QOTD: Do You Buy Extended Warranties?
Things tend to break down eventually. Even high-quality products eventually break down. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it's a pain.
Thankfully, purchased goods come with limited warranties, typically around a full year. However, sometimes a year just isn't enough, especially when you've vested your hard earned cash into an expensive product. But, you always hope that things will be okay. More often than not, consumers feel that extended warranty plans are just a scam, a way for companies to pocket more money without actually offering anything back.
Warranties, like insurance, work on peace of mind and yes, fear. This is why extended warranty programs have such a stigma over them. When you buy an extended warranty and something does go wrong after the initial period vaporizes, you feel glad that you bought it. If nothing goes wrong, you feel money was taken from you for nothing in exchange--especially when some extended warranties can be very expensive.
I once witnessed a retail sales person sell a customer on a $25 "extended warranty" on a $30 camera lithium-ion battery. First of all, you can't sell warranties on batteries, and second, that was an outright scam.
The question of the day is: Do you buy extended warranties for your devices?
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deltatux yes I do. With AppleCare, it actually saved me from paying for another laptop. They just exchanged my laptop for free because I was within the extended warranty period. I think I costed Apple more in repair cost than what my AppleCare was worth.Reply -
hellwig I purchase extended Warranties on pre-assembled computers (though I haven't bought one in years). I got more than my moneys worth using the warranty on my Alienware computer.Reply
Generally, if the warranty cost is less than 10% of the product cost, it might be worth it. If the extended warranty also covers more types of damage than a basic warranty, it might be worth it.
I have never, however, purchased those "extended warranties" from stores like Best Buy. They have such poor customer service to begin with, I can't imagine the hassles they put you through. -
sublifer Not on anything for myself. When its for someone else I'm more inclined to have them get it so I don't have to deal with all the problems. The day they sell an extra 2 years of warranty for $20 is the day I'll consider getting it for myself. Of course a PC ought to last more than 3 yrs anyway... unless something is defective, like NVidia's bad GPUs, parts shouldn't die within 3 years. Most will go for 7 but if you get 3 out of it then you probably got your money's worth.Reply -
tenor77 I go by cost ratio. Say I buy a $500 Monitor and they want $25? Sure. They want $100, umm nope.Reply
Say it's a $4000 HD TV, and they want $100, sure, $500, nope. -
yantelope I worked at Circuit City and the profit margin on warranties was 70%. The only warranties that are worth it are the ones that have accidental protection. That way 4 years later your computer can have a little "accident" maybe fall down some stairs, repeatedly. You send it in and get a shiny new one. Of course those types of warranties cost more than half the price of the laptop so they still aren't really worth it.Reply -
kezix_69 I did once on a laptop I bought from Circuit City. The damn thing broke like 5 times and they simply fixed it each time. I was pissed that they didn't just give me a new one!Reply
I didn't buy the warranty to make sure it was operational, I paid that much freaking money so that I would get a new one when it broke!
That's the last time I remember getting an extended warranty on anything.