Extended warranties - good or bad idea?

Some of you may remember my Coolpix 990 dying, and thus I couldn't do much
with it here in the US because it's a German camera. I really need the
swivel body and the CP4500 seems to fit the bill. I see some on eBay
advertised with a 3-year extended warranty (seems to be about $40 extra on
top of the camera).

Does this seem like a good deal? How do I know my stuff will be covered?
The repair provider is Repair Tech... do they have a website or a phone
number I can contact them at?

Has anyone here had good or bad experiences with wrangling with extended
warranty companies?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"ZeeExSixAre" wrote in message
...
Some of you may remember my Coolpix 990 dying, and thus I couldn't do much
with it here in the US because it's a German camera. I really need the
swivel body and the CP4500 seems to fit the bill. I see some on eBay
advertised with a 3-year extended warranty (seems to be about $40 extra on
top of the camera).

I have just insured my camera in the UK for £182.70 for 5 years in this
time you pay £913.9 it is new for old up to five years,
for My Nikon D70 which is for the kit lens 18 to 70 mm, which costs £1145
total.
Insurance costs for Camera is £140 and Lens £42, this gets me full cover for
theft accidental damage and repair if it fails to work. The camera works out
at roughtly 10% of value new, the lens is a bit more expensive to insure but
how much I dont know as I have not seen a price for the kit lens.
Check your household insurance it may cover accidental damage although where
you pay the say first £50 repair costs. I suspect in the US of A its cheaper
as it seems all thing are. also note that the toltal cost when I bought the
camera was including spare battery and 1 gig solid state memory card.
Digital cameras are as robust as film cameras but more expensif to repair
due to the electonics.

Regards MikeS

Years ago I dropped my Coolpix 990 and it turned out too expensive to
fix. (No extended warranty) but that wouldn't be covered if I dropped
it.
My next camera was also a Coolpix 4500. This time I called my
homeowner insurance company. My camera is covered under my homeowners
but with a deductible.
They recommended a supplemental coverage for my camera. It cost $18
per year (for $800 coverage) and covers everything, if I forgot it in
a restaurant, dropped it in a lake, stolen, etc. The best part is it's
$0 deductible. I insured it for the cost of the camera and
accessories. I also insured my camcorder.
If the camera stops working due to a mechanical problem, the insurance
will also pay for the repair or replacement of the camera. Of course,
you have to check with your insurance company but most companies in
the USA offer this supplement.
It beats extended warranties.
The negative part of this is that if you put in 3 claims within 3
years then your homeowner premiums skyrocket.

Good luck,
Ihor

"MikeS" wrote in message ...
"ZeeExSixAre" wrote in message
...
Some of you may remember my Coolpix 990 dying, and thus I couldn't do much
with it here in the US because it's a German camera. I really need the
swivel body and the CP4500 seems to fit the bill. I see some on eBay
advertised with a 3-year extended warranty (seems to be about $40 extra on
top of the camera).

I have just insured my camera in the UK for £182.70 for 5 years in this
time you pay £913.9 it is new for old up to five years,
for My Nikon D70 which is for the kit lens 18 to 70 mm, which costs £1145
total.
Insurance costs for Camera is £140 and Lens £42, this gets me full cover for
theft accidental damage and repair if it fails to work. The camera works out
at roughtly 10% of value new, the lens is a bit more expensive to insure but
how much I dont know as I have not seen a price for the kit lens.
Check your household insurance it may cover accidental damage although where
you pay the say first £50 repair costs. I suspect in the US of A its cheaper
as it seems all thing are. also note that the toltal cost when I bought the
camera was including spare battery and 1 gig solid state memory card.
Digital cameras are as robust as film cameras but more expensif to repair
due to the electonics.

Regards MikeS

I know a couple people who work for best buy, and they get ridden hard to
sell extended warranties. It seems that part of why they are profitable is
that they work pretty hard to exclude claims (for example, some types of
damage are covered, others are not). Not sure how this compares to other
companies, but I am very leery of buying an extension from best buy.

"Tim V." wrote in message
. 30.93...
"ZeeExSixAre" wrote in
:

Some of you may remember my Coolpix 990 dying, and thus I couldn't do
much with it here in the US because it's a German camera. I really
need the swivel body and the CP4500 seems to fit the bill. I see some
on eBay advertised with a 3-year extended warranty (seems to be about
$40 extra on top of the camera).

Does this seem like a good deal? How do I know my stuff will be
covered? The repair provider is Repair Tech... do they have a website
or a phone number I can contact them at?

Has anyone here had good or bad experiences with wrangling with
extended warranty companies?



I saw a report on the news several months ago that Best Buy made
more money last year on their extended warranties than merchandise.

That makes me suspect most of the extended warranties are either
unnecessary or overpriced or they wouldn't make money from them. Of
course, for those who actually use them, it's probably worth it.

For the most part, I think they are unnecessary for most items, but
are good for others.

--
Tim.

"Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve
neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

Ihor wrote:
Years ago I dropped my Coolpix 990 and it turned out too expensive to
fix. (No extended warranty) but that wouldn't be covered if I dropped
it.
My next camera was also a Coolpix 4500. This time I called my
homeowner insurance company. My camera is covered under my homeowners
but with a deductible.
They recommended a supplemental coverage for my camera. It cost $18
per year (for $800 coverage) and covers everything, if I forgot it in
a restaurant, dropped it in a lake, stolen, etc. The best part is it's
$0 deductible. I insured it for the cost of the camera and
accessories. I also insured my camcorder.
If the camera stops working due to a mechanical problem, the insurance
will also pay for the repair or replacement of the camera. Of course,
you have to check with your insurance company but most companies in
the USA offer this supplement.
It beats extended warranties.
The negative part of this is that if you put in 3 claims within 3
years then your homeowner premiums skyrocket.

