Well, our fireplace died again. So I am grateful that we have the warranty to call Repairman Jack back until the problem is solved.
I once read some wonderful advice on warranties. When you're offered the option to buy an extended warranty, ask yourself if the item is new technology (which is prone to problems) or established technology (which isn't). When we bought a very expensive, new technology television years ago, I sprang for the extended warranty, which paid for itself three times over with the one repair the television needed.
Our new house came with a warranty from the builder that includes the fireplace, so we're good with Repairman Jack. But should you buy extended warranties for your car, your refrigerator, or your cell phone?
We haven't for the cars or fridge, but we did for the cell phones, mainly because the warranty included coverage for damage from dropping them or accidentally running them through the washing machine.
What are your feelings about warranties? When do they make sense to you as a blessing and when are they an unnecessary expense?
Love the warranty advice re: new technology or proven. So true and a great rule of thumb. I don't buy them on many things and some are just ridiculously priced (a huge percentage of the purchase price).
ReplyDeleteAs I told one salesman, if it is known to be a good product, why do I need to buy a warranty? He didn't know what to say without compromising what he was selling ;)
Mind you, you have no guarantee regarding who was on the assembly line when an item was made - especially if it is a Monday or a Friday as they tend to be the days where people are not as effective on the job. Had a Honda Accord that had a water leakage problem and thankfully it was under factory warranty as nobody in the company would admit they ever made a faulty car (even wrote to the president of the North American division explaining my issue). Took a guy from the factory to figure out the head wall was not sealed so the water was seeping between the two pieces of metal and when it reached the height of the air vents out poured the water.
So after all that babbling...I'm interested to hear what others have to share :)
I never buy extended warranties. My theory is that all the money saved from not buying any will pay for the few items that actually need to be repaired.
ReplyDeleteI did consider buying it a few years back for our new front load washer and dryer, because we live in the country and the warranty would cover having a repairman come out to our place to fix it, but I procrastinated and never got around to paying for it! Oops. So far. so good. No problems.
Also, my theory on "new technology" items is that they are likely to become outdated before they break down!
As I commented on your other blog; I just got my laptop back from Best Buy and the Geek Squad. They handled the whole issue VERY competently.
ReplyDeleteNow I don't normally buy warranties; they seem overpriced and have so many exlusions. But we have made three exceptions in the last few years.
For our DLP 65" TV, the warranty didn't cost much more than a replacement bulb. Guaranteed that bulb is going to need to be replaced.
Our 2012 F-150. Yes, it's built Ford tough and they are really building them better than they used to. But, it's loaded with electronics and they are so expensive to repair. And we also purchased the tire coverage. We drive urban freeways 65 miles a day and it's a truck! It's almost a certainty that we'll need to replace a damaged tire.
And, I just extended the warranty on my laptop. It needed a new motherboard in less than a year. I don't have a whole lot of confidence in it now.
We'll see if the three warranties were worth the cost.
We purchase extended warrantees for computers, for any TVs using new technology or super large TVs, and years ago, when microwaves were first introduced for home use, I purchased an extended warranty.
ReplyDeleteI have used all the warrantees at some time in the life of the computers, the TVs and the microwave.
We do not purchase extended warrantees for cars.