This is a companion to my other thread about Kenmore vs. Whirlpool washers, where I also posted this question:
What do the experts -- you out there who actually have hands-on experience! -- think of the usefulness of extended warranties?
Thanks for your input.
Aspasia
I don't buy extended warranties for anything. I consider myself, self insured for these matters. They are high profit items for the sellers. Why do you think they are always bugging you to buy them? Frank
The only extended warranty I ever bought was for my HDTV. The warranty included a free lamp replacement, which represented 70% of the cost. So that seemed prudent, given the newness of the technology.
For items such as washers, dryers, ranges etc., those warranties are generally a waste of money. I'd avoid them.
Consider this. Everyone wants to sell you an extended "warrantee". The dealer and sales person get about 50% of what they charge you right off the top. The other 50% goes to the insurance company. Yea, it is an insurance company because it is not really a warrantee, just an insurance policy. Now the insurance company takes are few more dollars out for their operating expenses and profit. The little bet left is what they have to make good on the policies. There are a lot of companies out there doing this and most are making good money.
They know far better than you want is it going to cost them to cover the insurance cost. Most of the money you spend on those goes into someone else's pocket not back to customers. They are poor idea.
I bought a mousepad (on sale) at Best Buy for ninety-eight cents. The check-out clerk asked if I wanted an extended warranty ($4.95 for three years).
There's a message in there somewhere.
From what I've heard, the extended warranties are seldom a good buy for the consumer. They are a great money maker for the seller.
Yeah, right -- but what about a clothes washer at $400, with warranty $200 for 5 years -- oh, I think I just answered my own question...
Aspasia
I've heard that retailers make about as much profit from selling you extended warranties as they make from the product, so that's why they often pressure you to buy them. I never do, and I don't think I have once regretted that decision. I don't recall a single time when an extended warranty would have been of any benefit to me.
: :aspasia wrote: :> This is a companion to my other thread about Kenmore vs. Whirlpool :> washers, where I also posted this question: :>
:>
:> What do the experts -- you out there who actually have hands-on :> experience! -- think of the usefulness of extended warranties? :>
: :I don't buy extended warranties for anything. I consider myself, self :insured for these matters. :They are high profit items for the sellers. Why do you think they are :always bugging you to buy them? :Frank Exactly.
Dan
I have to disagree- partly. While in general I agree with what's been posted(and Consumer Reports recommends against them), I have bought them for a couple of appliances, and been glad I did. My wife wanted a new style fridge a few years ago, and we got 5 yr warranty at a discount. My family is hard on things- 3 kids, harder than training dogs... I've had the fridge repaired 3-4 times already, partly due to defective design- as I said, a new style(french door, bottom freezer), but also due to careless treatment. I think I'm already well ahead, with over 2 yrs left on the warranty. Had a similar experience with a dishwasher, which I must admit was largely due to poor purchase choice on my part- Maytag. Again, though, they offered me discounted warranty, and though I'd have been happier if I'd just bought a reliable machine, at least I haven't had to pay for the repairs. I'd consider them with new models of unknown reliability, or if your kids are as rough on things as mine have sometimes been. If you do, see if they'll give it to you at reduced rate.
I generally agree with the others about extended warranties on appliances. I also have heard that the stores make more on the EW sale than on the appliance. However, my folks had some friends who had a service contract on a Sears refrigerator that was about $80-90/yr. My mother said they never got a year out of an ice maker in it before it had to be replaced. Dunno exactly what it would have cost to have a ref IM replaced, but I'm sure it would probably be at least double the cost of the contract--possibly triple. BTW, to the OP, $170 for a top load washer lid switch assembly seems awfully high. That should be a fairly easy DIY, and I would think the part would be about $25 or so. Larry
Once had my department manager tell my that if I couldn't sell an extended warranty with the appliance, not to sell the appliance as the company lost money on the sale. I've seen fellow salesmen walk away from the customer and not return when it became obvious that the customer would not buy the warranty.
Tom G.
"HeyBub" wrote in news:12htfhr79g45e45 @news.supernews.com:
And I'm sure it excluded wear & tear from normal use.
aspasia wrote in news:M4-dnfIU3bpBAoPYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@adelphia.com:
If they have no faith in the quality of their product why would you buy it? If with 20-20 hindsight I find I should have bought it, last one I buy of that brand. Simple.
Taking my weekly paycheck to the casino and placing it all on a roulette wheel bet would be a stupid thing to do. The fact that a few guys can tell a story where they did just that and won does not change the fact that it is a stupid thing to do.
Nobody would make the point that buying an extended warranty will NEVER pay off. However; it is certainly true that if you NEVER buy them for anything that all of the money saved will be more than the one or two times that you have a failure that would have been covered. They cover the timespan where the appliance is least likely to have a failure.
Often they may more from the insurance than the product.
Extended warranties are good for the store, bad for the customer. Save $50 a month into an emergency fund until you can maintain $1000 or more.
I always say no to that "extended warranty", but have not been refused the appliance yet.
I have heard this from friends kids who worked at places like Best Buy where they pay Walmart class wages. They said they had to count on getting their $2~5 share of the extended warranty to make any money and if it looked like someone didn't want to bite they would ignore them.
Good example of why I dealing with big-box appliance dealers. Buying a dishwasher last year, just going around checking prices on entry-level units, and one sales droid insisted on giving me a high-pressure pitch to 'buy today'. As I was walking away, he said 'You'll be back- they always come back'. I ended up buying elsewhere, probably for ten bucks more or so, simply because he pissed me off. It was worth it to deny him his commission.
In my experience, and in previous threads on line, the consensus seems to be that sales droids are required to pitch the warranty 3 times per sale. It gets absurd at times- I have been pitched warrantys on 10-buck remote controls and 20-buck box fans. Yeah, right.
The only time extended warranties make sense is on goods that are sold installed, or are bleeding-edge technology. Otherwise, 'self insure' by keeping enough cash in the bank to replace the item with a different brand if it craps out. Very much a profit center for the dealer. If you can't afford the risk exposure of repairing an item you buy, well, mebbe you should rethink the purchase.
aem sends...
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