Extended Warranties: Yes or No?
Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:49PM EST
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So you're shopping last minute and decide to be extra generous and buy the big-screen HDTV, or maybe the DSLR camera I've wanted for a long time...oops, sorry. That's not meant for you.
In the excitement of the moment, the store clerk begins to rattle off the extended warranty options he recommends for purchases like yours. Of course he does; that's how the store makes money on electronics that keep falling in price. Should you bite?
The short answer: no. Consumer advocates have long said most warranties are not worth the peace of mind they supposedly bring. You're buying an insurance policy to cover repair costs should the item break after the manufacturer's warranty ends. But Consumer Reports and PC World say tests of hundreds of products indicate more are reliable and fairly durable every year. And if they should need repair, the cost is often on par with what you've paid for the warranty, according to Consumer Reports.
You're better off spending the time researching which brands and models have performed best in consumer tests than spending extra dollars in a gamble that the one you choose will have problems.
When plasma and LCD HDTVs were new and the prices were sky high, Consumer Reports recommended opting for extended warranties because the technology was untested and the TVs cost so much. But the prices have dropped, and Consumer Reports' latest reader survey finds that in the last three years, HDTV owners report few problems with their TV sets.
So CR now recommends saying no to TV warranties. (The magazine makes one exception, advising consideration of extended warranties on rear-projection TVs, which are three times more likely to need repairs than other TVs.)
Meanwhile, J.D. Power & Associates' 2007 Major Home Appliance Survey of white goods such as dishwashers, ovens, and washers/dryers finds most so reliable that no warranties are recommended on those purchases either. In the first two years of ownership, one-tenth of owners report problems with their appliances. And most of those problems can be fixed by reading the manual or seeking help on the web.
This holiday season, your best bet may be to do what CR Senior Editor Tod Marks recommends: Put the money you would have spent on an added warranty in the bank so that you'll have it in case you need to repair your latest electronics purchase.
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7 Posted by carradeboy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:18PM EDT Report Abuse
the few exceptions should be ipods, because they often have battery related problems that would be covered by a warranty, and computers that are prone to virus's, crashing and other problems. i have had to get a new harddrive before and it was covered by warranty and i got a free upgrade from 90 GB to 160 GB and had varius security issues/ virus bugs fixed so the warranty was deffinatly worth the cost.
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8 Posted by mgaits on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:17PM EDT Report Abuse
i bought the warranty only to have called Toshiba myself so they can tell me there was a recall on that tv which no one mentioned because a lamp was broken that was not covered by the warranty and the warranty company told me they would gladly exchange it for 500 and somewhat dollars and Toshiba exchanged it for free imagine I had not called toshiba myself. The Tv was 1 year old...
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9 Posted by alparsano on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:51PM EDT Report Abuse
If no one buys extended warranty, electronic prices will go up, therefore the ones they do not buy it, will gain the money.
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10 Posted by csv3216 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:31PM EDT Report Abuse
Sorry to hear w/o the warranty you are stuck with a 2000.00 piece of junk. I bought a LCD tv 3 years ago. I paid almost 5000.00 for mine. Since they were new, I DID invest in the warranty. 3 months ago, the soundboard went out on my Sharp LCD tv. I thought no problem, I have the warranty. Im covered. I was WRONG....so wrong. 3 mos. later I still have a broken television, having to rent one for now....so you tell me. Without the warranty, piece of junk. With the warranty...STILL a piece of junk.
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11 Posted by virtuallyretired on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:36PM EDT Report Abuse
I have an ext. service contract for my heat pump/ac system. I already needed to replace the evaporator and the compressor and the evaporator tray. It was WELL WORTH the money. And I still have 2 years to go.
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12 Posted by dbc29 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:38PM EDT Report Abuse
I agree extended warranty is a waste of money and I think people against it are salesmen and store owners
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13 Posted by kibastryker on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:50PM EDT Report Abuse
You know i understand technology is always getting better and all this junk, but for one everything is made on an assembly line. they probably have very little testing done to the product you buy, and most manufacturers are going to give you little help in general. i have been working for a major electronics retailer for several years now and have seen everything from tvs lasting longer than they should to being dead on arrival. i now work in customer service and you would be surprised how many people i see that come in and have a problem that i can no longer help them with. yeah sure that 200 service plan seems like a lot now. but lets say you do have problems with your 2000 dollar tv, now i can get it fixed or replace it with a current better model than you had for free. and when it comes to cameras, what usually happens to them, you drop them, spill water on them, or otherwise accidentally damage them, so buy the accidental damage plan, even just the 2 year one because youll probably buy a new camera by then anyways. honestly i hate reading these articles that say dont buy them, because i deal with customers on a daily basis that really wish they had
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14 Posted by sjclay327 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:25PM EDT Report Abuse
dude yahoo works prolly with most big companys dont be fooled with just one person's advice get the warrenty! sometimes that ----- comes in handy once we had to replace a ps2 3 times it was breaking for no reason good thing it had a warrenty lol
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15 Posted by snowball71602 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:30PM EDT Report Abuse
always bring your own vasline before you buy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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16 Posted by cowboy_at_the_falls on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:30PM EDT Report Abuse
spending a thousand dollars on a tv with a 3 month waranty doesn't make any sense. but neither does paying extra just to make sure your tv acts like a tv. best advice: do your homework, buy quality brands, and consider sitting a little closer so you don't need as big a screen (duh).
