Game extra warranty. Is it worth it?

pixm

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Do people think its worth paying out £34.99 for 3 year cover & £23.99 for 2 year cover for the extended warranty with Game stores?

The advantage is if my 360 breaks (and there's a bloody good chance it will) Game said they would immediately replace my machine for a new one during the warranty period. I've heard of people sending their machines back to microsoft and waiting 3 months to get it back only to find it's a duff refurb job. Apparently, Microsoft are receiving so many they havent got the manpower to cope.

The disadvantage is I'm paying extra money just because microsoft have designed an unrealiable machine:thumbsdow

Your views...
 
Do people think its worth paying out £34.99 for 3 year cover & £23.99 for 2 year cover for the extended warranty with Game stores?

The advantage is if my 360 breaks (and there's a bloody good chance it will) Game said they would immediately replace my machine for a new one during the warranty period. I've heard of people sending their machines back to microsoft and waiting 3 months to get it back only to find it's a duff refurb job. Apparently, Microsoft are receiving so many they havent got the manpower to cope.

The disadvantage is I'm paying extra money just because microsoft have designed an unrealiable machine:thumbsdow

Your views...

Long stroy short: no. MS repair any 3rl errors up to 3 years after purchase (and i've never heard of a different error than the 3 red lights).
 
in my opinion most extended warranty's are trash - don't bother would be my advice on this and pretty much any other consumer electronic
 
I paid for the extra warrenty, they say you get 2 years but it is ony one really because all electrical goods have one year warrenty in which you can return it to the shops should it go wrong.
I went for the exrtra warrenty because now if anything goes wrong in the 2 years i can just change it at game rather than send it away to microsoft.

I have had unreadable disc error messages and dvd drive has packed up before so it is not just the 3 red lights that mean it's the end for your 360.
 
Hey

I bought an Elite today and can find no mention of 3 year warranty, or is it not in the printed book which covers the 1 year?

Alex
 
Hi guys, just to clear something up about the previous posts.

1. You will have to send it off after the first year, if it breaks down. Well, it'll be picked up and repaired/replaced within the week.

2. It's not just a warranty. It's insurance so it's not just breakdowns. This covers the controller (and any spares if you're sneaky) as well, especially important if you get a Wii for instance.

3. Three red lights is covered as well, so you can get it replaced quicker. If they decide to repair it, then this will probably last longer than any replacement anyway.

I have to sell these on a daily basis, basically because the margin on them makes up for the **** margin on the console a bit. All I know is that I may not like it, but because it insures you machine and controllers and any games damaged by your 360, it's good value. £23.99 is a drop in the ocean compared to the excess on your insurance, and frankly i'd pay £24 to get my 360 back quickly if there's a big new release. If you've got any questions on GAMECare, i'll happily answer them here.
 
...I have to sell these on a daily basis, basically because the margin on them makes up for the **** margin on the console a bit. All I know is that I may not like it, but because it insures you machine and controllers and any games damaged by your 360, it's good value. £23.99 is a drop in the ocean compared to the excess on your insurance, and frankly i'd pay £24 to get my 360 back quickly if there's a big new release. If you've got any questions on GAMECare, i'll happily answer them here.

I agree. We're all aware of the pointless extended warranty's that most stores try and flog to you every time you buy something. But given the unreliability of this machine the extra spend is a guaranteed way of being able to swap your 360 in store, if it breaks down, and not have the hassle of sending it off for an unspecified amount of time.
 
Another Game employee here and I have to agree with the post before me, for the small amount of money your spending it's actually a really good idea. It covers any accidental damage, so if you spilt water on it or even dropped it out of the window you're covered, it's not just cover against hardware defects, and whoever said the only defects they know of are 3 red lights... you are joking right? I've had 5 360s only 2 of which have been the 3 red lights, the others are DVD drive failures and other similar things.

I'd only get it on aWii or Handheld though.

I loathe selling the Gamecare though, I hate having stuff forced at me when I'm in a shop so I wouldn't want to inflict it on anyone else, but unfortunately us employees have targets to meet. We should really just give you the leaflet and explain what it is if you're interested, there should not be targets for something as daft as insurance but nevermind.
 
Not sure whether ones bought in Gamestation stores qualify, but your console has to be no older than 30 days to get Gamecare after your purchase.
 
Not sure whether ones bought in Gamestation stores qualify, but your console has to be no older than 30 days to get Gamecare after your purchase.

so what happens after 30 days?
 
Aftercare warranties are generally a waste of time - you're just paying money for things you're already legally entitled to. Have a read of the FAQ.

