It depends what I'm buying, If i'm spending 2500 on a laptop, I'm gonna get the extended warranty, but if its 80 bucks on a stationary radio, why would I waste 30 bucks on a warranty. I'm better off just buying anew one.
Meh, price isn't always the determining factor. Used to work at a Brick and mortar storE whoSe name musT remain anon, BUt luckY you I offered hints.
Some items are known to have a short life cycle, and with the 3rd party replacement plan, you're guaranteed a similar item years later. For example, the iPod nano's battery was known to go dead within 2 years. Pay a few extra bucks for the plan, 2-3 years later you can get a brand new iPod nano with more storage capacity, smaller size, newer software.
On the other hand, buying one for a laptop is just silly. You're probably going to buy a new laptop within 4 years, and it's very rare that a laptop's hardware will go bad. If it does, it's probably your fault, and you're responsible for damages. That's one of those big ticket items they make you feel the plan is appropriate for when it really isn't.
I have not purchased many high-end electronics, and so have not been confronted with this decision, but purchasing an extended 3rd party warranty seems to be a lot like gambling. You bet the product you just dropped mucho dinero for breaks (seemingly betting against yourself), 3rd party bets it doesn't. Clearly, they are making money on this idea; lest they go bankrupt/stop offering extended warranty, so I would be hesitant regardless of price. A little homework in reviews, consumer reports, etc will probably give you good indication of long term performance of product.
I bought a 1200 USD laptop from dell about a year ago. They're asking me around 400 bucks for an extended, 3 year warranty. Thats 1/3 of a [new] laptop I could be getting...
I've got to totally disagree with Andrew here. I had a laptop around $2500 and it ended up wearing out the pin that the ac cord plugs into. In order to fix this, the entire motherboard had to be replaced and this happened some 3 times, not counting the battery replacement that I got. The $400 warranty covered me for the 3 years i had it, which had something up around $3000+ worth of repairs. Since it was still under the warranty after the 3rd repair, it got junked out for a comparable laptop. Admitedly, this one is only about $1100 or so now, but it's got a lot of bonus features that my old laptop didn't have, plus pretty much better storage memory and just about anything else I can think of. I didn't have to pay a thing, and on top of that, they even threw in a USB hardrive shell that I was able to put my old laptop hardrive on so that I didn't lose any data and still use as an 60GB external drive. Some people might be boasting about their amazing $300GB external drives and such, but my laptop works just fine. Maybe you consider $1000 a year for a new laptop to be standard expenses, but not everyone feels that to be necessary.
For a second case, my sister got an MP3 player as a gift for christmas, it had an extended warranty. It has been replaced roughly 3 times under the same warranty. It started out as a 128M battery powered MP3 player. It now has been upgraded to a 2GB w/ rechargable battery, and I've even gotten money BACK each time through.
and anyway, I'm probably going to buy AppleCare for my MacBook, because I have this feeling that something bad will happen to my computer and I'm going to wish I spent the money on it.
If an item is a few thousand bucks then I expect it to come with a decent warranty of itself, you should need any extended warranty. And if the item doesn't you should not buy it IMHO.
We got totally dicked (and not in a good way) by Compoosa. What you're not told about your extended warranty is that it only starts when the manufacturer's ends. That means you get to pay for a year of warranty the store you bought it from doesn't actually give you.
No more warranties for me on laptops. Replacement plan on stuff like headsets, iPods, and the like, yes. You get a replacement. Repair plan, not just no, but hell no. Total rip-off.
If an extended warranty kicked in when the manufacturer's was OVER, I'd buy. As it is, no just no but hell no.
@ Andrew 2 years go I purchaed a nice Laptop for $1,100. 3 months ago the LAN card failed. 2 months ago the DVD Burner stopped burning. 1 month ago the hinge for the screen broke. 3 weeks ago I purchased a new gaming laptop for $2,000... If I had purchased the warranty 2 years ago, I would have only paid $900 for my new laptop.
