MORONS!!! (Language)

[Bliss]

On apple machines these tend to end up being a blessing, specially with new LCD based machines (new iMac models, or ibooks, macbooks, etc) apple tend to screw design on those things and end up needing a lobo change or similar

[Bandit]

I'm mixed on this.

Most of the electronics I buy are not really high-end, and if they fail, I can either replace them without too much of a hit ($5 warranty on a $20 adapter?) or I can fix/upgrade it myself. Odds are that whatever it is has already been made obsolete and can't be easily replaced - at least these days.

That said, I *will* spring for the extended warranty on things like cars - they *have* paid off (2 air conditioner system replacements, one supercharger replacement and a couple of tows was worth the extra $1500 )

Basically, it depends on a few factors:
1) Can I live without it?
2) How big a hit will it be?
3) Can I fix it myself for cheap?

B

[Sliceanddice]

hell i bought a computer cheap, like barely 400 and i spent an extra 200 for protection.
I got it replace since because not only did the mother board fail 3 times, but it actually caught on fire when the tech checked it the last time.
The only simular computer still on the shelves cost almost twice as much as mine had.
im ok with my computer, but i think in a year or so i may need to update.

[depechemodefan]

I hate people who don't get insurance for their cars. They tend to be the most reckless drivers. I once got in an accident with a guy who had no insurance. My mom was driving down the road when a jerk drove out of a parking lot and hit my mom. His logic was it was my mom's fault. Then he gave his insurance info...or should say, his father's insurance info. The cop took the info but saw the DL said "John Brown" and the insurance said "John Brown" but the fine print is that the DL said "jr." and the insurance was for "sr."

Thank goodness for full covers.

In Texas, you can't take a car off the car lot without insurance. This a**hole just got an new Trans-Am (or corvette, I forgot what) which still had the dealer's plate on it. The guy hit me, and asked we not call the cops. Now this was a busy road but there were no businesses opend late at night, and this was before cell phones were big. So no way to call the cops. The guy, of course, tried to blame it on us when he called his ins. but luckily there were witnesses so he got his ass handed to him. Oh, and after he hit me he tried to drive off but I started to chase him and then he pulled over and then he was apologetic. Ugh.

[flybye023]

After working in retail, I also feel that extended service plans are a rip off. We would get weekly pep talks on pushing these because they were "pure profit to us" and "cash straight into our pockets." In dealing with customers I found that, in most cases the plans were not honored and there was always some weasely excuse for it. As one of the other posters here said, if a company is not truly willing to honor it, they'll find a reason not to and the customer is just S.O.L.

[the toy guy]

The plans at our store are pretty good. For most items in the electronics section it's a replacement plan. If it breaks you ship it to the company for free and they send you a gift card for the amount you paid for it.


As for the part about them being pure profit, I think that it means pure profit for that particular store. Even if the customer makes a claim, the cost goes to corporate, not that location, which means it costs the store nothing.

[Mango]

you're telling me you don't want to spend the extra $200 for 3 full years of protection? WHAT THE , MAN?

Depending on the benefits of the plan, $200 for a $2000 product is not a bad deal. The problem is, extended warranties have a bad name due to certain companies being overly greedy. Here's an example.

I purchased a laptop from a major national electronics retailer for $1400. The three-year extended warranty that was offered to me was $400.

Let's take a look at the components that most commonly fail on a laptop. What I see most commonly is the battery. Oops, laptop power source batteries are considered a consumable, so are not covered. Hard drive is next. Current replacement value of my hard drive is $70. Current replacement value of my DVD writer is $75. We're at $145 and have covered everything that has moving parts. Keyboards fail often because people spill stuff in them. Oops, liquid damage isn't covered. So for the extended warranty to pay for itself, we'd have to have either the hard drive or DVD writer fail six times in three years. Oops, the extended warranty isn't valid during the manufacturer's warranty. So we have to have one of these components fail six times in two years. Oops, and they only promise repair in eight weeks.

So, for the warranty to be of benefit to me, I would have to have either my hard drive or DVD writer fail at least six times in two years, and be without my laptop for a maximum of 48 out of the 104 weeks.

I didn't take the warranty.

Additionally, some credit cards or home insurance policies have better extended warranty than that which you would get from the store - mine does. So maybe your customer already had coverage.

