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Community weekly poll: Are extended warranties worth it?
- 12/6/05 12:18 PM
Are extended warranties worth it?
by Marc Bennett - 12/6/05 12:18 PM
Are extended warranties worth it?
Yes, I always buy them (tell us why)
No, they’re a rip-off! (please explain)
It depends on the price of the item (for example?)
What's a warranty? (you’re in trouble)
I should’ve gotten one for my boss, he's malfunctioning!
It depends on a lot of things
by SherryB - 12/6/05 12:57 PM In reply to: Are extended warranties worth it? by Marc Bennett
It depends on the expected reliability of the item, for example my 50" Panasonic LCD-projection TV. It has a known defect where it blows a $300 bulb about every 6 months. I paid about $300 for the extended warranty and have used it 3 times already in 2 years.
It depends on the repairability of the item, for example a notebook computer is very hard to repair display problems, motherboard problems, keyboard, etc., where the equivalently-priced desktop computer would be a breeze to fix yourself.
It depends on how badly you need an item to be available all the time, and the terms of the extended warranty. For example my digital camera. I can't live without it. My extended warranty is a local repair/replacement warranty, so I can take it to the store, get another one just like it and I'm good to go. If it were a ship-in for repairs type warranty that takes 3-6 weeks for repairs I would die. (well, I'd have to go buy another camera, but I'd do a really melodramatic impression of dying.)
Basically extended warranties are insurance. You assess the risks of what could go wrong with your products and decide if they're worth the price to cover. Always pay attention to the fine print, such as non-covered failures (consumeables), how long it takes to get a repair and whether or not they can be done locally, etc. Whether or not tech support calls are free. How many incidents you can claim on a warranty before its considered "fulfilled".
Why Buy a Defect?
by parabians - 12/6/05 7:30 PM In reply to: It depends on a lot of things by SherryBHelp me with this: why would you buy a product with a "known defect"? With the cited repair record, one would of course spend the money on a repair warranty. With that kind of quoted failure, this seems like an illogical buy. Did you know this before you bought?
didn't know specifics, but bought knowing about bulbs
by SherryB - 12/7/05 8:14 AM In reply to: Why Buy a Defect? by parabiansI didn't know about the specific Panasonic defect till after I bought it. But in general all projection-style TVs have bulbs and they are not the most reliable style of TV. That's why I bought it and thats why I bought the extd warranty with it.
Extended Waranties are 90 percent ripoffs
by Batchain - 12/7/05 2:48 PM In reply to: didn't know specifics, but bought knowing about bulbs by SherryBI say an almost blanket ''NO!'' to something that isn't likely to be of any use at all except if it's something unusual that you don't know enough about to begin with wheather a problem might occur and you'd best make sure you ask the advice of others what their experience has been and decide on that basis. Most times I hear something like, ''Yeah, that was a fool's waste of money, right from my pocket to the company's!''-- and not only from one single source.
As a rule it seems to go, ''You bought it, it's yours. Don't bother us, that's not covered under warrantie.'' Why the hell would any company over something they *knew* they might have to lose two pennies on? (Also I wish people would read *fine print*, everyone's gotten even sleazier to where the *fine print* is now grayscaled to the point of being half-toned and barely legible -- but still *within the law.*
Turning the Tables
by Malainie - 12/7/05 4:14 PM In reply to: Extended Waranties are 90 percent ripoffs by BatchainI never buy the extended warranty. One time, after purchasing a new washing machine, the salesperson started in with the warranty pitch. Before he could get more than extended warranty out of his mouth, I STARTED in on HIM. I said, "What. Are you telling me this machine is going to break down in the next year so I should insure against that?" He tried to stutter out an answer, but before he could, I continued..."If you're telling me I need to warranty this machine, than maybe I shouldn't buy it! Why should I buy a machine that's going to break in a year?" Needless to say that very definitely shut him up. And, also, needless to say, I've used that same argument again. 
Extended Warranties are not a good deal
by mpmacal - 12/7/05 4:50 PM In reply to: Extended Waranties are 90 percent ripoffs by Batchain3 Reasons why extended warranties are not worth the expense.