No as a few of us have said now it's insurance, you're paying for accidental damage cover for two years, no-one is legally entitled to that, if you drop a drink on your console without the insurance neither the shop nor manufacturer are legally bound to replace/repair the console.
 
so what happens after 30 days?

Your console become inelligable for Gamecare, mainly because they believe that anyone wanting to cover their console with it after 30 days already has a damaged console so they don't want to run the risk of having to replace it as soon as you sign up.
 
Your console become inelligable for Gamecare, mainly because they believe that anyone wanting to cover their console with it after 30 days already has a damaged console so they don't want to run the risk of having to replace it as soon as you sign up.

surely u have a legal right to take it back to the shop within the first year if its not working?
 
No as a few of us have said now it's insurance, you're paying for accidental damage cover for two years, no-one is legally entitled to that, if you drop a drink on your console without the insurance neither the shop nor manufacturer are legally bound to replace/repair the console.
Ah, yes, fair enough. Accidental damage isn't covered. Bear in mind how much you pay for the warranty vs how much a repair would cost. And you have house insurance too if it's a write off.

To my mind there are so few situations where a paid warranty would work out economical, it's just not worth it.
 
surely u have a legal right to take it back to the shop within the first year if its not working?

Of course but that's got nothing to do with extended warranty, thats statutory rights.
 
alot of people seem very happy as game customers and failing 360's - they can just pop in for a replacement which seems great to me for the first year!

However personally i think the MS warranty is very extensive, i have found their service to be excellent (arranged a courier, very quick and even have supplied me free games in the past). On that basis id say its really a waste of money unless you have cash to burn and also took out extra warranty on your phone :suicide:

On a sidenote amazon is complete bo*****s, they managed to send my refund to a random guy in the USA depite careful instructions.
 
Ah, yes, fair enough. Accidental damage isn't covered. Bear in mind how much you pay for the warranty vs how much a repair would cost. And you have house insurance too if it's a write off.

To my mind there are so few situations where a paid warranty would work out economical, it's just not worth it.

I'd agree with you for most after care insurance covers like Mobile Phones etc, but with this it is only £23.99 for a 360 for two years and as many replacements as you need, and if you were to claim on your house insurance instead you'd probably end up paying double in excess for just a single claim. Despite me defending it I didn't buy it myself :D
 
I'd agree with you for most after care insurance covers like Mobile Phones etc, but with this it is only £23.99 for a 360 for two years and as many replacements as you need, and if you were to claim on your house insurance instead you'd probably end up paying double in excess for just a single claim. Despite me defending it I didn't buy it myself :D

I don't know about you but I have friends who work at GAME and they just get their managers to swap their 360's if they break without a fuss. One even had a modded console that his manager replaced after it broke. They don't need to buy the extended warranty. ;) :D
 
I don't know about you but I have friends who work at GAME and they just get their managers to swap their 360's if they break without a fuss. One even had a modded console that his manager replaced after it broke. They don't need to buy the extended warranty. ;) :D

I'm sure my manager would do just that for me, but I wasn't an employee when I bought this current 360, nor when my other 4 broke, but I'll keep that in mind. :D
 
Aye, I swapped mine over before they extended the warranty to 3 years for 3 red lights. But i've traded for the Elite now, and probably swap that when the new chipset arrives. It's one of the only reasons I work there tbh. The pay is lousy and there's no commission and we get sod all training and are expected to know everything about every game. If a GAME employee ever does you a favour, you're lucky, because we really get it up the ass daily for what we have to do.

On the point of GAMECare, also remember that when you buy extra controllers, you can say they were the one that came in the box. Just an added perk and saves you £33 if you knacker it.
 
if you do not buy the warranty and your 360 breaks you can send it to M$ and be without it for 4 weeks for no cost at all.

If you buy the GAME Warranty and your 360 breaks, phone the store and let them know you are on your way in and they will request your base unit only with no HDD, pads or box just your receipt or Game Card Number and they will swap it for a new one no testing no questions and update your receipt and warranty period.

If you ask me its worth every penny.
 
If you buy the GAME Warranty and your 360 breaks, phone the store and let them know you are on your way in and they will request your base unit only with no HDD, pads or box just your receipt or Game Card Number and they will swap it for a new one no testing no questions and update your receipt and warranty period.

If you ask me its worth every penny.
They should be doing this anyway without their extended warranty. If it breaks, it breaks and the retailer is still liable by law to repair or replace. The fact they will make it as awkward as possible for you to do it without their warranty is just plain bad customer service.
 
They should be doing this anyway without their extended warranty. If it breaks, it breaks and the retailer is still liable by law to repair or replace. The fact they will make it as awkward as possible for you to do it without their warranty is just plain bad customer service.

Too True
 

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