Community weekly poll: Are extended warranties worth it?
- 12/6/05 12:18 PM
Double Warranty up to a year
by dllfo - 12/7/05 1:39 PM In reply to: Double Warranty Up to a Year by jrj90620I had forgot about that. Is it a hassle to get VISA or
Mastercard to pay for it?
Do you pay for it (with VISA of course) and then try to
get them to "pay it" before the 25 day grace period is
up?
I wonder if they put so many roadblocks up that some people give up rather than fight the battle with them?
What has YOUR experience been?
Home Owners Insurance, Too!
by maxheadspace - 12/7/05 8:02 PM In reply to: Check your credit card by George TetleyI have five computers in my house (family of six). I added a rider to my home owners insurance for about one dollar a month that covers ALL computers in my house. That's FIVE computers for $12 a year! Now, of course, that is for physical damage, but I've found that the main reason computers fail after the standard warranty period is for physical damage due to operator negligence (AKA, dropping the laptop, or setting it next to your bed when you go to sleep, only to step on it when you get up in the morning) or for other catastrophe, like the house burning down. Do the math. The electronics stores did!
Only for neurotics and suckers
by dsbocco - 12/6/05 6:24 PM In reply to: Are extended warranties worth it? by Marc Bennett
I look at it this way. The manufacturer or business wouldn't hard sell it unless they were making profits higher than the repair fees. They’re not going to give profit away. Trust me, they've done the math.
While it may save you once, you're almost guaranteed to loose your precious money over the average of several purchases. It like gambling without the free drinks.
Yes ... they're worth it
by Shentler - 12/6/05 6:26 PM In reply to: Are extended warranties worth it? by Marc Bennett
Everytime I use a new computer, it breaks down every month. If i did no thave extended warranty ... it would cost me triple or even more to fix the problems 
or not worth it
by wresnick - 12/8/05 8:49 AM In reply to: Yes ... they're worth it by ShentlerIf it breaks down every month, the standard warranty should cover it. An extended warranty from a credit card would push that out to the first two years.
Since you said that this happens when use use a NEW computer, an extended warranty does nothing.
Are warranties worth it?
by tenorg - 12/6/05 6:28 PM In reply to: Are extended warranties worth it? by Marc Bennett
Just think for a moment what is being manufactured in the U.S. today. I wouldn't buy any appliance, auto, computer, camera etc without an extended warranty. Want proof? Has your auto been recalled by the factory? How does it rate in collision safety? I have a 95 Honda Accord that has 111,000 miles on it. I have had to use the EW four times in ten years. I have a 2004 Odyssey with EW. Been in four times in 2 years. Not half the auto the 95 is. Try buying a treadmill this day and time. You will wish to G you had bought an extended warranty. How about today's computers? Need I say more?
RIPOFF; for everything but pricey computers and HDTV's
by Riverledge - 12/6/05 8:39 PM In reply to: Are warranties worth it? by tenorgI bought an expensive version of a GATEWAY, custom-made. Very happy, no real complaints. Got the three year warranty and LIFETIME TECH support, for $119.00. Sure, I've had diffucties. Everything has been taken care of quickly and effiencently. Kudos to Gateway.
I wouldn't trade the LIFETIME TECH for anything.
My next major purchase will be a 'LCD/DLP/PLASMA' type HDTV, for 3 to 5 grand, I'll be careful.
I'm sure I'll purchase an extended warranty on this item. Everyday equipment ($200-$600) like receivers, CD, DVD and VCR's; skip it, in addition well known companies wouldn't risk putting their name a piece of junk.
NO! They aren't worth it.
by hugmekisme - 12/6/05 6:28 PM In reply to: Are extended warranties worth it? by Marc Bennett
I bought a brand new Dell that cost me quite a bit of $$ because I do artwork on my PC. The thing arrived with a CD ROM drive that didn't work. I had purchased their 4 year next day in home service warranty yet it took them three days to get here and only after me pestering them to death.
Six months later the hard drive went. I called and some soft spoken woman in India answered. She didn't understand me nor I her. Net net, she ended up screaming at me "GET YOUR OWN COMPUTER REPAIR MAN!" so I did, no choice. I had the blue screen of death and I was purple.
My computer man does lots of instillations for universities and large businesses and doesn't come cheap. He got on the horn to Dell and it took them four days to get here with the new HD. The Dell rep plunked it in and left. NO WINDOWS installed on it!
They would not come back.
Call to Mr Expensive guy...he comes out and installs Windows.
