Extended Warranties -- Worth the Cost?

[eskimo2]

Extended warrantees are great if you plan on abusing the product and your method of abuse is covered in the warrantee.  They are also good if you absolutely must have a product that has a reputation for failure.  Other than that they are a waste and are just another way for retailers to make more money; they don’t sell them just to be nice.

[Booz]

If they're willing to bet money on it not breaking, then I trust it ain't gonna break.

[LePaul]

I check into the costs of fixing things before delving into an extended warranties.  Things like the car and some pricey electronics, absolutely.  I view that as insurance.

I even bought one when I purchased a snow blower from Sears.  Turns out to have been a great idea.  Paid $200 for it and broke even by year 2 of the 3 year warranty.  Had some starter issues and problems with the joystick-like controller that points the chute.

When I worked at Sears, a popular thing was to buy replacement deals for things like MP3 players and even headphones.  They replacement coverage was usually dirt cheap...and high use items like those got traded out effortlessly.

[ROC]

I've gotten extended warranties on my past 4 vehicles.  Now, I didn't pay for them.  I made the deal on the cars first, then made them throw in the warranty.  I simply explained that if they were not willing to back the product I wasn't willing to buy the cars.

Chevy conversion van, toyota camry, mustang and before that the bronco.

I came to that conclusion after I paid for an extended warranty for a New Nissan Stanza in 91.  The car blew an engine within the Factory Warranty Period, after Factory Service, and I had documented 4 times that there was an engine noise I went in for, they heard and assured me it was no problem.  Then, I spent months fighting them while the car sat at the garage as they stated it was Not Covered.  End result was it Was covered, they Fixed the car and paid me for the time the car sat while I was making payments.

I don't buy warranties, they prove to me their product is worth it or I'm outta there.

[Gunslinger]

My next DVD player purchase will have a (usually cheap) extended plan on it.  I have NEVER owned a DVD player in the last 3 years that lasted over 9 months it seems.  The one I currently have does not play movies all that well....(freezes and such) and it's only 3 months old.  I remember the kid at best buy offering me a 3 year deal for like $9.  I'd have a new DVD player now if I bought it.

[WilldCrd]

Originally posted by Flatbar
Harley Davidson has a good extended service plan.

Recently I bought a '01 Fatboy that had 17k miles. I bought the extended < 5yr > service plan that includes all the bells and whistles, car rental, hotel, 100mile towing as well as a complete drive train and major component coverage with a $50 deductable per incident.

The other owners I talked to that have this coverage and have had to use it all are glad they spent the extra cash for it.

Hitting the road this summer with a bit of peace of mind.

I agree BUT it definatly depends on the dealership you take your baby too!!!!.

The story:
bbudy bought a '03 fully decked out used electra glide. 1 month into ownership the cam bearing goes south. he takes it in. they give him the ussual runaround of "if" its covered blah blah blah. takes them 1 1/2 weeks just to tear down the engine another week to get harley warranty to come out to look at it ( only 1 harley warranty guy in DFW) they then take another week to ship it to Arizona to have it rebuilt...( this is after they mistakenly informed my freind they would replace it with a new motor)
He get the bike back a week after all this and 2 weeks later hears a loud clanking noise ...turns out the didnt install the oil pump correctly ( ie the gears didnt mesh correctly and most harley owners know what im talking about here)
sooo back to the dealership and a long talk with the owner with me there to "protect" the owner from any accidental falls


addendum: they did get it all fixed finally, they did reimburse him the $500.00 for a bike rental ( they dont give ya one you rent it and they reimburse you)
and the owner fired the service writer who blatantly misinformed my buddy and went WAY beyond his authority + didnt get the bike worked on in a timely fashion due to being to busy not knowing WTF he was doing.

Moral of the story: extended warranties are great when ya need em. however KNOW where your taking your baby and make sure they know what they are doing. Its also good to know all the fine print and the process

[JB73]

gotten 5X my money back on sticks at best buy back before i got CH stuff...


WISH I bought it for my 3 year old TV that died, would have been covered.


win some - lose some.

[DREDIOCK]

We had a Cevy Corsica (god how I hated that car)

Literally 2 weeks after the warranty expired. teh oil pump went on it
the car was less then 3 years old!
After arguing with severl people on the matter I told them either they were going ot fix it for free. or I was going to stop paying for it(it was leased) and return it to them by driving it through the store room window..

They must have been able to tell I wasnt bluffing cause they fixed it for free LOL

[Flatbar]

Originally posted by WilldCrd
I agree BUT it definatly depends on the dealership you take your baby too!!!!.

A search in the Harley owners groups helps with this. Lots of bad ones and good ones, just like any biz catagory.

My bike was originally sold and has been maintained by the dealer I bought it from, I got the complete maintenance and upgrade info before I bought it.


It's going to be 80 degrees and clear skys here all week, gotta go!

[Dinger]

Hey, "extended warranty" on electronics is there purely because the competition on sale price is so severe, they gotta make their margins somewhere.

[Helrazr1]

I think I've only ever gotten my moneys worth one time.  It was on a digital camera I picked up at Best Buy.  I was hesitant at first seeing that the warranty was $90 on a $600 camera, but it paid off.

Best Buy gives you a replacement battery once a year, takes it apart and cleans it whenever you want.  I actually broke my camera (my fault) and took it in.  They don't carry the one I had anymore, so they gave me a better one in it's place.  Between the batteries, cleanings, and new camera, I figure that $90 saved me about $800.

[WilldCrd]

It's going to be 80 degrees and clear skys here all week, gotta go!

dunno where u live flatbar but here around DFW its beem prime riding weather for a couple months...i been gone lol

[Sixpence]

Bought a whirlpool duet ht(electrolux) washing maching a couple of years ago, paid 1400.00 at the time and figured it was worth another 100.00 to get a four year extended(Lowes).

Was worth it because about a month ago the main control board went and it is the most expensive part for the machine, just under 300.00. With labor i'm sure it would have cost me over 400.00 to have it fixed.

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by Sixpence
Bought a whirlpool duet ht(electrolux) washing maching a couple of years ago, paid 1400.00 at the time and figured it was worth another 100.00 to get a four year extended(Lowes).

Was worth it because about a month ago the main control board went and it is the most expensive part for the machine, just under 300.00. With labor i'm sure it would have cost me over 400.00 to have it fixed.

Im starting to wish I had one on our Whirlpool but we got it from my brother in law when he moved.

The way my wife keeps insisting on running imbalanced loads Im sure its going to need something before long
today its one Feather pillow and a sheet
which kinda makes it hard to get a balanced load.

Like I keep saying.
"Her bright ideas eventually become my headaches"

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by Dinger
Hey, "extended warranty" on electronics is there purely because the competition on sale price is so severe, they gotta make their margins somewhere.

I disagree on some stuff.  SPecifically audio equipment is usually marked up about 200%.  Extended warrenties are just icing on the cake.

When I used to work for best buy as a teenager I'd usually get stuff at half off using my employee discount.  

I admit it might be a little different now