If it is a cheap laptop, than it is not worth it... But if you are getting a higher end laptop, than it can be worth it.
@Andrew I'm terribly sorry, but I absolutely babied my laptop. It rarely left my desk, but it did see regular use in being turned on. Backlights have developed a flicker for over a year that may be related to the problem I just repaired. Mysterious cracks show up around the screen-casing. For a laptop that moves perhaps five times a week, and is still inside the house the entire time, this is most puzzling. Video cable developed some sort of line break and had to be completely replaced in order for certain shades of color (i.e. 255/255/255 white) to not show up as magenta. Battery no longer charges reliably and has dropped from a 90 minute life-time to a 30-40 minute lifetime.
Laptops DO NOT, PERIOD, have a life expectancy on par with a desktop computer. They just do not survive as well, and the majority of the time the first piece of hardware to give you trouble is the screen ($200 in my case) or the battery ($90). Granted, this was a $650 laptop when new, it disappeared from anyone's notice within the store (we literally had 3 of the HP model and 2 of the Compaq sitting in the back for 5+ months) and ended up on slash-them-til-they're-gone clearance. Picked it up for just shy of $300, so it wasn't really financially reasonable to put a replacement plan on it. If you need the laptop to last, reliably, for three years then I'd suggest getting the plan and making sure that your screen is covered. At the very least, it will pay for your screen ahead of time so you don't have to.
In regards to the article, though, yes, the replacement plans can be deceptive and need to be put out in clear english. The once I was selling at an Office supply store with a Decent spread in the southern US were very... vague. They either replaced your product straight across or gave you a gift card for the value of the merchandise. Of course, the management there couldn't be bothered to look this up and explain it clearly, so we were misrepresenting the plans to all customers. I can see it on some failure prone equipment, such as low-tier printers in the butter zone, but we were required to offer it on calculators over $5 and on electric pencil sharpeners. That's... ridiculous.
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It depends what I'm buying, If i'm spending 2500 on a laptop, I'm gonna get the extended warranty, but if its 80 bucks on a stationary radio, why would I waste 30 bucks on a warranty. I'm better off just buying anew one.
Meh, price isn't always the determining factor. Used to work at a Brick and mortar storE whoSe name musT remain anon, BUt luckY you I offered hints.
Some items are known to have a short life cycle, and with the 3rd party replacement plan, you're guaranteed a similar item years later. For example, the iPod nano's battery was known to go dead within 2 years. Pay a few extra bucks for the plan, 2-3 years later you can get a brand new iPod nano with more storage capacity, smaller size, newer software.
On the other hand, buying one for a laptop is just silly. You're probably going to buy a new laptop within 4 years, and it's very rare that a laptop's hardware will go bad. If it does, it's probably your fault, and you're responsible for damages. That's one of those big ticket items they make you feel the plan is appropriate for when it really isn't.
I have not purchased many high-end electronics, and so have not been confronted with this decision, but purchasing an extended 3rd party warranty seems to be a lot like gambling. You bet the product you just dropped mucho dinero for breaks (seemingly betting against yourself), 3rd party bets it doesn't. Clearly, they are making money on this idea; lest they go bankrupt/stop offering extended warranty, so I would be hesitant regardless of price. A little homework in reviews, consumer reports, etc will probably give you good indication of long term performance of product.
Subtle.
I bought a 1200 USD laptop from dell about a year ago. They're asking me around 400 bucks for an extended, 3 year warranty. Thats 1/3 of a [new] laptop I could be getting...
So for me, its a hell naw!
I've got to totally disagree with Andrew here. I had a laptop around $2500 and it ended up wearing out the pin that the ac cord plugs into. In order to fix this, the entire motherboard had to be replaced and this happened some 3 times, not counting the battery replacement that I got. The $400 warranty covered me for the 3 years i had it, which had something up around $3000+ worth of repairs.
