Extended warranties - worth it?

[George]

Don't buy an extended warranty and also consider buying from a local appliance store where they will have comparable prices and real service.

An example, my buddy & wife bought a washer/dryer at Home Depot. After a week they find that the washer is leaving black marks on the clothes. They call and find that if you buy appliances from Home Depot they are affiliated with some low end national service company. They find they can't schedule an appointment and are told someone will need to be there all day. The guy shows up and announces that he knows what the problem is, does not have the part and is not authorized to fix it because it is an expensive part and it is probably broken thru abuse? After numerous calls and threats of legal action someone authorizes (two weeks later) a real service company to repair the washer.

My other buddy bought all of the appliances for their new house at a local store. Thy had a problem with the door lock on the washer. The local store gave a specific day and arranged to call my buddy before they were coming so he could go home to meet the repair guy without having to take the day off. The repair guy came with the proper part and repaired the door under warranty.

[aspasia]

This article from the Washington Post seems to bear out the concensus view of the group on Subject:

and also consider buying from a local

I actually did go to the local app.store to shop for washer. I had bought a cooktop there some years ago during their semi-annual customer discount day, (and also a used frig even earlier).

They only offered 90 days to pay, as opposed to Sears 6 month 0% interest. Also Sears offers free delivery/installation on purchases over $400, and gives you a $65 voucher toward new appliance if old one is (unfixable) (you just don't want to repair it) depending whom you got the info from.

I paid $60 for the diagnostic call, as opposed to $85 for the local store. Also, the local store has a weird-sounding price scale for repair: So much for every 15 minutes the repair tech needs to do the job. Is this common? Reasonable?

Anyway, the Sears diagnostic serviceman was so obnoxious I didn't want to deal with repair; also $187 parts/labor was too much for an old washer. I checked on the lid switch assembly: Sears price $44.00; on-line parts supplier price $27.

Thanks, guys; I am learning a whole ****load about the wonderful world of appliance purchase/repair.

Your thoughts on above will be appreciated.

Aspasia

[Mark Lloyd]

This spring, I bought a washer/dryer at a local store. I was never asked about an extended warranty.

BTW, the dryer failed less than a month after I got it. The store sent someone out to fix it right away (it had a bad motor).

[larry moe 'n curly]

I'm no expert, but I've bought only one extended warranty, a 10-year parts & labor manufacturer's warranty for a central air conditioner, and it added about 10% to the cost. I might buy an extended warranty for a big screen TV because they seem to have high failure rates, and it's impractical to bring them to the service center..

Consumer Reports said that the average cost of in-house repair for a major appliance was less than the cost of an extended warranty, and in my experience (not much), most repairs can be done by any homeowner who's semi-handy with pliers. Here's about everything I've replaced in our own appliances:

1. dryer belt (a couple of times)
2. washer pump
3. door switches for washer, dryer, and refrigerator
4. freezer defrost controller
5. dryer timer knob
6. washer timer
7. wheels for dryer drum
8. oven range control
9. refrigerator door handle bracket.

And these were old appliances, except for #9, which was about six years old. #8 and #6 were the most expensive, about $75. About the only things that homeowners can't repair themselves are the sealed portions of refrigerators and air conditioners, but they're often covered for five years under their standard warranties and tend to be very reliable.

At the very least, I'd want any extended warranty handled by a real repair company -- factory service or an independent full service appliance repair co., not some cut-rate firm that specializes in extended warranties and pays its employees less than average rates.

Some great appliance websites:

[Art]

I bought a $1400 refrigerator at Lowes and they offered an extra 4 year service agreement for $89. I've had bad luck with appliances lately so I took it. Sears would charge $250 for same thing. I would never take that. Just bought a Kenmore dryer at sears. $610. They wanted $200 for 3 extra years. I passed. If it was $69 for 4 extra years I would probably have taken it. I think that is what Lowes charges but they did not have dryer I wanted.

[Bill]

In the last 6 years I could have spent over $2000.00 on extended warranties for this and that. I have not paid a penny.

I have only had a microwave and a VCR break in the last 6 years. I replaced them both for under $300.00.

Hummm.... Do the math on what you own, cost of extended warranties, frequency of things breaking per year, and cost of repair/replacement.

Also when certain things do break like a microwave, would you prefer to get a new one instead of having it repaired? Perhaps get a new TV with the latest features, etc.?

[trbo20]

Generally product protection plans and maintenance agreements are a rip except in a few cases. If you know how to do it, you can really stick it to the man. I used to work at Sears selling computers and hardware for a few years and they strongly pressured us to sell them. I sucked at pushing them because I didn't believe in them - mostly. They used to hold special (MA/PPP) meetings with charts and graphs and sales percentages by name. That crap always annoyed me to no end. That, and our 21% interest store card. Those things are just predatory.

So here's my rule of thumb. Some products will need to have parts replaced through normal use. These products include items like cordless tool batteries, table saw blades, roller blade brakes, wet/dry vac filters, etc. When asked about the protection plan, ask if the expendable parts are covered too - they usually are. If yes, then look at the cost of the plan, the cost of the replacement part, and the number of times you think you'll need that part over the plan's lifespan. Also check to see if the plan includes full product replacement or just part replacement.

In 1994 I bought a craftsman cordless drill with a protection plan and returned it every two years for a new one because the batteries were losing capacity. The computer system at the time would automatically offer me the ability to buy a plan with every exchange and I always said yes and shelled out the $15.00 for another two years. The plan was a full replacement, so I kept getting the latest cordless drill models. I did this until 2002 when I finally had to quit because the sales guy wouldn't sell the new plan to me. He said it was against the rules or something stupid like that.

Lastly, if you buy one, don't ever lose your receipt. This is most important because the store isn't going to try to keep your plan on file.

[Dan_Musicant]

On 30 Sep 2006 16:30:28 -0700, "Sev" wrote:

: :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. In my case, I tend to be careful with my purchases and in most cases won't be overusing them. In particular this goes for my refrigerator. I've had mine ~ 6 years and I figure on a scale of 1-10 my usage is around a 2. If I had a big family, etc. I might consider it for some purchases, such as you suggest.

Of course, the fact is that with most items, if there's a problem in the manufacture of it, it will become known to the purchaser before the original warantee expires. Most warantees I've seen stipulate that they cover defects in manufacturing only, not failure due to usage. An extended warantee then seems pretty dumb unless it's practically for free.

[Dan_Musicant]

:My :mother said they never got a year out of an ice maker in it before it :had to be replaced. I wouldn't buy an icemaker with my refrigerator. They are notorious for failure and I don't live where it's that hot, anyway most of the time. I get all the ice I need from good old fashioned trays.