Are they coming out to clean the coils ?

Even if they are - $600 bucks is pretty steep for a $2000-$2500 fridge.

It's an insurance policy. As with any policy, you have to weigh your sense of risk. The insurer of course is banking that you'll lose on buying the policy and they'll profit on it.

Maintenance is not necessarily the same as warranty. You need to know what it covers. If it does not cover parts and labor for the period specified, I wouldn't do it.

And that one is fairly pricey. You might look around for something like SquareTrade or some others.

With all the trouble I've had with Sears (A&E) service over the years, IMO no it's not worth it. In fact I will never buy another thing from Sears, ever.

Actually it's called a Master Protection Agreement and does cover parts and labor along with other things including yearly preventative maintenance.

As Dadoes pointed out, it can be likened to an insurance policy. You're hoping you need it and Sears is hoping that you don't. Only you can determine your tolerance for risk. Sears, of course, makes money off of these agreements just like State Farm makes money from it's life insurance policies.

You might also consider looking at some other 'fridges of the same style and general price range, to see if there are any differences the in price of the protection agreement. I might stay away from any appliance that has an agreement price substantially higher than other models it the same class. That should indicate that Sears thinks it's more likely to break or that parts/labor is higher.

Might not be a bad idea to plug it into a surge protected outlet either. As you noted, most modern appliances have expensive electronic controls.

The other drawback is that you'll be stuck with Sears service company A&E which many people have had real problems with. Better to hire a reliable reapir place if necessary and pay out of pocket. That price is really high - a red flag.

This post was edited by weissman on Wed, Mar 27, 13 at 10:32

The fridge is already bought. I really like the two freezer drawers as they are easier to pull out that the large bin in other models. And yes, this is the Master Protection Plan, basically bumper to bumper with them coming out once a year to do regular maintenance. I am buying a dryer at the same time and have no plans on buying a plan for it, just the frig as according to what I have read is one of the appliances that is considered high risk for repairs, whether it is a Kenmore or not. They don't make appliances like I am replacing, expected life 15 or more years and never a problem. I like the idea of a surge protector, as we have been hit by lightning before. I am still waivering, have 7 more days to make up my mind.

That's an awful lot of money. Surely they have a less costly "extended warranty" . With all the electronics inside these appliances I think more and more that it's something to be looked at getting.

It's not just the cost but the fact that scheduling the repair, having them screw it up, coming back multiple times, etc. will be very unpleasant. Save the money and hire your own repair place IF NECESSARY. I recently needed a new heating element on my 10-year old DW. Called the place - they ordered the part and 2 days later they were there doing the repair.

Although there are no guarantees, you'd be better off buying a more reliable brand. I've seen people on this forum buy an appliance because it looked nice or was cheap, knowing that it was unreliable but consoling themselves that they bought an extended warranty - only to come back later and complain about how many days they had to take off from work to get the thing repaired.