Extended warranty: Is it worth it ?

a relative is buying a fridge and wants one of these warranties. so in my research i find the same LG 3 door fridge has a $140 5 year warranty from BB or a $500 5 year warranty from sears

so what does sears give you for 3 times more the money? i not a fan of best buy but this difference is crazy. places like lowes also have cheaper extended warranties.

fridge 1500 both places

 

I'd just park the $140 in a savings account. Do this every time someone wants to sell you an extended warranty and then use this account for replacing items. You'll find the balance on the account slowly but consistently getting larger with time.

As far as the differences in the warranties if they still want to buy one? Going to have to ask BB and Sears to spell out the details.

 

ss mentions the details and that is where I see most people getting (I'll be polite) less than what they expected. First, all products come with a manufacturers warranty, let's guess, one year. If anything was going to go wrong, probability is high it would happen sooner rather than later. Reliability curves improve sharply after the first year and they know that, and their extended warranty will only kick in after the original warranty expires.

The next step is a bit difficult, but all products come with an implied warranty, but how well that is enforced will vary from state to state. Maine is the #1 in enforcing those. Basically, how long would you expect a refrigerator to run without a problem. A lawn tractor might have trouble getting started in the spring, but a refrigerator will be running like a clock for more than 10 years. It is free money in their pockets, and out of your relatives.

Bud

 

I've never been a big fan of extended warranties but with the increasing use of electronic controls an extended warranty makes sense. One control board can be $200.

 

I'm not a big fan of extended warranties either. IMO if it's going to break down it will either be quick [during the manufacture's standard warranty] or well after the extended warranty has run out. Obviously there are exceptions but I'd rather hang on to my money and have it if I need it than let them have it and maybe never get any use out of it.

 

The ones that have been offered to me on large appliances are for x-years from the date of purchase. So in essence you are getting zapped for one full year of coverage since the manufacturer warrants it for the first year. You only actually have a 2 year warranty.

 

I've never had an extended warranty and just don't understand the thinking. As has been said, electronics normally fail quickly or work for years with no problem. Things like icemakers have a high failure rate if used a lot and can be quite expensive, though mine has functioned fine for almost 8 yrs.

I just bought a used fridge for my rental place (divorce required) and they said the icemaker didn't work but if I wanted it repaired, it would be $150 more. As much as I use ice, I can buy a few plastic cube trays for $5 and be perfectly happy.

A Larry said...if it's from date of purchase, they get a year for free.

But also...if it gives them peace of mind...what's $140? All depends on their age and situation. Read the terms carefully. Is it just labor and they have to pay for parts? Or vice/versa?

Another way to think of it is...would you pay 10% more for a car to get an extended warranty? I sure wouldn't.

 

Sears salesman tried to give me the hard sell one time and told me a ref. brakes down an average of once a year. So I needed to buy the extended warranty.
And did it with a straight face.
If it broke down once a year I'd return it and buy another brand.

63 years old, at least 20 ref. in 20 different house and I've had to replace one defrost unit and clean out one drain tube.
Keep your money, not worth it.

 

I have only ever purchased one and as it would turn out, had to use it. It was on a tile saw from Harbor freight. My wet saw died in the middle of a job and I had to make a purchase that day. I knew what I had assumed I was going to pay for a new saw. I was eyeballing several and a sales person came up to me and made me an offer at 60% of what I was planning to spend and it included a 2 year extended warranty. They were having one of their wiz bang sidewalk sales or something. Anyway, as the 2 year mark approached, little quirks started on the saw. I took it to them and they gave me a new one, still in the box, on the spot, no questions asked. That is how you do business IMO.

 

Based on what I'm seeing here in the appliance forums... the mean time to failure is roughly three years from date of purchase on a fridge. Actually, I've seen the three year point at other sites I check in at.

 

Just an opinion from someone who has been in the repair business for over 45 years (few appliances), but if the mean time to failure is 3 years I would be looking at a different mfg. A refrig is not something you carry from room to room. It doesn't get switched on and off 5 times a day, If hides in one specific spot and has a dedicated power source. Even when there are frequent power failures I have never heard of a refrigerator as being mentioned as one of the appliances that suffered.

As mentioned, I will agree with the increased risk of the new electronic control boards and for that perhaps the lower priced extended warranty might be comforting for someone who doesn't want to do battle when something fails.

Long before implied warranties S**rs used to have a statement posted over their entrance doors, "Customer satisfaction guaranteed" and I held them to that many times. I don't see that anymore, probably because they can now charge ridiculous prices for it.

Between BB and s**rs I would ask who does the service. Sometimes those extended warranties are sold off to (or part of from the start) a national service company which bids the service out to the lowest price contractor. I once dug out from the selling office box store that the extended warranty service company for a new laser copier I was buying was in Boston, 400 miles away and I would have to ship it down there for service. LOL Make sure any service for that frig is on site.

Bud

 

As some of you may remember I had to buy a new refrigerator almost a full year ago. I was offered an "extended warranty" from an aftermarket concern for a reasonable price, especially since it included coverage for food lost as a result of failure of the refrigerator. The salesperson (who I am sure got a commission) said that because the refrigerator I bought was a brand new model it was probably a good idea to go with the extended warranty and I agreed.