1. Most products come with a warranty for a year, the time period in which most manufacturing defects are uncovered.
2. After a year most products have wear. That wear will be interpreted as "damage", thereby voiding the warranty.
3. Most extended warranties are not with the manufacturer, and not with the retail store. The extended warranty is held by a third party service company. What do you know of their reputation and ability to provide service?
** I said most. If you are purchasing an extended warranty from the manufacturer, you stand less of a chance of being denied service on a technicality. They have a reputation to uphold.
*** I NEVER get exented warranties on computers.
E.g. By the time the hard drive crashes, (after year one, remember?), I will double my storage and have the PC running in half the time for $100.
Are you Kidding? (Check the home-owners insurance)
by maxheadspace - 12/7/05 7:47 PM In reply to: Extended Warranties are not a good deal by mpmacalExtended warranties are simply VERY EXPENSIVE insurance policies. In my opinion, there is no way that they will ever pay off in the long run.
I own four laptop computers and one tabletop computer (I have a family of six). Over the last seven or eight years, I have had one video board fail on a laptop at just past the five year mark.
Conservatively, say the extended warranties are one third the sale price of the computer, which average about $1,000. (My latest extended warranty offers were closer to $400.)
That would be a total of $333 X 5 = $1,665
In my case, I could have purchased more than one and a half new computers for the price of the extended warranties. And the one computer that failed would have been outside the extended warranty period, so I wouldn't have even had that one replaced.
Now, here's the kicker. For about one dollar a month, I have a rider on my home owner insurance that covers ANY damage to ANY or ALL of my computers due to my ignorance, due to natural disasters, due to my neighbor crashing his car through my house. That's $12 a year to cover FIVE computers.
You wonder why they push these policies so hard at the store?!?! What a cash cow!
But what is your deductible?
by SherryB - 12/8/05 11:43 AM In reply to: Are you Kidding? (Check the home-owners insurance) by maxheadspaceProbably about $333 :-D. I have to admit I haven't checked into homeowners riders for electronics. I only use my homeowners insurance as catastrophe insurance. My deductible is high, so that my premiums are low. I keep enough cash in the bank to cover what I consider minor things, near my deductible amount. The homeowners is only for a big tree falling through my roof, fire, tornado, etc. where I would lose significantly more than my deductible. I've had a house for 15 years and still never filed a claim on homeowners. (knocking on simulated woodgrain as I say that...)
Warrenty Ripoffs
by Maisie663 - 12/8/05 1:00 PM In reply to: Extended Warranties are not a good deal by mpmacalTry buying a computor with warrenty of 3 years--dumb move--the company has changed the warrenties without any written notice even before years up. If you call them they want more money because my warrentie no longer includes soft ware--did at first--it been rewritten. I would say I been there and done that---NO MORE Warrenties--they are not worth the paper they were written on. There is no tech support.
***?
by Y2K Blackout - 12/8/05 12:03 PM In reply to: Extended Waranties are 90 percent ripoffs by BatchainI have no idea what the hell you just said. Before you go running your mouth, think about the words you are saying and check to see if they make the least bit of sense. Not one sentence you wrote was properly written...
As it pertains to extended warranties, they may or may not be a waste of money. It depends on what the item is and the integrity of the store selling it. When people forcibly try to sell extended warranties, they usually lie and say something like, "it doesn't matter if you broke it, even on purpose. If it breaks, we'll give you a new one, no questions asked." The basic idea of extended warranties seems to be, if something goes wrong, a new one will be given to replace it.
This tends to be true only sometimes. The companies selling these warranties might try to go back on what their employees have told you. Damage caused by abuse, wear and tear, etc., are not valid reasons for using extended warranties.
So, the closing argument is this: if you're getting an expensive product, and you would like some extra insurance for it (just in case the hardware naturally breaks down), go for the extended warranty. This is especially useful if you are getting a brand you might not be comfortable with, e.g., Daytek. Otherwise, there's no real purpose.
All things are not going to be perfect
by littlemissvixen812 - 12/12/05 1:04 PM In reply to: Why Buy a Defect? by parabians.....Have you ever had a piece of technology that was absolutely perfect and never had a defect? I didn't think so. Technology can have unknown errors at the most unexpected times. You can never know whjat can go wrong with it. Warranties (extended) cover these problems that may occur. Technological products are always a gamble and you can't really say that anything is perfect.