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17 Posted by semiconductorpro on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:12PM EDT Report Abuse
If you read the fine print, the extended warranties are a rip off. Real example here (just goto any Circuit City or Best Buy and ask) If you buy a LCD projector TV, the warranty states they cover the bulb. The reality is they do cover the $100 bulb, but charge you $120 for the service call. Plus the $150 you just spent on the warranty. Let's do the math: $120 + $150 = $270 The part costs $100 and you can replace yourself in 3 minutes. The instructions are in the owners manual that came with TV. Don't you pick a brand for its reliability? So why do you pick a brand and then need to spend even more money in case it's defective. Could have bought the better model in the first place.
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18 Posted by nikhex7 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:38PM EDT Report Abuse
I've worked retail electronics for over 5 years. I will say not every device is gonna break, but the average repair cost usually is more than double the warranty price. Plus, most warranties cover all repairs for the life of the warranty. I would advise buying warranties on all laptops, cameras/camcorders and HDTV's.
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19 Posted by jmattey on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:37PM EDT Report Abuse
I say yes for HDTVs. I bought a DLP, the color wheel alone costs $250 add labor and you've paid for the extra 3yr warranty I bought for and extra $150 (or so). Also notebook computers, desktops are easy fixes, when batteries, power supplies, displays fail you'll be glad you bought the 3yr extended plan. This paid off twice for my last two notebooks purchases and a friend of mine.
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20 Posted by ladyreddog12 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:55PM EDT Report Abuse
I have had extended warranties on many of my appliances, in most of the cases it has been very good to me. I bought a refrigerator with and extended warranty i year after the manufaxturers warranty expired there was an onternal freon leak that could not be repaired so I went called the warrany company they checked put my refrigerator and I recived a full refund and I purchased another one. I had the same problem with my digital camera, I recived a refund and bought another. Even though some of these electronic items is durable sometimes you can get that one that has problems. I won't buy a higher priced appliance or electronic item without a warrany.
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21 Posted by chuckmemmons on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:25PM EDT Report Abuse
My attorney points ut that most of the items covered by an extended warranty are the same things covered by the Uniform Commercial Code in terms of warranties implied in a fair trade purchase. He says extended warranties are primarily a way for companies to print money for extra profits, especially car companies.
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22 Posted by mike3367 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:19PM EDT Report Abuse
this report is so wrong it not funny it cost way more than most warranty's that most company provide for there tv's. do not listen to this report as is is a complete under lie that it will cost you so much in the long run with out the extended warranty. i should know i fix tv's for a living and i can guaranty you that it cost more to fix it once than it will for most of the extended warranty's out there
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23 Posted by jeffymi on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:32PM EDT Report Abuse
Note that if you pay for your item with a credit card many of the gold or platinum cards offer a doubling of the regular warranty. In many cases this is comparable to the store warranty. Why get two extended warranties?
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24 Posted by punkrock1246 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:22PM EDT Report Abuse
I never get the extra warenty, products usualy come with a 1 to 2 year.
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25 Posted by bell48439 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:04PM EDT Report Abuse
I would say to purchase the warranties. I know from experience that warranties may seem pointless at the time of purchase, but when you really consider what could go wrong to damage your television I think most would reconsider the warranty option. Did you know that with most warranties this will protect against surges, and other things of that nature that may be a cause of nature rather than just a bad apple. When the CR suggest putting money in the bank to repair the tv if the tv repair is beyond the actual cost of the tv then what? I would suggest the warranty and if you look at it it's like insurance, if you break it down over the warranty period it turns out to be a really small amount for so much protection, think wisely and make the wise decision.
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6 Posted by jmorton822 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:37PM EDT Report Abuse
I've never had a anew refrigerator or washer/dryer, dishwasher or TV for that matter fail in any time short of several years. But, I buy fewer bells and whistles and go for quality brands, items instead. How many settings do you actually use on your washer/dishwasher anyway? Also, the more manual controls, the better.