[Evil Queen]

Excuse me, but what does car insurance have to do with Extended Warrentees? It adds no value to the vechicle. Is it really needed for this conversation?

[Record Store Tough Guy]

^^ I think it was being used as an analogy. A facetious analogy, but an analogy nonetheless.

[LambChop]

Well ultimately, it does really depend on the company that's offering as to whether or not it's worth it. I'll admit I've been burned by other plans too. But for our warranties, I've always had faith in how we do things and I rarely come across a problem or complaint that ultimately wasn't the customer's fault. As for it being pure profit, that's both true and false.

It's true that it's nothing but a piece of paper, so when you buy one, there's no product being sold that the company has to pay any vendors for, so it is essentially all profit. But consider this:

Let's say you bought the warranty on that $2000 dollar television for $200. Now let's say that it's hit by power surge or a lightning strike. Under our warranty, we will now replace that television with a brand new one, a comparable model, or gift card for current market value. So let's say by the time you get hit, you've had your TV for a year and the price has dropped down to $1500. So what was once $200 of pure profit is now -$1300 in margin almost any way you slice it. Or let's say your bought the accidental plan on your $350 iPod. You drop it and the screen cracks. Now what was once maybe $70 in pure profit is now -$280 in margin for a replacement.

See where I'm going with this?

Initially, the plan is nothing but pure profit. But should something happen to your product, the company has to front the cost for a replacement, or in the case of a TV, a replacement or replacement parts. If nothing happens it's money in our pockets, but if something does happen to it, we lose that money and more.

The fact of the matter is, if you're going to invest that much money on something that's going to be used in your everyday life, why not spend the extra money to protect that investment, especially if you have the extra money just sitting there?

[MTNLaurelPoacher]

Yep, I am one of those morons. I didn't buy the $200 protection plan. Between home owers insurance, a 1 year warrenty, and a good tv repair shop in town I did not need it.

Another thing I did not need was the $300 "special setup." Today for the low low price of $150. They will send a tech to your house to color correct your tv to make it last longer and look better. I asked the underpaid and underappreciated sales associate if since it was the floor model I was purchasing if it had been color corrected. He said Yes, it had been color corrected, but when it gets unpluged the correction dissapears. So ever time I move it, move houses, the cat pulls the plug, the power goes out, ect my color correction is gone? Yup...
Well wrap that tv up, and thats a big no way on those specials.

[angelicafire]

I'm glad I bought my extended warranty. Two weeks ago, lightning hit my apartment building and burnt up my motherboard on a computer I purchased 4 months ago for $1100. I'm still paying the thing off, so I'm really glad I bought the warranty. I'm getting a little antsy since it's been two weeks and it's still "waiting for parts," but if that falls through, I have extended electronics protection from my renter's insurance. That only costs me about $.60 a month for $10,000 worth of coverage for the electronics I have.

Seems worth it to me.

[wagegoth]

When I ordered the computers for my mother-in-law's business, I did get the onsite, very expensive extended warranty for a few reasons: The computers are from Dell's outlet.

I deliberately picked computers that were labeled as new - returned, but you never know.

The computers are for her business, so if one goes down she needs it fixed fast.

My MIL is not tech-oriented at all.

She also does not have the time to sit and diagnose a problem with someone online, as she is a lawyer and time is literally money.

Her secretaries have sometimes had some tech skills, sometimes not, so she can't count on them to be able to even disconnect the computer properly, and then describe the problem accurately at the repair shop.

[BlaqueKatt]

where did he buy from, cause i like that plan

Circuit city

[icmedia]

Just a quick word to anyone who thinks a $200 plan on a $2000 TV is a poor value...

I pay $1200 a year for car insurance for 2 drivers........... on a car I paid $1000 for. That extended warranty is a steal, comparatively.

And I would also like to mention that I have been the happy recipient of a $750 replacement TV, three $400 replacement iPods, five $350 replacement smartphones, three $200 PlayStation 2 consoles, and one $1700 replacement VAIO notebook over the course of the last five or six years.
Some of those replacements were due to fauly equipment, some due to my own clumsiness or accidents. I bought the plans, and as a result saved several thousand dollars in replacement costs while spending only around $1000 or so on said plans.