The only one I ever bought was for my computer, and I am so glad I did. The tech support has saved me numerous times from having to 'pay' to get it fixed. I'd hate to think what I would have had to pay out otherwise if I'd had to take it to a shop all those times. I've had numerous friends say they took theirs in to get repaired and it cost $200-$250 to get it fixed and they claimed things still weren't 'right'. They did not take it back though...fearing another $200 charge to get it totally back to the way it once was.

Sue ...who is computer challenged

In the past, I never did. I did purchase Extended Warranties when I bought both my car and vacuum cleaner last year. They don't make things the way they used to, and repair costs are expensive!

I always buy one when we purchase a new to me(used) car. We only buy used cars. I also use to purchase the extra warranty for my vacuum. However i found a store that sells and fixes vacuums. He told me what a ripe off they were. My vacuum broke down right after the warranty expired. Sears wanted to charge me $100 to fix it. This other store fixed it for $15. Dont be afraid to look around for other options. Other then that i dont buy extra warranties.

I bought one for this computer, but the tec support was just awful. Now I don't waste my $ on them. I heard that most things have a one yr warranty anyway and the extended is a waste .

Absolutely not.

Put those dollars into a 'repair fund' and you will likely come out ahead. If you have a lemon it will be apparent under the existing warranty or return time frame.

I might feel differently if getting things done under the extented warranty was a reasonable process. But yikes: the loopholes and the hoops. Forget it!

I don't buy extended warranties. There are things about them which concern me, and recently a newspaper wrote an article which confirmed many of my concerns.

They are heavily encouraged and pushed by salespeople, and they make companies a lot of money. Much more than they save customers. It turns out that over their time period, the total payments can easily cost 2-3 times as much as the original appliance. How can it be good value for customers to pay three times for one appliance? You also have to use them for all repairs, and may find that the customer service and repairs are not very good either. This was apparently a common problem.

Even if you are convinced you want a long warranty, the extended ones may not offer the best value. Many of the more expensive higher end appliances come with 3 or 5 years warranty included in their initial cost, and because of this work out cheaper for a similar item with the same warranty period. The advantage of paying a higher price up front is that you can often get a better quality appliance which should last longer.

I was unimpressed to find that a low quality £199 washing machine with 5 years extended warranty could cost over £700 in total. Provided you can part with the money all at once, you can buy a top of the range machine for just £500, one that comes with 5 years warranty included and is designed to last at least 25 years.

I don't buy extended warrantees. Some things are durable and last more than the expected one to three years. I'd rather take my chances and pay to fix things as they break. I've had TVs that lasted 15 years and never needed a service call. And I've had a dishwasher I bought in 2001 that I've had serviced at least six times.

Funny post. I just came back from Best Buy where I purchased a $20 clock radio and they wanted me to buy an extended warranty for $10 !

I hope you didn't get the clock I got, it lasted all of 6 months. I laughed when they offered the warranty. I'm looking for the paperwork now to see if it's too late to return it. But no, even to go back to that place in time I still would not have bought the warranty.

Large items get the warranty now. I didn't at one time, but things are not made like they used to be, things that can be fixed, the parts and labor are expensive. recently had a clothes washer break down, $40 for the service call and $250 plus to repair, so we bought a new one instead and got the 3 year additional service agreement for $99. If I were buying something under $200 I wouldn't bother. Stores like Best Buy that offer those warranties like the radio for $10, are making big dollars on selling warranties on like items. Remember when Blockbuster was making money renting movies?....they quickly learned their major income was going to come from late fees and non returned movies...my son had to pay $69 for one back then that got lost....I think warranties are Best Buys (and stores like them) "late fees"...up front, ha.

I recently bought 3 major appliances at a dent and scratch sale at a local store with an excellent reputation for service after the sale. They offered me a 5 year warranty on all 3 for $150. Ten bucks a year on each? Did I take them up on it? You betcha!

I bought a car earlier this year.

Two potentials problems with regard to getting an extended warranty:

1. Who'd consider offering an extended warranty on a 19-year-old car?

2. I bought it privately, and I doubt that it would be possible to find an extended warranty offered in such a situation.

ole joyful

Let me tell ya'll about purchasing extended warranties. I bought a vaccum cleaner at one of the big box stores with an extended warranty. I had the vaccum maybe a month and it broke down. I took it back and they let me take another one same brand, no questions asked. Ironically, that one broke down within 6 months. I took it back and they advised me I could get a different brand in exchange for the second one that broke down. They hardly blinked an eye because I had the extended warranty. I am a frim believer in extended warranties. We had a situtation with our new refridgerator in our home where they replaced it due to a dent that went unnoticed when they delivered it.

We had a situtation with our new refridgerator in our home where they replaced it due to a dent that went unnoticed when they delivered it.
Surely your refrigerator would have been replaced WITHOUT the extended warranty because of a dent. I don't know of a reputable business that wouldn't replace it. If you purchased it new, you are entitled to a refrigerator that looks new when delivered.

