What are your thoughts on extended warranties

I just got off the phone with my insurance company, they covered my camera and lenses for an extra 18 dollars a YEAR against lost, theft, and accidental damage with No premiums! A YEAR!!! Thats 1100 dollars worth of stuff!

On the other hand, if the camera/lenses stopped working, like a mechanical defect, it is not covered, and the agent said specifically, "thats what warranty's are for!"

So in conclusion i have to drop it or lose it. I think I can live with that.

I will throw my quick 2 cents in. I once bought a palm pilot from Best Buy. It was when the color screens were first coming out so it was pretty expensive. The sales rep talked me into an extended warranty, I was assured multiple times that the item would be covered no matter what. Even by accidental damage, starting to sound a little familar? So one day while going to work with my palm in my jacket pocket I shut the car door and felt a bump. My jacket pocket had slipped down between the door and seat and when I shut the door it broke the face of the palm.

No prob I thought, I just bought the extended warranty a couple of months back. I went to Best Buy at lunch and showed them the palm. The only thing they had to say that it was obvious that the palm had suffered an accident and would not be covered by the extended warranty. I was shocked. I stated to them that their sales person had specifically told me numerous times that it would by covered completely even by accidental damage. We went back an forth several times and eventually got a manager involved. Same thing. Nothing they could do because the damage was obviously accidental. Grrr... So I stated that their sales person basically lied just to sell the extended warranty. They had no comment. The manager eventually stated something to the effect that the sales person was misinformed. Pfft. Whatever.

So regardless of what someone tells you, be sure to at least read the fine print and determine for yourself if you really need the extended warranties. Needless to say I have never bought any extended warranties since and ya know what? I haven't ever needed one.

Insure against theft with homeowners or whatever. Insure against breakage by putting the cost of the extended warrenty into a savings account. Everytime you buy something that is offered with extended warrenty add that cost to your savings account. Just like the store uses many customers to make profit, you use many devices to keep the profit. The odds of every device you buy requiring extended warrenty are miniscule.

With this situation, its not about thinking "they are making money" but its about thinking "I can use this to upgrade later". When the new body comes out, yours will magically get run over by a bus and you will have a new MKIII or whatever the latest body is at that time.

dan j wrote in post #7990609
Those two statements seem to be in direct competition with each other especially considering the current climate where car manufacturers are disappearing. Even their filing for bankruptcy would probably have a negative affect on it. Not saying that it would happen, just that it could. It's hard to know which companies to trust.


Car warranty companies can be just as sneaky. I've had BMW and MB deny claims - both were overturned. But, it does happen.

dan

Not necessarily...when I meant third party, I meant an entity that has no connection with the retailer other than a fiduciary one. My extended warranty is through Infiniti, not some other party designated for them. And yes, Infiniti did flirt with bankruptcy in the early oughts-the G35 and the QX series SUV's saved their buns...to the relief of mama Nissan

I had an extended warranty on a bought used '90 Thunderbird Super Coupe in the summer of '95. The week before Christmas the transmission lunched itself. Took it to the nearest Ford dealership, told them I had the extended warranty, they looked it up in their computers and verified it. My cost? $100. Ford's cost? $1000. No swerving, no argument.

You want swerve? Take my dental and vision plans...please!:p

I've done well with our vehicles extended warranty; currently I've doubled my original cost

If the item is expensive enough, the company is reputable and the warranty is truly comprehensive then it's probably worth considering.

dan

th0rr wrote in post #7991850
I will throw my quick 2 cents in. I once bought a palm pilot from Best Buy. It was when the color screens were first coming out so it was pretty expensive. The sales rep talked me into an extended warranty, I was assured multiple times that the item would be covered no matter what. Even by accidental damage, starting to sound a little familar? So one day while going to work with my palm in my jacket pocket I shut the car door and felt a bump. My jacket pocket had slipped down between the door and seat and when I shut the door it broke the face of the palm.

No prob I thought, I just bought the extended warranty a couple of months back. I went to Best Buy at lunch and showed them the palm. The only thing they had to say that it was obvious that the palm had suffered an accident and would not be covered by the extended warranty. I was shocked. I stated to them that their sales person had specifically told me numerous times that it would by covered completely even by accidental damage. We went back an forth several times and eventually got a manager involved. Same thing. Nothing they could do because the damage was obviously accidental. Grrr... So I stated that their sales person basically lied just to sell the extended warranty. They had no comment. The manager eventually stated something to the effect that the sales person was misinformed. Pfft. Whatever.

So regardless of what someone tells you, be sure to at least read the fine print and determine for yourself if you really need the extended warranties. Needless to say I have never bought any extended warranties since and ya know what? I haven't ever needed one.

Yes, you have to be careful. There are some salespeople who will say anything to get a warranty sale. I used to work at Office Depot where a lot of emphasis was put on selling these plans. I can say that 99% of the people I worked with made an honest effort to accurately portray the protection plans. Every now and then, however, I came across someone willing to say anything to make the sale. It disgusted me and I always reported that kind of behavior to management.

