

If you want to keep the TDI and I think you should if it only has 80K miles on it, find a good independent mechanic that you can trust and stay with him. Get recommdations from other TDI owners in your area.

Oh, by the way I hope you have had your serpentine belt and tensioner replaced. If not you better get it done ASAP. If it breaks it could really cost you to get it repaired.

[toyrex]

Nope I haven't done any work on it yet.
It's an 06 tdi wagon.
Our oil changes have averaged about 80- 100 bucks a shot.
I do lot's of work on our other vehicles, but since this is my first with warrenty, I didnt' really want to tinker with it.
My question is what is the general consensus on any sort of factory extension on the warrenty. What type of price range am I looking at. What should I expect for coverage.
Are there any aftermarket 3rd party warrenties that any one here can recommend that I should look up for more info.
I'm at about 2k left and may have to take an out of town trip soon.
What about 3rd party inspections, should I have an independent look at it to try to get the most out of my 80K limit,
Thanks in adance.

Originally Posted by sdhelzer

Doesn't sound like you do much work yourself on your TDI.

Since the vehicle is over 10 years old I doubt if you be able to get a third party warranty at a reasonable price.

If you want to keep the TDI and I think you should if it only has 80K miles on it, find a good independent mechanic that you can trust and stay with him. Get recommdations from other TDI owners in your area.

Oh, by the way I hope you have had your serpentine belt and tensioner replaced. If not you better get it done ASAP. If it breaks it could really cost you to get it repaired.

[sdhelzer]

Since you have a '06 not a '96 that changes the picture somewhat.

You might want to try AAA. They offer an extended warranty program that I have others say is good.

Whatever you do the serpentine belt and tensioner should be replaced ASAP.

Best of luck.

[sdhelzer]

toyrex,

If you deceide to contact AAA regarding an extended warranty I would be interested in your opinion of what they offer.

Thanks in advance.

[toyrex]

Talked to our dealer today to get in for our final service at 80K KM's tomorow.
We got a phone call tonight from some company called the-choice.net.
This is what they've offered us.. prices here are at the 30% discount that they instantly offered us.

18779147776 ext 308
3 year 120K kms so 200K km's total
total $1300
130 down, 70 a month for 18 months. 0% interest

or 5 year
160+ KM's so 240K kms total
1600 bucks total 160 down with 70 a month 18 months.

She said 0 deductible and didn't really know much about the plan
I guess I'll check out the web page.
I've still got to get a hold of some other companies.
I wonder what kind of kickbacks my dealer gets from passing on this info.
When I asked the caller what company she was from she was hesitant as they have 5 + warrenty companies she said.

I'll let you know when I find more.


Car goes in the shop in the morning.. what are the usuals that I should have the dealership replace or work on. any suggestions?
thanks all

[Matt Cramer]

Most extended warranties are not worth the paper they're printed on. A lot of them are more like health insurance; you have a deductible that would often cover a couple hours of labor, and they are priced so that you're very likely to pay more than the warranty would cover. If I were in your shoes, I'd just let the warranty expire.

[sdhelzer]

Still think you should check AAA's warranty. I have been a member for 20+ years and found them to reliable, but never had an extended warranty through them.

[Matt Cramer]

I'm a AAA member myself. I've used their towing services, but I don't think they would ever offer a warranty for any of the cars I own at the moment.