Extended warranty on appliances?

[lovemachine]

When buying a new appliance, do you purchase the extended warranty?

 

[MCgrease08]

No.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Nope.

If it was only $25 maybe but they usually want a lot more than that

 

[lovemachine]

I'm going to take advantage of the Black Friday sale at Lowes. And since I have never bought an appliance before, I was unsure if the extended warranty is worth it or not.

 

[VUPDblue]

Whatcha buyin?

 

[Sylvain]

 

[lovemachine]

Whatcha buyin?

For sure, an electric smooth surface range.

 

[lovemachine]

I'd like to buy a new washer and dryer. The ones we have came with the house, and are like 20 years old. But since I have been able to keep them running myself, I don't really want to spend the $1200 to replace them.

I really need a range. The one I have came with the house as well, a White Westinghouse. It's about the same age. It's just needs to be replaced.

 

[Cpl. Klinger]

Extended warranties depend upon how likely the device is to fail within the warranty timeframe as well as the coverage under said warranty. I have AppleCare+ on my wife's iPad, simply because of the accidental damage coverage. $49 to replace it vs. $300 to replace it sounds pretty good. I also have done them on my vehicles that I bought used. Both have paid for themselves in things that have come up. Have to eight the cost versus the benefits of it, really.

 

[ws98ta]

To me it depends on what I'm buying.
I did buy one for my fridge 2 years ago, and I'm glad I did.
It broke exactly 30 days after the manufacturer warranty was up, and past the goodwill period.
The warranty paid for all my food, and eventually paid for a new fridge.(after getting fridge fixed 3 times and not having a working fridge thought both holidays last year)
But with all that said for a range I don't think I would buy one. The overall cost on a range is pretty cheap compared to other appliances.

 

[chocktaw2]

I get this on all of my major, have to have, appliances. I know where their made now days. And it ain't in the "States".

 

[terrehautian]

If it is something that cost good money, yes. Also if it is cheap enough, for sure. I bought a new 32" tv this year for $178 with a three year Best Buy care thing. I figure if it breaks, I will get it fixed or replaced. If it doesn't, I still got my $212 out of it in four years. Bought a new 55" tv also and bought a warranty. It could go back, might not, but I am covered. Same with washer and dryer. Just good insurance when you think about it.

 

[bobbittle]

Washer/dryer - yes, especially for front loaders
Fridge - abso-freaking-lutely
Range - meh.....probably not. If you're talking $900+ higher end range, then probably.

Manufacturers warranty is typically 1 year. I see EPP's replace appliances on a regular basis. Any service call is absolutely free, although it can leave you without the appliance for a week or two if you need parts.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

No. Its a losing bet. I worked for a warranty company for a few years. Warranties work like this. The company gets failure data and anticipated repair costs per unit for the life of the warranty. This is slightly less than a consumer can expect to pay because the warranty company gets better rates than individuals, but here's what the warranty company tacks on.

Underwriting (the folks who actually pay for the repairs)
Profit for the underwriter.
Administration company costs.
Administration company profits.
Marketing and point of sale (POS) costs.
Sales commission and profit for POS.

Mark up is huge at the administration level and POS level. We did computers, appliances, lawn equipment, and pool pumps. A particular unit may have an estimated cost of $4 of repairs over the warranty life. The underwriter gets $5 per unit. The administration sells the contract "wholesale" for about $15 er unit. The POS sells it to the customer for $49 per unit.

For some it will pay off, but you're paying a premium to insure against a loss that you should be able to take on your own and you're definitely betting against the house.

 

[bobbittle]

For the record, you could have been enjoying your new appliance already. We've been running these deals for the last 2 weeks.

 

[williamsjr22]

For me it depends on the warranty on relationship to the cost. I won't pay for a warranty if the cost to replace is under $500.

 

[lovemachine]

For the record, you could have been enjoying your new appliance already. We've been running these deals for the last 2 weeks.

Who's we?

 

[mrjarrell]

I do on some appliances. Did on my fridge and range and it paid of handsomely for us. Saved us hundreds of dollars. We did on our drier and so far have had no issues with it. Sometimes you use them sometimes you don't. It's an insurance policy. If you have to use it then it pays off. If you don't use it, then at least you had peace of mind for those years. Personally, I would and wouldn't lose any sleep over it, as long as it wasn't too costly. If it's a pricey policy I'd let it go and take my chances.

 

[mom45]

We shop at Lowe's but I'm not sure I would buy an appliance there. A neighbor lady (older lady that I help) has a very expensive "top of the line" stove that was bought at Lowe's just over two years ago. It had a one-year warranty and if she had bought the extended warranty, it would have extended it to two years. 26 months after she bought it, a fan went out that cooled the glass cooktop. It cost her $130 or so to have it repaired. If that had been my stove, I would have been pretty mad that a two year old stove was having issues, but what made me even angrier was the way the Lowe's staff handled the situation when we asked them if they did repairs or who they recommended. They referred her to a company that was supposedly in the same town where she bought it. They did not have the phone number for this place. I had to go online to find it for her and there was no such business in town. I finally found a listing under that name in another town an hour from her home. We found someone else local and called them.

My husband and I do not buy extended warranties on anything, but my husband has been able to fix just about anything we've needed repaired on our

When I do have to replace something, I won't be going to Lowe's just based on my experiences with them in trying to help the neighbor. She bought several appliances from them and none of them were cheap. It might cost more, but I'd prefer to support the local appliance shop over the big box store.

 

[WebSnyper]

I'm going to take advantage of the Black Friday sale at Lowes. And since I have never bought an appliance before, I was unsure if the extended warranty is worth it or not.

Extended warranties depend upon how likely the device is to fail within the warranty timeframe as well as the coverage under said warranty. I have AppleCare+ on my wife's iPad, simply because of the accidental damage coverage. $49 to replace it vs. $300 to replace it sounds pretty good. I also have done them on my vehicles that I bought used. Both have paid for themselves in things that have come up. Have to eight the cost versus the benefits of it, really.

For me it depends on the warranty on relationship to the cost. I won't pay for a warranty if the cost to replace is under $500.

It depends on the price of the item compared to the price of the warranty, and then I check the details of the warranty. Also, compare it against the cost of a single repair call.

I believe Lowes used to give a bit better pricing on the warranty on more than one appliance at the same time (at least a washer and dryer together).

You will just have to weigh the cost vs potential benefit for yourself.

Of course the company selling the warranty is generally going to make money on the warranties or they would not be selling them. The actuarial table/odds will be in their favor, but again, you just need to weigh it out for yourself.