Extended services plan, a necessity or a burden?

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

I'm planning to buy a big screen tv, and I was thinking about those extended services plans they always try to sell you. Do you think it will be wise to acquire it, or maybe it's just a waste of money.....

I think that if the appliance is well built, it will last many years by itself (with proper care and maintenance), but if it is defective or even a lemon, it will start to show its true colors soon, or at least less than a year... what do you think about it?.

On your personal experiences, what do you do?, do you take it home without it, or do you spend the extra dough and go for it?, discuss.

[hudsonf]

I only buy them on expensive products that I think are delicate and not repairable by me. I did buy the extended service plan for my 26" wide screen lcd tv but I wouldn't buy it if it was a regular 26" crt tv.

[lordsmurf]

Usually a waste of money. If the product is going to break, usually a good warranty from manufacturer covers it for the period of time when they think it will be an issue.

Those really long warrantires, by the time it runs out, you're ready to upgrade anyway.

Many of them are just scams, like MACK, where you pay more to ship back and forth "under warranty" than if you just paid a local repairman.

Usually maintenance items are what breaks, and it's not often covered by warranty (cleanings).

Or the warranty covers parts but not labor.

There is a ton of fine print.

The one that bugs me the most is places like Radio Shack can, at their discretion, give you a "similar replacement". If they stop carrying that super-duper Sony, and all they have now is the knock-off Ynos brand, guess what you're getting?

And then they are often quite costly.

For quite a few years, I bought warranties because I was just stupid. Only 3 times did I ever need them, most of them go unused.
- #1 The MACK one would have cost me more to ship to NY than to simply pay a local repairman, which I did, and it was done quite well.
- #2 Best Buy "fixed" my car CD changer about 4 times before it started to work good again.
- #3 Best Buy was incompetent on a VCR and I eventually paid the local repair shop $35 and I've not had troubles since. BB always wanted to clean things, they were too damned dumb to listen to me, so the problem never got fixed by them.

That reminds me of another issue. Usually the repair people they have to perform work on this equipment are incompetent. When it needs to be fixed, expect them to screw it up more or do nothing the first 1-2 times you give it to them. While manufacturers and independent shops are not perfect either, they tend to do the job right the first time through, more than not.

I've been fine for a long while now, just relying on manufacturer recalls and warranties. Companies tend to stand behind their product just fine, you really don't need to give Best Buy or whoever funds to pad their profit. If you follow these companies, the business pages, you'll know this is one of their cash cow "stupid taxes" they collect from consumers.

[SquirrelDip]

It's insurance - for the most part a waste of money. However, if the value of the item is very high then having that insurance may be warranted.

I do not generally buy the extended warantees - but there are a few exceptions (like expensive mechanical items).

Do you buy lottery tickets?

[Craig Tucker]

Rip off, steer clear. I have seen extended warranties on cheap goods which are in excess of 50% of the original purchase price.

[yoda313]

I almost never do. Though I did buy one for my Sony subwoofer. Its long since expired.

[BJ_M]

good for plasmas and expensive appliances like refrigerators (the more expensive type like sub-zero), video projectors , not worth it for a lot of things

it has paid off for me for my sub-zero fridge for sure... and also had a oven fixed under an extended warranty

[Jester700]

As an insurance policy, it's all about cost vs. risk. Most policies payout about 50% of their intake, but a report I read (15 years ago, I admit) put extended warranty payouts at about 15%. Not that they're necessarily a bad idea, but they're usually WAY overpriced. There's a reason Circuit City makes you sell 6% in ESPs or face disciplinary action - they're the most profitable thing in the store.

But there are some cases that make sense. I actually bought one on a DAT machine once - as an employee. The ESP was priced like those on cassette decks ($70/5 yrs, IIRC) but DATs are built like VCRs and cost about the same to repair. VCR ESP's were $210/5 yrs.

[Faustus]

I get them on Macs. Apple care to protect my awesome computer.

Beyond that I've only done it once before. My first XM Radio, the plan cost $20 and it paid off because it was replaced by them. Last was a PCMCIA card that I got a warranty on for $2.50 because I worked for the company at the time.

I work for a company that does support for a 3rd party warranty, it really is all cream to them. A small percentage of people actually ever use the warranty. The onces who don't use it for forget they have it more then make up for the calls and repairs that have to be done.

[Conquest10]

I never get them. I seem to be abnormally lucky with electronics in that almost none of them have broken (except for dvd players but they are cheap and the reason they brake is the little one around) and the ones that have have all been over 5 years old (no ESP lasts that long).

[zzyzzx]

That reminds me of another issue. Usually the repair people they have to perform work on this equipment are incompetent. When it needs to be fixed, expect them to screw it up more or do nothing the first 1-2 times you give it to them. While manufacturers and independent shops are not perfect either, they tend to do the job right the first time through, more than not.

I would say exactly the same thing about automotive or other repair people too.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

Thanks for the answers guys, I have made my mind and I will not get it. It's 33% the cost of the TV and the TV is not as expensive itself.

[yoda313]

33%????? Forget the warranty and put that money into getting a bigger tv!!!

[MackemX]

I got a free 5 year warranty with my TV along with a surround sound DVD player. Not only was that a good offer it was part of a pricematch deal, I also got £450 cash back .

So I ended up getting a TV with a 5 year warranty and free DVD player for 30% less than I would have paid for just the TV at the Sony shop 8)