LCD extended warranties ... Y/N? (1 Viewer)

[beepa]

Just purchased a Samsung LN52A850. Debating over whether or not I should spring for the extended warranty. 4yrs = $370 5yrs = $460.

Any thoughts?

 

[Clinton McClure]

Just my two cents...

I never buy the extended warranty/service plan. In most cases, it's simply a way for the mfg to take your money. It has been my experience that if an electronic device is going to fail, it will do so within the factory warranty period. Buying a Samsung, they should have a good factory warranty (between 1 and 3 years).

If the device does not fail naturally within the factory warranty period and is not abused, it will probable last quite a long time and by the time you are looking to replace it, you can have the money you would have spent on the extended warranty/service plan to put towards bigger and better gear.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I agree with Clinton and never buy extended warranties. It is very rare that a piece of equipment breaks before I am ready to upgrade. For those rare instances where this happens, I will have saved more than enough money by not purchasing any extended warranties to cover the cost of replacing or repairing that rare malfunctioning device.

 

[RickER]

I bought one for my Sony LCD, call it peace of mind. I dont usually buy one, but then again, i dont usually drop 4 grand on an item.

 

[Ernest]

It seems like a lot of money for the extended warranty. I just purchased an LCD from SAMS and added 1 year extended warranty for $29.00 to give me two full years coverage. I think extended warranties are good to purchase as long as they are reasonably priced.

 

[Steve Berger]

An LCD TV is basically unrepairable after it is out of warranty; and while the panel may last a long time (the listed life is time till reduced brightness not MTBF) the circuit boards don't. Since the boards are generally not repairable and not available after 18-24 months (and costly), the extended warranty will have to replace your set if it breaks, down the road. That's why the warranties got so expensive.

Digital based TVs use components and technologies that have very limited lifespans. Your old TV was good for 15-16 years and was very repairable. It's failure modes usually started to act up in the 7-10 year range. The failures of the digital sets are showing up in almost exactly half that time and are mostly unrepairable.

My success rate for repairing flat panels is only about 20%. Sometimes we get lucky but most of the 3 year old TV breakdowns result in doorstops.

 

[Bryan X]

Forget the extended warranty. Stores make a killing on these (at the consumer's expense) which is why they push them so hard. They are a rip off.

Instead, check with your credit card company. Many credit card issuers provide free extended warranty benefits when you use their cards. Usually they tack on an additional year to the manufacturers warranty. Just be sure to read the rules and follow them closely.

 

[DaveF]

In five years, that TV will be worth about $230, used. So save the $460 and buy two when it dies.

 

[CB750]

Consumer Reports will advise you that extended warrantees are a rip off. Generally the retailer will make more off the warranty they they do with the sale of the product.

When the salesman starts to give me the hard sell for the warranty I tell them if the brand they are trying to sell me is so unreliable that I need a extended warranty then perhaps I should consider a different brand at a different store. Things tend to get very quite after that.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

The best part about ordering my set online was not having to listen to some salesman trying to hang an extended warranty on me.

 

[sestamuch]

Lol, I have to start telling them that, I can already start to imagine the look on their faces. For obvious reasons here I also wouldn't get the extended warranty, it's just a way to eat more of your money.

 

[DaveF]

Fortunately, I've never had any issues with this. Buying a TV this week at BestBuy, they try to slide it in with a "So you'll be getting the 4-year ESP for $399?" during check-out. I say "no thanks" and there's no more on the subject. We had a bit more banter on the suggested calibration; I would have bought that but I don't yet have confidence that BB does quality calibrations.

 

[Adam_R]

I have to disagree here. I purchased my first HDTV in 2002 from CC and paid $400 for a 4 year plan to cover the $2500 TV. It was a CRT based RP set.

I had issues with the TV and they replaced it and offered me a LCD RP set. This was in late 2005. I took the value of the set they offered and tacked on a couple hundred to get the latest and greatest 1080p DLP, which I loved. The set they offered was $2600 and the set I bought was $2800.

I got a pro-rated refund on the first warranty and paid another $400 for a new 4 year warranty.

Fast forward to late 2008. Issues with the DLP. Long story short, they replaced it with another DLP valued at about $1800. I used that value and applied it to a LN52A650 LCD that was $1999.

This time I did NOT go with their warranty, but purchased one from this site for a LOT less:

MACK WARRANTY (TV ONLY)


Now, all in all if those TV's had to be tossed and I had to buy new ones, it would have cost me a LOT more.

 

[oldac3]

I was just researching television reliability in the 2009 Consumer Reports Buying Guide and here is what it is reporting (for what it's worth):

-------------------------
PLASMA TELEVISION SETS
-------------------------

Should last 10 years or so with normal use.

Few repair problems during the first three years of use for plasma sets from
PANASONIC
PIONEER
SAMSUNG

PHILLIPS- Sets needed more repairs than average.

HITACHI- Not enough data.

---------------------
LCD TELEVISION SETS
---------------------

Survey found few repair problems during the first three years of use for
SAMSUNG
SHARP
SONY
TOSHIBA
PANASONIC
PHILLIPS
JVC

HITACHI- More repair prone.

OLEVIA- Not enough data.
SANYO- Not enough data.

It goes on to say that extended warranties on average make "little sense" financially.

Note: Other brands were not included in the post because they were not mentioned in the buying guide.

 

[DaveF]

If the actuaries creating service plans do their job, people will generally lose money buying them. It's a financial requirement of any insurance that people pay out more than they collect, en masse.

For my personal health, for my home, for my car, this is an acceptable (and legally required) expense, as the expense is the same as that for a TV but the potential personal cost is thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands dollars, or more.

So it's up to you whether to "insure" a $2000 consumer good at a cost of 20% of its value. I bought the extended warranty on my laptop but I don't for any other consumer eletroncis purchase under about $5000.

 

[beepa]

Thanks for all the advice! I opted NOT to go for the EW. Samsung offers an EW if you register the unit. Up to 18 months with an option to extend that later.

 

[Robert Fellows]

Another place to get a warranty is here. Never used them, but the price is good.

TV Extended Warranty and Extended Service Plans at DTV Express

 

[Dennis Ellis]

I am hopefully buying an LCD from Best Buy tomorrow. You all make some great points about warranties.

I have utilized them in the past on car stereos and as Adam R said above, I would have paid alot more in the end had I not opted for the warranty.



Beepa, I am also looking at samsung LCD's. So, you are saying that if I buy one I can pay them fro an extended warranty sometime before hte regular warranty is up? That doesn't sound too bad.

Still not 100% on what I am going to do.