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philwojo

Feedback on extended warranties

philwojo
11 years ago

My wife and I are getting close to having to purchase the appliances for our kitchen remodel and I am wondering what people's thoughts are for purchasing extended warranties for appliances. Would you buy the extended warranties for all appliances, only some, if so which ones?

Thanks,

Phil

Comments (5)

  • elyash
    11 years ago

    Consumer reports says they are unnecessary. I have them on all my appliances.
    Some are through my utility company, some through sears and some from my place of purchase. The utility company is the cheapest and as a result they take longer to come, but the more appliances you have, the less expensive the cost.
    You don't have to purchase the appliance from Sears, but they will sell you the warranty which includes a "free" maintenance visit. If you buy from the manufacturer and the appliance goes bad and they can't fix it, usually you will receive a coupon towards the purchase of a new appliance of that brand. This usually happens when the appliance is ten years or older.
    To be specific about which appliances you need extended warranties and which you don't, you need to state the appliance and its manufacturer. I would check with consumer reports (you can join online) to check how reliable a product is. Reliability is determined by results from their annual survey so I
    think its pretty accurate. For me, I have the extended warranty because I hate
    surprises and visits to evaluate an appliance without fixing it can be costly. That being said, I often wait until the manufacturers warranty is about to expire, to purchase the extended warranty. Why spend money sooner then you have to - the manufacturers warranty is in effect for X number of years. Some companies (Amana for instance) will send you a notice that your warranty is about to expire and ask if you want to extend it. That's why I do
    register my appliances.
    Hope this helps.

  • ricks_appliance_serv
    11 years ago

    Most extended warranties sold at stores cover functional parts only. Handle breaks off frig, not covered. Crispers or shelves break, not covered. Glass on oven door breaks, not covered. Most do not cover if the glasstop breaks on a range because they know 99.9% of the time the customer broke it by dropping something on it. They cover motors, boards, controls etc.
    The salesman will tell you it covers EVERYTHING. Don't believe him. Had one tell me that and the brochure he showed me said right on it, "covers functional parts only".
    Mfg extended warranties usually covers everything.

  • philwojo
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Sorry I should have added exactly what we are getting, basically it is all appliances, but here are specifics as of now.

    -Liebherr SBi2401 fridge/freezer towers (separate units)
    -Wolf single oven L-series
    -Wolf micro-convection oven
    -(possibly) Wolf steam/convection oven
    -Bluestar 36" rangtop, maybe with the griddle
    -Miele dishwasher, either dimension plus or diamond

    Thanks for the feedback so far, I have always been of the mind to not get extended warranties on things, but we are buying a lot and just wanted to get ideas of what others are doing.

    Phil

  • weissman
    11 years ago

    Generally a waste of money and added profit for the dealer. Also, they often lock you in to a specific repair company which may have a very bad reputation. Better to put aside the money you would have spent on the extended warranties and save it in case you need to do a repair out of pocket. That way you can hire a reputable repair place.

    Now you will hear stories but how glad people were they got an extended warranty for a particular appliance and how much money they saved, but in general it's a bad bet.

  • jadeite
    11 years ago

    I follow Consumer Reports' advice. If you feel an extended warranty is necessary, don't buy the product. The only exceptions are high-end electronics which can be notoriously fragile. Some appliances may fall under this exception. We bought a fridge and washer recently and did not get an extended warranty. We're looking at replacement cooktops and will not get an extended warranty on that either.

    That said, I just purchased a 5-year warranty on an Electrolux wall oven from Sears. It's not so much that I'm afraid the unit will fail, but we got it at a great price. Replacing it will cost us a lot more than what we paid for it.