Please give me your opinion on extended warranties..... (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Becker]

I just bought the Sony Wega 32HS500 and I purchased the 3 year extended warranty from Circuit City for $175. I normally don't even consider these things but I thought about the fact that this tv weighs 200lbs and I don't want to ever have to carry it back down three flights of stairs. So, did I waste $175 or is it a good idea? I may still be able to get a refund if I change my mind. I'm just not sure I made the right decision on the warranty. I can't wait to get the tv though.



Dan.Becker

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Daniel,

If the 3 years starts after the factory warranty expires, $175 isn't bad for the peace of mind. I would never buy and extended warranty on something like a $150 dvd player, but it's not that bad an investment on a $1200-1400 tv.

I bought a 3 year extension from CC on my Sony rptv, mainly because if they can't fix it they will give me a brand new comparable set. This means you're covered if something goes wrong that they can't figure out.

 

[Adam Brandner]

I've had good and bad experiences with these plans. I had a Pioneer car stereo a few years back and was kicking myself for spending the extra 30 or 40 bucks for the plan until it died with a week to go. Nice. Got a new stereo and I felt a lot better about my choice.

Of course, one of my best friends bought a plan for his DVD player. It has broken twice, and he's had it fixed twice. That's good. What's bad is that he has been twice without a DVD player for three weeks while it is being repaired, because Best Buy insists on fixing it 3 times before they declare it a lemon and give him a new player.

I am getting the 36" version of the TV you just bought in a month or so, and I don't know what I'm going to do. I think that if I can get a plan where they'll replace the TV the first time it breaks, I'll pay for the plan. If not, I'll probably just take my chances. I don't want to take a 230 lb. TV to Best Buy three times, and I hear that direct view sets are pretty reliable anyway.

Anyone have any more thoughts on this? I'm still trying to make up my mind as well.

 

[Eric Samonte]

For stuff that r like $1000 and up, an investment of say $50-100 for an extended warranty seems OK by me. This would apply to most electronics stuff but not for all. My 65" RPTV has a 3 year on it but not my camcorder. Its on a laptop but not on my desktop.
I guess if u feel it needs it then by all means. I know that doesn't exactly help u guys out but that is my opinion.
Adam, I belive u can always "bargain" with the price on that warranty with Best Buy, but I find Circuit City is better in that regard. I had a friend who bought a 56" RPTV at CC and we haggled on including the extended warranty in the list price.
On another note, expect to get a letter from CC or BB after the factory warranty expires offering to extend such.

 

[Mark Hedges]

Best Buy wanted $300 for an extended warrantee w/ my 32HS500. That price coupled with the extremely aggresive sales tactics made me say no.

If I can get one for under $150 I would consider it. Can anyone recommend a warrantee seller?

Mark

 

[Allan Jayne]

If the extended warranty package requires that you lug the 230 lb. TV back to the store while you can get servicemen on your own to come to your home, then the value of the extended warranty is diminished.

You may find some extended warranties that provide in home service, but the price is likely to be higher than warranties that don't.

Third party extended warranties 9by neither the store nor the manufacturer) are risky, the company doing the warranting might go out of business. Even stores can go out of business.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Adam Brandner]

Exactly. I just don't want to go through the hassle (especially for $300) of bringing the thing back to the store multiple times. I'd rather pay someone to come have a look at it if it breaks beyond the factory warranty. That, or use it as an excuse to upgrade my system again. Okay, I think my choice is made.

 

[John Geelan]

Viking sells warranties on RPTV's that start when the manufacturers warranty ends plus have In-Home Service.

http://www.vikingwarranty.com/welcom...view/index.asp

ESP's are usually not needed on most electronics but I would buy one for computers or large TV's.

 

[Jeremy Little]

Best Buy wanted $300 for an extended warrantee w/ my 32HS500. That price coupled with the extremely aggresive sales tactics made me say no.

I wish they'd do price banding on HDTV plans like they do computers and digital cameras. It is $300 at Best Buy whether you buy the 32" HDTV, the 65" Mits, or even the Samsung DLP television set. I'm sorry to hear about the pressure, but some of us don't have to resort to being REALLY aggressive to meet our goals.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I'd definitely get an EW for a CRT-based RPTV, IF it costs a reasonable percentage of the TV price (maybe 10-15%), since RPTVs do seem to be less reliable/durable than direct-views. Direct-views, as is the case for you guys, are a tougher call, IMO.

FWIW, I did not bother w/ an EW for my 5-year-old Toshiba 32" direct-view, but did get a 4-year Best Buy EW for my new Panny 53" RPTV for essentially 15% of the TV price. Like most others, I don't generally believe in EWs, but I think CRT-based RPTVs deserve the exception.

_Man_

 

[dan fritzen]

Anyone ever repair a HDTV, my guess is the cost would be greater than the extended service plan.

I bought one for almost $300 from Audio King, AKA Ultimate Electronics for 5 years of coverage. Normally I don't not buy anythign from this store but the price for my tv was actually reasonable. Anyway if I do not use the warranty at all within the time period I can get a voucher for 50% of the cost of it, the catch being I have a 30 day window to do that, but for ~$125 I will remember in Jan 2008.

Also it includes in home repair and I never want to move my set downstairs ever again!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The only electronic item or appliance I have purchased an extended warranty for was my 56-inch 16x9 TV. Since this was a $3,000 purchase and I did not want to lug the TV in for service in case of a problem, I broke my rule as bought the plan. Of course, I've owned the TV for over 2 years without any repair needs. If I had declined the plan, the set would have probably needed repairing by now, per Murphy's Law.

For all other electronics and appliances, I figure that the money I save on all the extended warranties will cover the replacement of the occasional equipment failure.

I did purchase an extended warranty on our last car, too, but only after the dealership offered a written guarantee of returning our money if we do not use the warranty. This is the only time anyone has ever offered me such a deal.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I refused the warranty for my Toshiba 56H80 TV. Within 3-4 months the blue gun started going in and out at random. It would go away if I banged the side, so I let it go a few more months. Finally I got sick of it, so I got the local service center from Toshiba's website, called them up and they came right to my door the next day. The service guy knew his stuff and diagnosed the problem as a loose socket. He bent the pins on the socket so it would grip more firmly, ordered a new socket, came back in 4 days, soldered the new socket on, adjusted the color and even did a service mode convergence.

Cost to me - $0.00

It was all under the factory warranty.

If you are like me and feel that anything that is going to go wrong will go wrong in the first year, do not be swayed by the pitch that the EW covers thing the factory does not. It is BS. I used to sell EW's when I was in college and the only thing I've purchased them on since is cheap phones - $5 and when the phone breaks I get a new one.

 

[Joe Tilley]

Umm Nevermind