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Factory flaws and glitches will show up long before the factory warranty expires. Also, most extended warranties are worded in such as way that they won't cover anything anyway.
There is a reason that everybody pushes extended warranties the way they do - and it's not for the benefit of the consumer.
I know from personal experience and that of several friends that what you are saying is not true....simply not true.
If the warrenty is like lowes and cheap then it might be worth it on a expensive model that has electronic controls but doubtful on one that has rotary controls.I never do because i or a friend can fix most things on either.
The Extended Warranty Rip Off (http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Extended-Warranty-Rip-Off&id=1387815 - broken link)
I have to say that logically, I agree with Omaha. Warranties, and their associated costs are carefully calculated so that they will end up turning a good profit for the selling company. The OVERALL cost to purchase a warranty will always be greater than the OVERALL cost to repair the units. If the companies were losing money selling extended warranties, they would not stay in business, nor offer them.
That said, on an individual basis, extended warranties can be VERY useful and a good buy. You will hear lots of stories about people who purchased a warranty for $99 or $199 and had their entire machine replaced which was worth $1,000. I have had this happen to me as well.
I look at an extended warranty the same way I look at life, car and home insurance. It is something you buy hoping that you never need to use it. But if you cannot afford to replace that washer if it dies one day past the initial manufacturer's warranty, then buy the extended warranty.
Also look to see if you have a credit card that automatically doubles the manufacturer's warranty. This is a way of getting a free extended warranty.
Another thing to do is see if the warranty is part of a service plan. In many cases the warranty includes annual cleaning and servicing, and usually at a price equal to what you would pay in annual maintenance service calls. The companies bet on people not calling in for their free checkups and cleaning.
Personally, I usually buy the extended warranty (if reasonable) on all major purchases.
Personally, I usually buy the extended warranty (if reasonable) on all major purchases.
Not a problem at all - and if you're comfortable with that, that's an excellent choice.
I think the main thing people need to do is to carefully read ALL the fine print - including the manufacturer warranty.
For instance, I had a new Central Air unit installed in a rental house this summer. It has a 10-year parts & labor warranty, and the local company (that has been around for 50 years) will do any necessary work. A lot of extended warranty companies will try to push their product on you, but won't be honest enough to say that their warranty is only for 10 years. In this case it would be a complete waste of money to buy the extended warranty.
I don't really understand people who think they're wasting $200 on extended warranties. You'd rather take the chance and "hope" and "pray" nothing goes wrong and go out to dinner (yeah, that's not a huge waste) or buy a new outfit (vomit)? Seriously? A one-time fix of big-ticket items like washers, dryers, major kitchen appliances, furnaces and hot water heaters can easily cost more than this. Most companies will charge $75 just to pay you a friendly visit, then tack on charges for time and labor, of course.
For obvious reasons, attention to the fine print is essential. As iceshots noted above, some major appliances include annual service plans with their extended warranties (we've got service plans on our furnace, a/c and water heater) and it saves us a ton of money ($200 or more per visit, twice a year for the next 15 years - that's savings in and of itself of $6,000). We have them on all kitchen appliances (we've had the microwave ($500) replaced twice under the extended warranty - we paid $79 for it 5 years ago - haven't spent a cent since). We've had excellent luck with most other appliances, but all have extended warranties.. and we don't even miss the money we invested when we first purchased. I'd not be happy if our washer broke tomorrow and I had to replace it for $2,000.
People will always have different ways of looking at warranties - "I don't see the point. The company just wants to bilk us for everything we've got". As far as I'm concerned, you're bilking yourself if you think replacing or constantly fixing appliances saves you money in the long run.
Gone are the days in which a DIY-er who knows how to use a DMM can readily measure if a particular function should be on or off on a particular cycle. Almost every function is computerized, digitized, and/or with feedback signals that would inhibit easy diagnostics. Some have on-board diagnostics, but as there's no 'OBD2' standard but moreso an 'OBD1' standard like in cars, the error codes can be very vague as to where the issue really is.
In other words, working on a newer washing machine these days is akin to working under the hood of a newer car these days. In other words, not for the faint of heart, and not cheap when something goes wrong.
Extended warranties are like insurance ... you hope you don't need it, but if something does happen, you're glad you have it. If the extra amount makes sense (ie. a $300 warranty on a $500 item doesn't make sense!), I say go for it.
That all said, my 2 year old Bosch front-loader has a bunk display panel, and it's almost $300 just for the part alone. That $200 extended warranty that I declined back ... doesn't look so bad afterall now.
That all said, my 2 year old Bosch front-loader has a bunk display panel, and it's almost $300 just for the part alone. That $200 extended warranty that I declined back ... doesn't look so bad afterall now.
Hmmm... Our LG front load washer & dryer would have had that covered with the factory warranty.
Even so, we've had the pair for over 5 years and have had absolutely no problems with them. By now our extended warranty would have expired.
No. Service plans are generally a bad choice (Consumer reports did an analysis of them and all came up negative).
Take the money, put it away and you will evnetually have enough to cover any repair. THen you can stop paying. Service plans do not have the stop paying option.
No. Service plans are generally a bad choice (Consumer reports did an analysis of them and all came up negative).
Take the money, put it away and you will evnetually have enough to cover any repair. THen you can stop paying. Service plans do not have the stop paying option.
I find it interesting that you would make such a statement when there are clearly a number of us who have stated that we have personal experience with service plans that have more than paid for themselves.
Do you know what a service call costs? Parts and labor? One visit can cost as much as a 3 year service plan.
We paid $150 for our service plan on our computer and ended up with a brand new computer 3 years later (because we had a service plan). My friend spent over $400 on parts and labor for several repair bills on her LG front loading washer and dryer....a service plan would have cost much less than that.
Service plans from reputable establishments can more than pay for themselves. As stated by several here, it is a kind of insurance that can pay off when you really need it or just give you peace of mind when you don't.
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