Boston Gal's Open Wallet

It depends on what kind of item it is for me, as for larger more expensive items, the extended warranty can be a tremendous money saver.

For example the large HDTV we purchased at best buy, we opted for the extended protection plan. Yes, it cost a couple hundred bucks, but when you make an investment in an item that costs that much, it can be worth it.

Since we have had the TV, we have used the protection plan services 3 times. Once was for something minor, but they sent a tech out almost immediately to repair the issue. About a year later, the TV just stopped working. Well out of original warranty, but they sent a truck out that same week and delivered us a brand new replacement TV and disposed of the old one. And just last month one of the fans in the back of the TV started to make a little noise. Granted I could have purchased a replacement fan for 40 bucks and took my TV apart to replace it myself, but again, they came right out and repaired it no questions asked.

All in all, it has saved us not only a decent amount of money that we would have otherwise had to pay out of pocket for repairs, but it also saved a bunch of time and hassle in coordinating the repairs ourselves, not to mention lengthy downtime without a TV.

Worth every penny. Then of course, I would never buy the extended plans on a lot of items like computers, music players, radios, etc.

 

We've lso had good luck with extended warranties. One was our big screen TV. After 3 service calls, it could be replaced. We had to do that. And we got a bigger better TV plus a DVD player and a tv stand since prices had gotten lower. We also used it on our washing machine or dryer--the electronics went out after a year and were replaced easily. And our furnace--it included annual cleanings for 3 years. That paid for the service plan straight up.

 

Didn't see an email, so I am contacting you this way: have you written on how the heck one can keep electronic billing straight. With so many payments coming out of a checking account at various times of the month, I have actually gotten overdrawn a few times. Is there some online gizmo or tips to help keep things under control? Or is the solution to get rid of the individual companies billing me and centralize it with my bank?!?

 

Sorry to burst your bubbles both Jeremy and Annmare but think of it this way. Pay for the item with most prime credit cards and they double the original warranty for free and on some credit cards like the Centurion and Card Blance they tripple the warrenty for free.

From my personal experiance on my Amex charge card not only do they not repair anything but Amex always just has you mail the item back to them and issue you credit on your bill for the full purchase amount.

For example my Plasma had display burn in because my son played video games for a long time on the TV. So I called up Amex and filed a claim. They had me donate the TV to a charity and issed me a full credit on my bill for the purchase price(not including tax or delivery) and I went to Best Buy and bought a new TV which was better than my original Plasma and less money even. I was able to pick any TV I wanted or goto to any store I wanted or even do anything I wanted with the money too.

So I never buy extended warrenties as I get them for free from my credit cards always. My Citi card also does same thing.

 

That's true, and you should use good credit cards for most purchases to avoid the need for an additional warranty.

But in the question of our TV, which is a DLP, the warranty does not cover a replacement bulb, as those just get dimmer and eventually go out over time. Given the now 3-year protection, we could see the need for at minimum one replacement bulb, and possibly two during that timeframe. The extended warranty price is basically the same price as 1 new bulb. So again, the warranty will pay for itself on that alone, and if a second bulb needs to be replaced we have saved hundreds of dollars that would not have been covered on any credit card or original warranty.

 

Just a quick aside: best buy employees don't work on commission.

 

I'm not sure about this. Specifically, Apple's extended warranty (the two-year AppleCare), has saved my collective social circle hundreds, possibly thousands on iPod care, and has saved me personally upwards of dollars on my most recent computer mishap. The hard drive went--without the warranty, I would basically have had to buy a new computer. For $25, that seems to me to be a useful tool. It's possible I don't understand the argument against warranties, but in the particular case of AppleCare, I'll buy it on every Apple product I purchase.