However, starting about three months ago I have been inundated with letters from Whirlpool practically demanding that I pay for an extended warranty. These letters are now coming at the rate of about once per week and the cost of the extended warranty is NOT cheap. They are so cheap that they don't even send a postage paid return envelope or I would have long ago asked them if they have such little confidence in the materials and workmanship of their products how can they stoop so low as to even sell them to an unsuspecting populace.

I noticed on the one I received today that it has a 1-800 number so sometime in the next couple of weeks I will take some time and have fun with whoever answers that telephone.

 

You know, that reminds me......I continually get letters from General Electric wanting me to add on to my warranty period for a horrible amount of money on a dishwasher I had in a previous house. I've been in this one for 15 years. There must be someone at GE that scrutinizes these things. Maybe not.

 

Refinanced my house this past summer. For 3 months, every 2 days I got a letter in the mail offering a mortgage guarantee for X amount/month that would cover everything in the event of my untimely demise. They were expertly crafted so as to appear to come from the bank I got the mortgage from. Micro fine print on the back side said there was no affiliation.

Bought a used car for my daughter this summer as well, it was a 2006 sedan. Same annoying letters in the mail offering an extended warranty on an 8 year old vehicle. Then made the mistake of taking it to a Chevy dealer for service (the ignition switch recall thing) and got robo called multiple times a day wanting me to participate in a satisfaction survey. I finally blocked the number in my phone.

 

I bought DIRECTV satellite/receiver when they 1st came out for about $650, it came with a 1 yr warranty. Just before the warranty ran out they sent me info on purchasing an extended 2 yr warranty for around $500 I declined .... and then a few yrs later they started giving the satellite systems away! My receiver finally did die but it was over 10 yrs later.

 

Worked for a repair company, There biggest profit was from extended warranty's. Always pushing us to sell them, Much better to put money in the bank and build it up for repairs. lot cheaper in long run.

 

regarding car warranty it is funny that less than 1 year after buying a new car sommeone wrote to me saying my warranty expired and i should buy their extended warranty. i think even yugo offered more than 1 year warranty

regarding comments about building savings in the bank, that simply isnt true anymore. unless you know somewhere a savings is paying more than .1%.

problem with relative is that they did buy warranty on cheap microwave and used it like 2 times for new one lol. it was small cause had to fit in tight spot. so i guess they are sold on them.

 

all seems to good to be true for 150 for 5 years

Major Appliances- BestBuy

House Calls
Once the manufacturer's warranty expires, compressors, transmissions, drive motor parts and remote controls are covered for two, four, or five additional years, depending on the plan purchased (maximum combined coverage limit of 10 years).

This includes repair costs for normal wear and tear, including defects in materials or workmanship and failures due to dust, internal heat and humidity.

Power Surge Repair

We'll handle the repair costs for equipment failure due to a power surge or fluctuation


Food Spoilage Allowance

Should your freezer or refrigerator fail, we'll cover up to $200 in spoiled food
You can transfer Protection Plans for individual products to a new owner, with no charges or restrictions.

http://www.geeksquad.com/uploadedFil...%20English.pdf


I think the compressor has a 10 year mfg warranty so basically they are saying they dont cover the compressor since 10 year max.

Refrigerators and Freezers:
1. Parts coverage to repair the compressor part will be covered for a period after the expiration of the manufacturer’s warranty according to the Plan term you purchased with a maximum combined coverage limit of up to ten years

 

One of my old friends who couldn't get around too well bought a S**rs riding lawn tractor with a mower deck and a snow blower. The $300 3 year extended service included them coming to his house and swapping attachments twice a year and when any service was needed they picked up and delivered the machine. Heck, I would have bought that one.

Bud

 

I wouldn't purchase an extended warranty on appliances. I would (and did) get one for a few electronic items.
I recently had a digital SLR camera replaced, free of charge. I was very happy I had that warranty.
Without it, I would not have been a happy camper.
Of course I had to fight for the new camera, they want to get out as cheap as possible, but I stayed on them and they agreed.

 

Here's a trick that I use to purchase an extended warranty. For example in PC Richard, it works great. If the price, of an item is $300 & the salesman asks if I want the extended warranty, I say how much is it & he says, $50. I say if the price of the item were $50 lower, I would take it. They do it every time. I even did it on a Walkman & the Walkman went bad 3 days before the warranty expired. I got a new Walkman for free.

 

i may try the discount trick at best buy.doubt sears will take 500 off price of a fridge.

and ill try to tell them that consumer reports said LG was decent brand and take a chance. they wont use the ice maker at all so that wont be an issue. will keep fingers crossed

 

thought of another possibility. have the relative give me 150 and i tell them ill pay for all repairs for 5 years.

 

Yep, that's you becoming the insurance company

 

are appliance prices fixed...been watching the same fridge all week..reguarly 1800, sale for 1450 at sears and best buy, and probably others. i figured sales end on saturday

today sears and best buy jack it up to 1600. im pretty darn sure this reeks of collusion. so are prices fixed at the national level by manufacturers.

 

Collusion ?? Between Sears and Best Buy.... I don't think so.

So you figured the end of the sale price incorrectly and the price went back up. That appears to be pretty normal. Just a co-incidence in both raising the same say or the manufacturer only allowed a discount until today.