Extended Warranties - Are they worth it?

[prinjm]

Hi,

I'm interested to know peoples opinions on extended warranties. I'm looking to spend aprox 1200 on an LCD but I am skeptical about the warranties offered.

In the past I have always avoided extended warranties because I figured that with the money I save not paying the warranties on numerous products in the (hopefully, unlikely...) event of one breaking the saving would more than pay for a replacement.

However with an LCD, being reasonably expensive, I wondering if it would pay to get it covered. Also, do warranties (in general) cover accidental damage (I have two small children running around the house!)

Cheers,

James

 

[mjcairney]

I have to say that I personally never entertain them.

As to whether they cover for accidental damage, I would not have thought so, but it must be worth asking the question at the point of sale just in case.

Cheers,

Martin.

 

[Mnr]

Buy one from john lewis. It might cost you a bit more but they give you 5 years warranty with it.

 

[ebatch]

Depends on how much you pay (relative to the price of the product).

Some places can charge you as much again for a 5 yr warranty. Which on products that are reducing in value and largely electronic (so not prone to breaking down) is plainly ludicrous. It's worth noting that most PC LCDs normally come with a 3 year manufacturers warranty, so they clearly don't expect many probs.

Richer Sounds charge 10% of the product price for 5 yrs, which seems reasonable.

John Lewis include 5yrs as a matter of course.

As a general rule, though, if you are paying for it and you did the same for all the products that you buy, you would end up paying massively more than the likely cost of getting things fixed as and when (unless you were extremely unlucky).

Some people always go for extended warranties as they like the warm feeling - I think older people are particularly prone to this way of thinking.

Me? I try to fix everything myself anyhow, whether it be TV, Washing Machine, Central Heating Boiler, Video, Stereo, PC etc. Last time I called anyone out (except when under original manufacturer's warranty) must have been nearly 20 years ago!

 

[BobBob21]

Warrenties are just another form of insurance and so are a risk transfer mechanism. You pay a premium for the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong you will have the item fixed.

Are they worth it? Probably as worth it as home insurance is... the odds are you will be financially out of pocket but if it died 1 day out of warrenty could you afford to immediately go out and buy another one?

Personally with the changes in the sales of good act I am even less keen to buy a warrenty than before - though I have never bought a single warrenty in my life.

 

[ninegt]

hi
the site below gives one of the lowest quotes i have found

http://www.warrantyex.co.uk/

 

[David Mackenzie]

Yes they are. Sony KLV-26HG2 after 16 months:

Small fault, only appears obviously on the Memory Stick viewer, but a fault regardless.

BTW regarding WarrantyEX, are they any good? Anyone use them?

 

[ash]

It's worth it IMHO, you never know what may go wrong, and say in 2 years they don't stock your model you will get a new one

 

[blatisingh]

Yes they are. Sony KLV-26HG2 after 16 months:

Small fault, only appears obviously on the Memory Stick viewer, but a fault regardless.

BTW regarding WarrantyEX, are they any good? Anyone use them?

the policy you get form warranty ex is a domestic and general one, only cheaper. Have used them for over a year and when you need a repair you contact dom and gen direct

 

[Gavin83]

I dont normally bother with extended warranties, but that's only due to me regularly changing my equipment. Having worked in retail though, I'd say its a risk factor. If something does have a fault, then its great. However, if the product is fine its a case of wasted cash. It'll be one of them things you'll be upset you didn't take out if the need for one comes about.

As for accidental damage, it depends entirely on the retailer. Retailers such as John Lewis only cover for breakdown, while some others (Currys, Comet) offer accidental damage aswell. However, as far as Im aware Comet are the only retailer to offer a full guarantee. It's certainly best to check it out with the individual retailer though.

 

[jay_edinburgh]

I dont usually go for extended warranties on stuff but decided I would if I was going to spend £2400 on a TV, for peace of mind more than anything.

You can claim on your house insurance for accidental damage to your TV but that means if anything gos wrong with your TV you have to do a insurance job on it which I am not keen on but a lot of people do that.

Also if you are going to spend a lot of money on a TV then many companies will chuck in a free warranty if you haggle with them well, thats what I did and it worked.

 

[russellelly]

Remember that there is a difference between an extended warrany and suport from the retailer. An extended warranty will typically only cover what the 12mnth guarantee does, where a retailer policy often covers accidental and better guaranteed service levels (ie 2 day call-out, 21 day replacement in Currys).

As for whether I would or not, as said it's like insurance, I took the gamble but if you want the security then go for it.