Should you buy an extended warranty on HDTVs? |
7 Comments |
Posted by Marc Saltzman at 8:13 AM | E-mail this post
You finally scrimp and save enough to buy a flat-panel high-definition television to mount to your wall. Except the salesperson at your local big box retailer is insisting you should pick up the extended warranty for a few hundred dollars more in order to protect your investment. Should you?
According to Consumer Reports, no, you don't need to buy that extended warranty.
"Generally, extended warranties aren't worth it for most consumers" says James Willcox, senior editor for electronics at Consumer Reports. "Our surveys have found that LCD and plasma TVs continue to be very reliable, with only about 3 percent of these sets requiring a repair."
If a repair is required, it usually occurs during the first year of ownership, "and is thus covered by many manufacturers' warranties" continues Willcox. "You can also get free extended coverage by buying from a retailer, such as Costco, that adds a year to the manufacturer's warranty, or by paying with a credit card that similarly extends the manufacturer’s coverage."
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Posted by Marc Saltzman at 8:13 AM in Home Entertainment
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| Comments (7)
Kirk Bowlby on November 19 at 12:09 PM | Report abuse
Bought an extended warranty on my HDTV when I purchased it in 2005. This year the warranty put paid for a repair costing $850.00. I was certainly happy about my $200.00 extended warranty package.
Rob Daly on November 19 at 12:27 PM | Report abuse
I have to disagree about not buying an extended warranty with a new HDTV. This is electronics and electronics can fail at any given time and to have too repair one of these HDTVS the costs can be pretty expensive, you could be looking at least $500 and upwards.Work out a deal when buying an extended warranty the stores have some play.
BQ on November 19 at 3:20 PM | Report abuse
I don't agree you should forgo the extended warranty. Stuff breaks. What I agree with is that the extended warranty that the stores offer is rediculously priced. A company called SquareTrade offers extended warrantees at a fraction of the price of the stores. Based on most of the feedback I've seen on the internet, most claims have been handled well. I purchased this warranty for a GPS I bought for $US150 for 20 bucks for 3 years on top of the manufacturers warranty. Futureshop wanted 30 bucks per extra year. Do yourself a favour and at least do a search and check it out.
Bytrat on November 19 at 8:01 PM | Report abuse
Extended warrenties are a waste of money most of the time. Brand Name Electronics are generally well built and don't fail too often. Yes sometimes things happen but not for everything. This is just a cash grab by the retailer to pad thier bottom line - if you don't make a claim do you get your money back? No!!! Most problems usually occur within the manufacturer's warrenty period any ways. Besides which, either warranty won't cover consumible items. And a few companies will even try to screw you out of coverage if they can - labelling something as user caused (not covered) rather than a manufacturing defect (covered).
Albert on November 20 at 6:46 AM | Report abuse
I wouldn't get the extended warranty unless they offered my a significant deal on it.
I bought a $1000 dollar laptop and thought I might as well go and get the extended warranty because I'd be dragging the laptop around the house and around work. After three months, my battery was toast...I took it back to futureshop and they wouldn't replace the battery under the warranty and I said...I paid 400 bucks for this extended warranty and it's absolutly worthless?
Clerk: Yup
I called up HP and they mailed me a new battery, no questions asked. I will not buy anything at Futureshop, when I go to upgrade my home theatre I'll be spending around $5000. I'll go in to FS and say, "this is what I'm spending for a new HT, how about that battery?" Then just walk out.
Sean on November 23 at 12:56 PM | Report abuse
Albert, I do not work at FS but I do work for a similar retailer. Either the person who sold you the extended warranty didn't explain it properly or you didn't listen. It's an *extended* warranty which means it kicks in after the manufacturer's warranty expires. In the case of your laptop HP provides a one-year warranty and you should have contacted HP first, not the retailer.
Between poor sales techniques and people who don't listen, there are a lot people who assume an extended warranty means "fix everything for any reason". In the last week I've had to explain to one customer that the warranty, extended or otherwise, didn't cover the damage caused by dropping her laptop into a bathtub full of water.
In another case, a customer argued with me when I told him there would be a $50 fee for a virus cleanup on his machine. He threatened to raise hell with the extended warranty folks unless I did the cleanup for free for him. I dialled the number for the extended warranty center, handed him the phone and served other customers while he sputtered and cursed and got red in the face as they told hime the same story I had just delivered.
It's the duty of both the sales rep and the customer to know what you're buying and whichever one fails to do so is an idiot.
Jonathan on November 24 at 12:38 AM | Report abuse
Having worked for staples as well as dell and HP at a call center, I can honestly say that warranties are great. It depends on the type though. Most Manufacture warranties are limited, and some stores operate differently. For instance FutureShop takes over the manufacturers warranty and substitutes their own. By doing this they shorten the coverage of your batteries life, which most manufacturers cover for 1 yr. Staples covers laptop batteries for the duration of the warranty. considering the price of laptop batteries these days, thats awesome. Now Dell has the best with their complete coverage nothing held against you warranty.. aka complete care. Tech right to your door or box to your door and even running over your laptop is covered. ohh that raises another point, Manufacturers DO NOT PAY for shipping in most cases, so that warranty may save you lots in the long run.