Good luck,
Ihor

Thanks a bunch, good advice.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

I saw a report on the news several months ago that Best Buy made
more money last year on their extended warranties than merchandise.

That makes me suspect most of the extended warranties are either
unnecessary or overpriced or they wouldn't make money from them. Of
course, for those who actually use them, it's probably worth it.

For the most part, I think they are unnecessary for most items, but
are good for others.

On a digital camera, you betcha! These things are just too damn delicate
and expensive to repair. I'll definitely buy insurance if I have the option
to do so, but only if it WORKS! That's the question I'm getting at... has
anybody here bought an extended warranty for their camera and what was the
result?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

In message 3, Tim V.
writes
"ZeeExSixAre" wrote in
:

Some of you may remember my Coolpix 990 dying, and thus I couldn't do
much with it here in the US because it's a German camera. I really
need the swivel body and the CP4500 seems to fit the bill. I see some
on eBay advertised with a 3-year extended warranty (seems to be about
$40 extra on top of the camera).

Does this seem like a good deal? How do I know my stuff will be
covered? The repair provider is Repair Tech... do they have a website
or a phone number I can contact them at?

Has anyone here had good or bad experiences with wrangling with
extended warranty companies?



I saw a report on the news several months ago that Best Buy made
more money last year on their extended warranties than merchandise.

That makes me suspect most of the extended warranties are either
unnecessary or overpriced or they wouldn't make money from them

This also applies in the UK, all the major electrical retailers make a
lot of profit from selling warranties.

Personally I don't think it is normally worth it - on the whole
electrical/electronic items are very reliable - or they fail early and
within warranty anyway - putting the money you would spend on endless
warranties away in a savings account makes a lot more sense. I view
insurance really as being there for things that I would find hard to
cover from my own resources - not for every small potential loss.

The normal warranty in the UK wouldn't cover things such as accidental
damage from dropping the camera, which is where the real risks lie. I
have mine covered under my 'All risks' section house hold contents
policy as well as my travel insurance for accidental damage as well as
loss - yes there is an excess, but it's not massive, though I'd probably
not use it for the camera as it's not a particularly expensive on (A80 -
about GBP 200 in the UK now - by the time the 2 year warranty runs out
it will be worth even less)

And yes I have had to follow my own advice, I recently dropped my camera
in a puddle on the beach (fell out of my pocket) Repair wouldn't have
been cost effective so I bought a new one
--
Chris French

"chris French" wrote in message
...
In message about GBP 200 in the UK now - by the time the 2 year warranty
runs out
it will be worth even less)

And yes I have had to follow my own advice, I recently dropped my camera
in a puddle on the beach (fell out of my pocket) Repair wouldn't have
been cost effective so I bought a new one
--
Chris French


Chris,
I agree for a camera that cost say up to £400 it doesn't make sense to
insure one can cover costs ( self insure if you like). But when the camera
and lenses cost over £1800 it a bit to much to cover ones self. My household
insurance will cover for accidental damage but not failure to work. I have a
Nikon D70 which a relatively cheap camera to buy but like most things
expensive to repair.

This one way calculate cost effectiveness of insurance. Insurance per annum
= 10% of camera value/purchase new costs (dependant on if bought second hand
or new). 10% of £1800 = £180 x five years = £900. If one spread the cost of
the camera over 5 years it would cost £360 per annum premium half that at
£180. Therefore the insurance is half the write-off value pa.

As mentioned in a previous post the risk to the insurance companies does not
warrant 10% of value as premiums. Making allowance for profit I would say 5%
would make sense if the one could get a failure to work insurance only and
insure the accidental damage and theft with ones house hold insurance. This
is covered by my insurance company here in the UK, but does not cover for
failure to work. These warranty insurance's have added value to themselves
by doing more that warranty and offer accidental damage and theft which in
my view unnecessary. If one could tailor them to meet ones own requirements
that would be ideal (great).

It would be helpful if photographers who have had repairs or warranty work
done to let us know of their experiences?

MikeS

It would be helpful if photographers who have had repairs or
warranty work done to let us know of their experiences?


Yes!!! I'm still waiting for somebody to chime in to let us know if
anything bad happens during a warranty repair...

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

In message , MikeS
writes

"chris French" wrote in message
...
In message about GBP 200 in the UK now - by the time the 2 year warranty
runs out
it will be worth even less)

And yes I have had to follow my own advice, I recently dropped my camera
in a puddle on the beach (fell out of my pocket) Repair wouldn't have
been cost effective so I bought a new one
--
Chris French


Chris,
I agree for a camera that cost say up to £400 it doesn't make sense to
insure one can cover costs ( self insure if you like). But when the camera
and lenses cost over £1800 it a bit to much to cover ones self. My household
insurance will cover for accidental damage but not failure to work. I have a
Nikon D70 which a relatively cheap camera to buy but like most things
expensive to repair.


But of course it's unlikely to cost any where near to GBP 1800 to repair
if a fault does occur anyway. From my perspective I still wouldn't have
an extended warranty on it - electrical and electronic items are
reliable - faults, (as opposed to accidental damage - which is the most
likely risk) tend to occur in the first year or much later on in the
products life. Of all the electronic items in the house, very few have
had a fault develop with in any likely warranty period.

OK say 5 year warranty on the 1800 camera was GBP 500, spending that on
repairs in 5 years is unlikely (possible of course, which is why you
need to have provisions for such things)

Other people may have a different view of the risks involved, and take a
different view of course.
--
Chris French