► Toyota extends support to used vehicles
► Up to 10 years in total after initial warranty
► All dealer-serviced models covered
Toyota has launched a new type of warranty that will cover all its cars for up to 10 years. The new scheme is called Toyota Relax and is being rolled out to extend the standard warranty issued with all of its cars whenever they are serviced by one of the company’s dealers.
Relax replaces the previous Toyota warranty, which was among the best in the business, offering cover for every new car for up to five years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes sooner. However, the standard warranty has been scaled back to three years or 60,000 miles – a move that came into force on all models sold after 1 June 2021.
Existing Toyota owners who already have an older vehicle that's out-of-warranty and less than 10 years old will be covered by Relax. All they need to do is take their car for a service at their local dealer, and Toyota Relax will automatically kick in and give the car a year of 12,000 miles’ worth of warranty cover for free.
For owners of older cars that may not have been serviced to Toyota dealer standards, getting Relax cover will mean that it may need repairs to get it up to a standard that qualifies it for cover, and that might prove costly. However, Toyota is so confident in its product that it's offering 0% APR finance on servicing and repairs if there's a big bill.
Toyota says its Relax programme doesn't add cost to the existing servicing regime, and it has no plans to change it – effective as it's centrally-fixed pricing across all dealers in the UK. In the simplest of terms, you pay to get your servicing done at the dealer, and you end up with warranty coverage thrown in for 'free'.
Rob Giles, Toyota (GB) Customer Services Director, said: ‘Relax is connecting us with more owners, building loyalty and giving our network partners the opportunity to maximise value chain opportunities in both sales and after sales activities. As well as rewarding existing Toyota owners, our Relax programme will also strengthen the appeal of our vehicles to new customers, equally whether they are considering a new car or a used model.’
In simple terms…
If you're a Toyota owner, you're being offered an extra layer of cover if you remain faithful the dealer network and you get it serviced within in the recommended intervals. There are no complex clauses, exclusions or caveats: Relax is designed to be simple, comprehensive and easy for owners to understand and benefit from.
Toyota is confident in offering this because of its belief in the reliability of its products. Of course, there's a benefit of encouraging owners to have their vehicles serviced by Toyota – which is the only way to activate Relax on an out-of-warranty vehicle.
But the scheme should improve the resale value of used Toyotas, since they’ll have the option of manufacturer warranty coverage for anything up to 10 years of age. Unique in the industry right now. Relax warranty cover will support you break down in Europe, too.