There are many things to consider?
by aaronius - 12/6/05 7:49 PM In reply to: It depends on a lot of things by SherryBI've worked for many retailers, and I generally buy the extended coverage. However, different retailers handle service in different ways.
The cost of the extended warranty should always be considered. If the coverage supersedes the original warranty period, the retailer consider what the charge is for the actual extended period.
The very most anyone should pay is 12% of the purchase of the covered item per year of extension, and that should not be spent for anything under $800-1000 in value. Try to keep it below 10%, and if you can pay as little as 6-8% it's probably worth it.
How is the warranty handled if there is a problem? Is it replaced or repaired? What will your options be at the time of service? Some companies replace most items with a refurbished equivalent. Who wants someone else's problem? Other companies allow you to walk in with the product and replace it with an equal or lesser cost item of the same type. Still other companies, including my employer, will refund the purchase price via gift card, so the product can be replaced, or not, as the end user sees fit.
What is covered, or not covered? Most companies won't cover physical damage, but some do. Screen damage is actually LIKELY on a PDA or notebook computer. I have referred people to other retailers when they express concern about screen damage. Cameras are often dropped. Would that be covered?
Even if physical damage is not covered, anything with buttons and/or connectors can suffer significant wear-and-tear.
Some computer warranties (Dell's, for instance) are voided if you don't purchase parts directly from the manufacturer. So if you are getting the warranty on a new computer, make sure you read the fine print. Usually computer warranties are cheaper than one repair, even if you have a buddy who can fix anything. Your buddy won't pay for parts, and his/her time is worth something, as well.
Is this purchase a gift? If it doesn't raise the cost above your budget, an extended warranty improves the value of the gift significantly. It tells the recipient that you care enough about them to ensure the gift will be useful for a long time, rather than giving them a novelty and saying, "here's your gift...good luck."
Lastly, the more moving parts and item has, the more likely it is to break down. Portable devices contain nothing but moving parts. Even if they are not moving within the device, they are moving from one location to another, and that causes wear-and-tear.
Monitors have virtually no moving parts, so they probably will be fine if they last out the original warranty.
Fax machines have very few moving parts...well that's not really true anymore. Most Fax machines have a printer with plenty of moving parts, and they are susceptible to phone-line surges. I would not buy a fax machine without some sort of extended coverage.
Are the extended warranties worth it? It depends!
by Starman35 - 12/7/05 5:21 AM In reply to: It depends on a lot of things by SherryBI completely agree with this. Most electronic devices either work for a long time, or they fail quickly, in my experience. Same goes with major appliances. However, when I bought a new Samsung refrigerator (I'd never tried that brand before) I bought the Best Buy extended service plan for $150.00. That was the best $150 I ever spent, because when the reefer broke, BB couldn't fix it, so they replaced it with a new $1800 refrigerator. Not once, but twice, with the second one also needing a new $150 service plan. (The second replacement has worked flawlessly for 2 yrs now). Given all the problems with laptops, I'd probably buy one for a laptop as well.
Must consider use model and utility duration
by sitkom - 12/7/05 8:16 AM In reply to: It depends on a lot of things by SherryBVery, very rarely do extended warranties make sense in consumer electronics due primarily to the 'burn rate' of new product that appears on the market to replace the prior years' offerings.
In many cases, specifically in my case, the typical gizmo has about an 18 month utility, after which I have gotten all the good there is to get out of the device and I'm ready for a new or different one. In this scenario, it would never make sense to buy an extended warranty unless the manufacturer has no quality track-record to support an 18 month useful life.
There are a few exceptions. Those devices that you plan to keep for a long period of time... say 4 years(Stereo/Amplifiers/Plasma/LCD TVs, etc.) or those that will have a high duty cycle or operate in harsh environments (high $$ home office equipment, mobile devices and laptops). It follows logically that harsh use models and environments will conspire to increase the likelyhood of a reliability-related failure. But to make a blanket-statement that all items that fall in these categories should have an extended warranty would be irresponsible. Some warranties are extremely costly (30+% of the purchase price) or prey on consumers fears or urban legends regarding product quality or specific problematic components... my favorite happens to be the broken LCD paranoia in laptops.
Anyway, the long & the short of it is: save your money unless you know that you have a better than 50/50 chance of taking advantage of the benefits of the warranty.
Happy shopping!
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