XBOX 360 - should I get the 2-year extended warranty? (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

So I buy a XBOX 360 Premium system because Microcenter has a $100 rebate on it ($300 after rebate), but they offer a 2-year extended warranty for $60, and after reading this thread, it's got me thinking I should go ahead and get it. Yay or nay?

 

[Arthur Legardo]

Since you are already getting a $100 rebate, you may as well.

 

[Brent T]

I would get it, I had to send mine back the week after I got it. They sent me a brand new one and I haven't had any problems with the current unit, however I did extend the warranty on it.

 

[RAF]

I opted for the extended warranty on Day One of the 360's release - just for a bit of peace of mind. That said, I've completed the first year without any problems at all on an original unit. Interestingly, my latest game, Gear of War, seems to make the player a lot noisier (sound from the box's DVD player - not the HD-DVD) than any other title I own. I don't know if this is a problem with that particular title or the first symptoms of something else brewing - but I'm not concerned with the warranty in hand.

 

[Patrick Sun]

What's interesting about Microcenter's extended warranty is that you pay them for the extended warranty, and then if the XBOX unit needs servicing, then you give them the unit, and they simply issue you a credit to get a new unit. Doing it this way is a no-brainer for Microcenter because I suspect (after doing more reading that Microsoft offers depot service mail-in extended warranty coverage) that Microcenter applies for a percentage of covered units they sell with extended warranties, and then they just pocket the rest of the money collected for units that don't require any service over the life of the unit (using stats to come up with a percentage of units with extended warranties to truly cover). Just my guess on the situation.

Now I read of a new cooler-running chip that will ship in the XBOX 360 units in 2007, so I'm leaning towards just returning the unit and waiting until next year.

 

[DaveF]

$60 / $400 * 100= 15%

Is the Xbox so poorly built that they expected to have a 15% failure rate in the first three years? Seems like, as with most consumer electronics, the extended warranty is a waste of money. Or the Xbox is so shoddily built, a person ought not buy it until Microsoft gets their (manufacturing) act together.

That said, this type of no-quetions-asked warranty can be nice. In three years, you tell them your Xbox is faulty and get a new one.