Since it was still under the warranty after the 3rd repair, it got junked out for a comparable laptop. Admitedly, this one is only about $1100 or so now, but it's got a lot of bonus features that my old laptop didn't have, plus pretty much better storage memory and just about anything else I can think of. I didn't have to pay a thing, and on top of that, they even threw in a USB hardrive shell that I was able to put my old laptop hardrive on so that I didn't lose any data and still use as an 60GB external drive.
Some people might be boasting about their amazing $300GB external drives and such, but my laptop works just fine. Maybe you consider $1000 a year for a new laptop to be standard expenses, but not everyone feels that to be necessary.
For a second case, my sister got an MP3 player as a gift for christmas, it had an extended warranty. It has been replaced roughly 3 times under the same warranty. It started out as a 128M battery powered MP3 player. It now has been upgraded to a 2GB w/ rechargable battery, and I've even gotten money BACK each time through.
Andrew, have you ever owned a Clevo laptop?
@ Andrew
+10 for creativity and cleverness
and anyway, I'm probably going to buy AppleCare for my MacBook, because I have this feeling that something bad will happen to my computer and I'm going to wish I spent the money on it.
ominous feelings are not to be ignored.
If an item is a few thousand bucks then I expect it to come with a decent warranty of itself, you should need any extended warranty.
And if the item doesn't you should not buy it IMHO.
We got totally dicked (and not in a good way) by Compoosa. What you're not told about your extended warranty is that it only starts when the manufacturer's ends. That means you get to pay for a year of warranty the store you bought it from doesn't actually give you.
No more warranties for me on laptops. Replacement plan on stuff like headsets, iPods, and the like, yes. You get a replacement. Repair plan, not just no, but hell no. Total rip-off.
If an extended warranty kicked in when the manufacturer's was OVER, I'd buy. As it is, no just no but hell no.
@ Andrew
2 years go I purchaed a nice Laptop for $1,100. 3 months ago the LAN card failed. 2 months ago the DVD Burner stopped burning. 1 month ago the hinge for the screen broke.
3 weeks ago I purchased a new gaming laptop for $2,000... If I had purchased the warranty 2 years ago, I would have only paid $900 for my new laptop.
If it is a cheap laptop, than it is not worth it... But if you are getting a higher end laptop, than it can be worth it.
@Andrew
I'm terribly sorry, but I absolutely babied my laptop. It rarely left my desk, but it did see regular use in being turned on.
Backlights have developed a flicker for over a year that may be related to the problem I just repaired.
Mysterious cracks show up around the screen-casing. For a laptop that moves perhaps five times a week, and is still inside the house the entire time, this is most puzzling.
Video cable developed some sort of line break and had to be completely replaced in order for certain shades of color (i.e. 255/255/255 white) to not show up as magenta.
Battery no longer charges reliably and has dropped from a 90 minute life-time to a 30-40 minute lifetime.
Laptops DO NOT, PERIOD, have a life expectancy on par with a desktop computer. They just do not survive as well, and the majority of the time the first piece of hardware to give you trouble is the screen ($200 in my case) or the battery ($90). Granted, this was a $650 laptop when new, it disappeared from anyone's notice within the store (we literally had 3 of the HP model and 2 of the Compaq sitting in the back for 5+ months) and ended up on slash-them-til-they're-gone clearance. Picked it up for just shy of $300, so it wasn't really financially reasonable to put a replacement plan on it. If you need the laptop to last, reliably, for three years then I'd suggest getting the plan and making sure that your screen is covered. At the very least, it will pay for your screen ahead of time so you don't have to.
In regards to the article, though, yes, the replacement plans can be deceptive and need to be put out in clear english. The once I was selling at an Office supply store with a Decent spread in the southern US were very... vague. They either replaced your product straight across or gave you a gift card for the value of the merchandise. Of course, the management there couldn't be bothered to look this up and explain it clearly, so we were misrepresenting the plans to all customers. I can see it on some failure prone equipment, such as low-tier printers in the butter zone, but we were required to offer it on calculators over $5 and on electric pencil sharpeners. That's... ridiculous.