It cost me $600.00 to get the thing running again.
I'm not an aggressive woman but after that, I wanted to bite somebody's head off. ANYBODY would do!
I will never deal with Dell again. I have a nephew who is a computer genius and he told me he'd slap one togther better than this thing and set me up with 2 or 3 monitors for far less than I paid for this piece of dingdingding.
That warranty isn't even good enough to line my parakeet's cage.
http://www.ihatedell.net
by i_made_this - 12/6/05 11:06 PM In reply to: NO! They aren't worth it. by hugmekismetake a peek at what dell employees and customers say - a unanimous "no way!"
otoh, if you buy a system from alienware, all warantees are honored and then some.
Satisfaction garanted
by yenaro - 12/7/05 12:56 AM In reply to: NO! They aren't worth it. by hugmekismeMy printer was in trouble and I called the seller. A young girl tell me on the telefone that I need a special cable, and than she came into my office to see my problem. A young lady in jeans can resolve your difficult and expensive computer-problems in 10 minutes, you know?
Circuit city Nightmare
by jafravh - 12/6/05 6:30 PM In reply to: Are extended warranties worth it? by Marc Bennett
I bought a Sony Clia from Circuit City. I spent about $200 on a 3 year warranty thinking it would be a good back up. My clia malfunctioned after 2 years and after being referred to one person after another and each one taking me through the same procedures. Then from one supervisor to another... I sent in the clia twice having it returned telling me it worked fine. In the end, they did not fix it and told me they just didn't know what to do. This went on for months until the warranty expired and then it was good-bye.. Do not buy any warranty on any product from Circuit City. The whole experience was a nightmare.
Circuit City warranty
by Lytingale - 12/7/05 7:09 AM In reply to: Circuit city Nightmare by jafravhSome years ago, we bought an e-machine computer and monitor, plus extended warranty. When the monitor failed at 10 months, we brought it to Circuit City... they said it was still under mfg's warranty, but instead of shipping it to the mfg, why didn't we just wait till the year was over? So we did, and brought it back... only to find in the fine print that the "computer" was covered by the extended warranty, but that we had not bought extended warranty on the "monitor" (it was not offered to us separately, and we assumed that the ext warr was on the whole package.) Grr.
Circuit city is a nightmare
by leapline - 12/7/05 7:52 AM In reply to: Circuit city Nightmare by jafravhI just had to respond to this. I recently posted a discussion on warranties. You need to read it. I did not say where I bought all the products I was talking about, but guess what all of them came from circuit city. I have not bought one thing from them that hasn't broke down within two years. That is why I recommended the warranties. One thing I did not say in the forem was that I also purchased a vcr from them and One week after the warranty expired it broke down.I have been lucky I guess for the fact that everything i bought Has at least still been under warranty. My discussion is named warranties.
depends on the reliability of the item
by PatrynXX - 12/6/05 6:31 PM In reply to: Are extended warranties worth it? by Marc Bennett
A cheapo Daewoo tv with a $20 4 year extended is probably a wise idea. But not one that's got a good record. But then again stupid Geeks over at Best Buy claimed there was nothing wrong with mine and simply took the red out. Lines are still there. So depends on who is actually offering it. Wonder if epinions offers comments on which extended warranties are good. I know the folks at Office Max and Staples seem to have good ones. But basically hit and miss. My HP went bad, and they sent a $120 gift cert.
A gamble
by mldavis2 - 12/6/05 6:32 PM In reply to: Are extended warranties worth it? by Marc Bennett
So-called "extended warranties" are insurance policies, pure and simple. As such, they are a gamble. With electronic components, most likely the item will be obsolete by the time the normal factory warranty has lapsed and you will want to upgrade, not replace aging technology.
Additionally, most electronic components will fail within the factory warranty period if there is a manufacturing defect. Beyond that, failure is more likely to be a matter of abuse or ignorance on the part of the user. If you accept that, then an extended warranty may be worth considering if you abuse your possessions or if you purchase the item as a gift for a person who might not be able to maintain and use the item as intended.
As an insurance policy, once in a great while you will win. Most of the time you lose, either because you won't ever need it, or because some fine print will exclude your common failure. Conversely, those who expect to need an extended warranty and who have paid for it will do little to prevent having to use it. Hence, those who take reasonable care of their equipment pay for those who abuse the product.
Only in the case of an irreplacable loss is insurance worth the cost (life, home, etc.), not some piece of electronic gear that is growing old.
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