Extended Warranties

[gw84]

what do you guys think of extended warranties? From my experience they seem to be quite useful. Just a little piece of mind. The only problem is that they aren't cheap! I'm getting a one year "accidental damage" plan for $99 on my new HP laptop. Apparently this plan covers anything! I was told that I could drop it from my roof and it would be covered! There are other plans as well: two years for $249 and three years for $349. Because I don't think I'll be to hard on my computer, I just went with the 1 year. Should I go ahead and splurge on the 2 or 3 year plans?? Seems like from experience, trouble pops up just after warranties expire

['97ventureowner]

Most are not usually worth it. Consumer Reports just did a big story on it debunking the facts and myths on them. I don't personally purchase one when I buy something. There were a few items thewy said could benefit from one such as certain tv's and Apple computers.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/p...anty/index.htm
http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/f...ed_warranties/
http://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/i...story=20050707

[ericn1300]

i agree, extended warranties aren't worth it. most electronic devices have a high infant mortaltiy rate, meaning if the are going to fail it will most likely be under warranty. you can probably get accidental damage coverage under a rider on your your home owners or renters insurance for a lot less if it's not already covered. check with your insurance agent

[gw84]

Originally Posted by ericn1300

i agree, extended warranties aren't worth it. most electronic devices have a high infant mortaltiy rate, meaning if the are going to fail it will most likely be under warranty. you can probably get accidental damage coverage under a rider on your your home owners or renters insurance for a lot less if it's not already covered. check with your insurance agent

I'm going to have to disagree with you somewhat. I think it depends on what kind of device we're talking about. I bought a service plan for $40 for 4 years of coverage on a car stereo. Glad I did. The thing had more than one issue!

Also, I've noticed that many people have trouble just after their warranty period expires. I personally like the piece of mind.

[Polygon]

I think they are a waste of money. In most cases, 99% of the time, electronics fail early rather than later.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by ericn1300

i agree, extended warranties aren't worth it. most electronic devices have a high infant mortaltiy rate, meaning if the are going to fail it will most likely be under warranty. you can probably get accidental damage coverage under a rider on your your home owners or renters insurance for a lot less if it's not already covered. check with your insurance agent

This post got me thinking . Some credit card companies also offer coverage on a product purchased with their card, usually doubling the warranty or extending it for a certain length of time beyond the original period. Check the paperwork that came with your card or call their customer service number and find out if they offer such coverage. Some coverages I've seen include loss, theft, accidental breakage, etc. so it might be worthwhile to see if it's offered on any of your cards, and if so, use that card to purchase the item you want.

[mellowboy]

97ventureowner made some good suggestions. However IMO I would only purchase them on products thats over 150 dollars and will go on 1 year (2 years on top of the manufactuer). Alot more people are starting to get them because of the new accidental damage they cover. The best extended warranty program are from N.E.W. (New Electronics Warranty). I've read alot about them and they're pretty good service. But what like 97ventureowner suggested, I'd definitely check with your credit card company to see if they have coverage. I believe most American Express has them. I dont know about the home owner insurance. Thats a new one to me and im goin to look into that.

[ericn1300]

Originally Posted by gw84

I'm going to have to disagree with you somewhat. I think it depends on what kind of device we're talking about. I bought a service plan for $40 for 4 years of coverage on a car stereo. Glad I did. The thing had more than one issue!

Also, I've noticed that many people have trouble just after their warranty period expires. I personally like the piece of mind.

anecdotal stories such as yours are not statistically significant, but i'm glad it worked out for you. say thank you to rest of the suckers that bought the same coverage and made a very nice profit for the provider.

[drunken monkey]

Extended warrenties are not worth it.
The only reason stores puch them so hard is because they make commision on each one they sell. This means they can afford to advertise lower product prices and why they puch the warrenties so hard.

In the UK, a lot of home insurance policies also include a white goods cover in which you can nominate items at cost per item. My current policies on both houses cover fridge, freezer, washing machine and dishwasher. If anything goes wrong, they have a people who will get to me in 24 hours to repair. If it cannot be repaired, they will replace it. Cover for each item per year is much cheaper than any extended warrenty.