Some plans do cover accidental damage. If they do, they'll say so in the literature about it because it's a big selling point. For example, Office Depot has two tiers of their laptop plans, one that covers accidental damage, and the cheaper one that doesn't. In the flyers it says the words "accidental damage" by the plans that cover that. If you do buy a protection plan, keep all the literature, paper work, and receipt on it in a special file, and be sure to register it. Part of the reason plans are profitable is people forget they have them and then don't use them even when they need to and have the right to.

Lowner wrote in post #7986336
I would not touch any extended warranty product with a barge pole, ever.

The company selling it to you is planning to make a profit, need I say more?

I'll second that. They're a nice commission earner for the sales staff though and that's why they push them so hard.

alt4852 wrote in post #7987062
i suppose you also took a pass on car insurance?

Since when was camera insurance a legal requirement and remind me of the last time a photographer lost control of his camera and put someone in a hospital bed or wheelchair?

If you use your gear to make money, you should have insurance on it. I buy alot of gear from Best Buy, and I pick up the "extended warranty" for the bodies and other high end products. My insurance covers theft or fire damage but not "faulty equipment". The convenience of the extended warranty far outweighs the cost. I sold cell phones for years and we offered a 3rd party protection warranty that covered faults. Unlike your carriers EPP (equipment protection plan) that you pay $5+ a month, its a one time fee and covers any damage done. No deductible and you got a free replacement battery every year for 2 years. I know everyone thinks these type of "warranty"s are crap, but on the right purchase it is gold!

GSH wrote in post #7993353
Since when was camera insurance a legal requirement and remind me of the last time a photographer lost control of his camera and put someone in a hospital bed or wheelchair?

you missed the point of my statement. ALL insurance companies are founded on the idea of profit. my comment was made in response to someone claiming that since companies make money off of warranties, it should be written off and not bothered with. please don't warp my words to create your own misguided analogy.

alt4852 wrote in post #7993499
you missed the point of my statement. ALL insurance companies are founded on the idea of profit. my comment was made in response to someone claiming that since companies make money off of warranties, it should be written off and not bothered with. please don't warp my words to create your own misguided analogy.

The only misguided comment was from you, comparing rip-off extended warranties to motor insurance.

GSH wrote in post #7993718
The only misguided comment was from you, comparing rip-off extended warranties to motor insurance.

please read the post you just quoted.

GSH wrote in post #7993718
The only misguided comment was from you, comparing rip-off extended warranties to motor insurance.

There are different types of insurance, y'know. I can't speak for other parts of the US, because laws vary widely, but here in California liability insurance is required (and an ethical necessity). Otoh, property damage insurance (for damages to my own vehicle) are optional and I wouldn't carry them on an old car that was worth less than $1K or so.

I don't carry Uninsured Motorist medical coverage on my motorcycles either because it's very expensive and about 80% redundant - I already have medical coverage and if I had an accident with an uninsured motorist anything I got from that UIM policy would be snatched right out of my hand by my medical insurer.


And of course I know nothing about the laws "oop north".

Bestbuy does not work on commission for any part of the sales including services and service plans... not sure about the mobile department though

I hate hearing stories like the one bellow, I know alot of you think that people who work in stores like bestbuy are young kids who dont care for the customers and will try and sell anything to anyone.

I am 27 and am honnestly proud to work at Best Buy, I work part time (my choice) becasue I felt I should pay for my own camera hobby.

I will do everything I can to help a customer. Bestbuy recognises the fact that customers are important to our long term exsitance, and we are all trained, and some people are being re trained so they can give the best experience to the customer that is possible. Of course that doesnt garantee that every employee is acting as they should. those employees make my job hard-I am luck in my store, everyone is knowledgable and friendly, the only times we seem to have slip ups is at xmas with the new seasonal employees, and even then, its not something that is a common occourance.

Your experiece below is the reason I say, speak to a customer service rep or geeksquad agent, or read through tthe brochure of the service plan that you are looking to buy, so that way you will know you what you are getting.

I stand by my orriginal answer that service plans-especially the ones with accidental damage are great. (TV plans are awsome too (although dont cover accidental damage),TV's seem not as well made as they used to be and seem to stop working often in year 3 or 4 of owning it)

th0rr wrote in post #7991850
I will throw my quick 2 cents in. I once bought a palm pilot from Best Buy. It was when the color screens were first coming out so it was pretty expensive. The sales rep talked me into an extended warranty, I was assured multiple times that the item would be covered no matter what. Even by accidental damage, starting to sound a little familar? So one day while going to work with my palm in my jacket pocket I shut the car door and felt a bump. My jacket pocket had slipped down between the door and seat and when I shut the door it broke the face of the palm.

No prob I thought, I just bought the extended warranty a couple of months back. I went to Best Buy at lunch and showed them the palm. The only thing they had to say that it was obvious that the palm had suffered an accident and would not be covered by the extended warranty. I was shocked. I stated to them that their sales person had specifically told me numerous times that it would by covered completely even by accidental damage. We went back an forth several times and eventually got a manager involved. Same thing. Nothing they could do because the damage was obviously accidental. Grrr... So I stated that their sales person basically lied just to sell the extended warranty. They had no comment. The manager eventually stated something to the effect that the sales person was misinformed. Pfft. Whatever.

So regardless of what someone tells you, be sure to at least read the fine print and determine for yourself if you really need the extended warranties. Needless to say I have never bought any extended warranties since and ya know what? I haven't ever needed one.