We never buy extended warranties. It is a much better option for us to put the money into a repair fund. My husband is very handy when it comes to repairing appliances and small engines and I work on computers. Our son in law is a mechanic. We spend very little on repairs for anything.

I once read that you have to be very careful with extended warranties as most of the time they don't save you any money on repairs. Sometimes they only cover parts, not labor-- may not cover service trips or mileage, etc.

We had a situtation with our new refridgerator in our home where they replaced it due to a dent that went unnoticed when they delivered it.
Surely your refrigerator would have been replaced WITHOUT the extended warranty because of a dent. I don't know of a reputable business that wouldn't replace it. If you purchased it new, you are entitled to a refrigerator that looks new when delivered.

We never buy extended warranties. It is a much better option for us to put the money into a repair fund. My husband is very handy when it comes to repairing appliances and small engines and I work on computers. Our son in law is a mechanic. We spend very little on repairs for anything.

I once read that you have to be very careful with extended warranties as most of the time they don't save you any money on repairs. Sometimes they only cover parts, not labor-- may not cover service trips or mileage, etc.

I bought a radio boom box from a JCPenney catalog. the radio was $50 and the warranty was $25. No thanks. Oh, the radio lasted about three or four years.

All you have to do is read the "warranty" and you'll see that extended warranties, aka "service contracts" are simply very high priced insurance policies and seldom pay off, not unlike the snake oil salesmen of years past. The ironic thing is that there's a number of people who want them so badly thinking they are something they simply are not. When I had the store people kept asking for an extended warranty and I got to the point of almost giving in and give them a 2 year extended warranty for 50%-75% of the retail cost just to pacify them. But in good conscience I couldn't do that. I wasn't going to lower our standards like that. Course we gave 3 year warranties that we backed when the junk box makers gave a 1 year warranty and sold an extended warranty that they did not back. You'd have to ship your system in, they sat on it for 6-9 months and then sometimes something was fixed but by then the "warranty" was expired.

There has been so few times, if any, where I had something that would have been covered by the EW/SC that there's no way I would ever buy one. Especially looking at the limitations of them. Possibly if I bought a $3000-$4000 plasma TV, I might consider it, yeah, like I'd buy one of those anyway, LOL, but that MIGHT be a possibility IF the coverage was good, AND on-site AND had a response guarantee. But I don't have to worry about that anyway! :)

To me, you're far better off buying something cheap and disposeable and replace it, or just buy a better unit from the start. Either way, you'll pay less. But if it makes people feel more secure, who am I to judge? They're certainly free to waste their money however they like.

I bought a Magnavox TV with built in DVD player for my daughter for her birthday. She told me less than a month later that it had failed. The picture was all blurry and thev colors were wrong. Since it was nearly new, Magnavox (parent company Philips) told me to send it to them with the receipt. It cost me about $100 to mail it to them but within 2 weeks there was a big box on my doorstep with a brand-new TV. And I hadn't signed up for any extended warantee. They just gave me a new set because it was such a recent purchase. In the fine print of many appliance purchases there's a 90 day or 6 month or one-year guarantee. So my advice stands-don't pay money for extended warrantees. Put the money toward a repair or new purchase. You'll come out ahead.

The only time we did is when we bought a used Ford Windstar. The transmission broke down while we were visiting family in San Diego (drove from Colorado). It was lucky that we did.

I hate them BUT the few I have bought and have been thankful (i) my computer and laptop - tech support is invaluable. Also, many laptops no winclude accidental spillage (think early morning coffee), (ii) my vacume and (iii) Bob Discount Furniture's goof proof. Roughly $200 for 5 years and they will clean or replace. I know a number of poeple that have taken advantage - think kids vomit, puncture holes etc..

I don't buy extended warranties. If a salesperson starts to pressure me into buying an extended warranty, I simply state "if you feel that XXX product is so crappy that I'll need a warranty, perhaps I'll just not buy it." I have actually not purchased a couple of items because the salesperson has said that I'd probably regret not having a warranty. They probably meant to coerce me into buying the warranty, not causing me to put the item back or in one case, not buying a car. THAT caused some type of shock, losing the car deal! Anyway, if a product needs an extended warranty, it's not worth buying the product in the first place IMHO (like any Ford product). Luckily, I don't have vomiting/puncturing kids to worry about...

I'd be skeptical about a company keeping a 5 year vomit & coffee warranty going intact. But maybe they will. You still include the cost of shipping the unit and like my example the $200 is 50% of a new unit anyway.

I have some cookware with a "lifetime" warranty and the non-stick is peeling. Doubt I'll bother taking them up on the warranty since the cost of shipping it in probably isn't far from the cost of a whole new set! And I've been wanting a couple different pans anyway so I have to think about that one a bit.

This is another topic like gas vs electric, propane vs. charcoal, briquets vs. "real" charcoal, front-load vs top-load, "who has better powers: Samantha or Jeannie?" and several others. Few if any will change their mind but it makes for interesting conversation!