Qondio
Front
Intel
IntelMart
Shares
My Qondio
Account
prochobo > Intel > Why You Should Not Buy an Extended Warranty

qondio.com/3jh4 PRINT EMAIL

Why You Should Not Buy an Extended Warranty

Soon after buying a new TV or any other expensive electronic item, the cashier will almost immediately ask you to purchase an extended warranty plan for a few hundred dollars. I know many people who always get warranties regardless. The thing you need to ask yourself is:

1. How likely is it for the item to fail?
2. How long is the manufacturer’s warranty?
3. Do any of your credit cards add warranty to the manufacturer’s original warranty?
4. Will you actually need the additional years of service?

Here’s my explanation of why I always deny extended warranties.

* I do my research. Some manufacturers have a notoriously high return rate while others don’t. Depending on the item, do your research, read reviews, and then determine if the likeliness of failure exceeds your threshold.

* The manufacturer’s warranty is adequate. Most warranties for electronics items are one year, which is more than enough time to determine if the product will last. Many electronics break within their first year, thus it is safe to say if it didn’t break in the first year, it probably won’t in the following year.

* It is simply too expensive and does not pay off. For my $700 TV, the extended warranty was $300, almost half the cost. Say my TV somehow breaks in three years. Since I didn’t buy the warranty, I’m up $300. I can then sell my broken TV for about $300 and recoup $600 of the $700 original dollars. Note, this is in the minute likelihood of the TV actually failing.

* This isn’t the ’90s anymore. With improvements in the manufacturing process, electronic failures are getting increasingly rarer. In my years of IT, I’ve never seen an LCD monitor break, but CRTs are a different story.

* Instead of buying the warranty, save your money for when you might need it. In the event that your item does break, you may be able to get it repaired for less than what the warranty would have cost you.

* And finally, to be blunt, I simply don’t buy extended warranties because my electronics don’t break. Take care of them and they will take care of you.


Here is a great article that covers some points I’ve mentioned. It’s a good read as they go into more detail on a broader array of items.

Contributed by prochobo on June 8, 2008, at 8:17 PM UTC.

Reactions

No reactions yet.

Rate This Intel

Please login or sign up to rate this intel.

Comments

Please login or sign up to add a comment.

Share

Copyright Notice

The copyright for this content entitled "Why You Should Not Buy an Extended Warranty" has been specified by the contributor as:

All Rights Reserved

This content may not be copied, distributed or adapted by anyone under any circumstances.

Login Here with
Any Email Address
Any Password
No account? Sign up.

Intel Contributor
This intel was contributed by prochobo

Qondio Archive
May, 2012
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031


2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May

Sign Up
Not a member yet? Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to promote, we can help. Sign up and get in on the action.

About Qondio
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.

ABOUT
SUCCESS GUIDE
FEATURES
FAQ
ADVERTISE
CONTACT
USAGE POLICY
PRIVACY POLICY


TWITTER
FACEBOOK