Generally, warrenties are useless as they often have limitations to their validity and your ability to claim from them. Insurance on the other hand, as long as you buy the appropriate cover is much better.

[mellowboy]

Originally Posted by drunken monkey

Extended warrenties are not worth it.

What happens if you bought a computer/digital camera/tv and the manufactuer warranty is up? Im just curious thats all.

Originally Posted by drunken monkey

The only reason stores puch them so hard is because they make commision on each one they sell.

For what? A couple of bucks? Maybe 50 cents? Come on now its not the car business. I used to work at office max and believe me its not that much. On average its like 2 bucks. On computers/digital cameras...10-20 bucks but thats not everyday.

[drunken monkey]

Originally Posted by mellowboy

What happens if you bought a computer/digital camera/tv and the manufactuer warranty is up? Im just curious thats all

i'm going to assume you mean what happens if something goes wrong.
Here's where I point out that nothing I have ever bought has ever failed within the manufacturers' years warrenty or has developed a fault within five years.
On the one instance that I dropped a camera into the mediteranean, my insurance company replaced it with no questions asked. They didn't even bother to ask for a receipt for proof of purchase within my period of cover.
That is my personal items insurance that is attached to my household cover. I had listed a few things £300+ and the total extra to my policy amounted to about £50 a year; much much less what a high street store charges for extended warrenties packages, not to mention that insurance also covers theft.

Originally Posted by mellowboy

For what? A couple of bucks? Maybe 50 cents? Come on now its not the car business. I used to work at office max and believe me its not that much. On average its like 2 bucks. On computers/digital cameras...10-20 bucks but thats not everyday.

In the UK, most extended warrenty packages are operated by the store; thus, any money gained by selling that warrentee goes to the store.
After that, it aint rocket science to figure out who wants the sales people to push them on clients.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by mellowboy

What happens if you bought a computer/digital camera/tv and the manufactuer warranty is up? Im just curious thats all.





For what? A couple of bucks? Maybe 50 cents? Come on now its not the car business. I used to work at office max and believe me its not that much. On average its like 2 bucks. On computers/digital cameras...10-20 bucks but thats not everyday.

In answer to your first question,if you need a repair on an item that is out of warranty , you take it to a local repair place. Look in the yellow pages of your phone book for repair places, or check the paperwork that came with the item. Some manufacturers recommend repair facilities in your area, or you can make arrangements to send it to them or another authorized repair place to have it repaired and sent back to you. Most of the time I just take my stuff to a local repair facility to get it fixed. A good place will look the item over first,(usually for a small "estimate charge" which is refunded if you have the item repaired there,)and if they deem it would cost more to repair than replace will let you know upfront.
It depends where you work concerning commissions paid for extended warranties. Some places don't give commissions while other places it's a big figure. Here is a link to a story concerning commissions and extra revenues generated to "pad" the bottom line. Pay attention to the paragraph concerning Dell:http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,12...2/article.html

[gw84]

the main reason I posted this thread is because I'm in the process of purchasing a new laptop. The extended warranties for it are quite pricey, but because I've never owned a laptop before, I don't really know how well built they are or how hard I'm going to be on it. The one I bought covers accidental damage. I was told that it covers anything except 'acts of god'. I think the $100 is a good investment because I was told that if you accidentally close the laptop with a pen on the keyboard the screen can shatter! OUCH! I'm gettin' the one year deal, but if after the year is up and I haven't had any trouble, I certainly won't be extending it again!

As I stated earlier, I had trouble with a car stereo AFTER my factory warranty had expired. I thought that plan was great...4 years for $40. It's basically like I paid an extra $40 for a free "upgrade" to a new unit anytime within 4 years.

['97ventureowner]

Extended warranties offer a "peace of mind" to the consumer. If they think it's a good deal then by all means if they want it they should get it. By looking at all the facts and researching the pros and cons,that can help one make a better choice. Of course emotion plays a part in it as well. As long as you feel it is a good deal and offers you peace of mind, then go ahead and purchase it.