Extended warranties - good or bad idea?

In message , Bob Thomas
writes

Should be a law making manufacturers provide decent support in the
first place! An Olympic camera costing megabucks shouldn't be allowed
to die in just over 12 months with no responsibility taken by the
manufacturer.

Depends on where you live.

In the UK, contrary to what may people believe, and what retailers often
say, there is not a fixed limit such as a year for the manufacturers
liability (and note in the UK, manufacturers warranties are in addition
to our statutory rights under consumer rights legislation)

In principle, depending on the item in question, the cost, quality etc.
it is possible to claimthat the retailer take responsibility for faults
that develop for up to 6 years (this is a simplification of course).

--
Chris French

On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 21:08:46 +0800, "Nash" wrote:

This should make interesting reading. The discussion quickly went away from
the title into BestBuy bashing, particularly about BB's policy of trying to
sell your extended warranty on everything, repeatedly.

Welllll... It's still partly on the topic of extended warranties:-))

When it comes to BB and extended warranties, or any other company
selling they, all the customer has to do is realize they are selling
that warranty for a reason and they would not be doing so were it not
to *their* advantage. *Unless* the product fails within the warranty
period that is all their cash. Nothing but a little paper work and
the odds are stacked highly in their favor. If they weren't then
they'd not be selling the extended warranties.

The question each buyer needs to ask is "Do I *need* an extended
warranty?"

They also need to see just what the warranty covers. Some, but not
many are very good. Most have more weasel words in them than a
politician's speech.

I've had extended warranties on some very expensive products and they
not only paid for them selves, they did it many times over. In two
cases the repairs, when labor was included, came to more than I paid
for the object.

OTOH that is a very rare occurrence.

My opinion is, for most products and users they are not worth the
money, but for some people and products they are a necessity. Thing
is, you have to be able to get one of the good warranties.

Just remember, except in special cases the odds do not favor the
customer.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Regards,
Nash


"Bob Thomas" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 06 Jul 2004 00:52:14 GMT, "pjp"
wrote:

I just heard/watched a little blurb on TV about someone who bought a
digital
camera at Blacks (Canada) that stopped working within 6 months. She had
bought an extended warranty etc. at time of purchase. Blacks, using the
manufacturer as the "excuse", refused to honor the warranty. To
paraphrase
"the camera must have been dropped" even though apparently there was no
sign
of such "damage".

Hence (along with my experiences with car dealers/manufacturers), I take
ANY
warranty as pure bs as it always comes down to the manufacturer honoring
it.
As far as I'm concerned, there should be a law dictating that any and all
warranty disputes can be resolved through mutually agreeable binding 3rd
party "arbitration".

Should be a law making manufacturers provide decent support in the
first place! An Olympic camera costing megabucks shouldn't be allowed
to die in just over 12 months with no responsibility taken by the
manufacturer.

Sods.

Bob T.

On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 21:08:46 +0800, "Nash" wrote:

This should make interesting reading. The discussion quickly went away from
the title into BestBuy bashing, particularly about BB's policy of trying to
sell your extended warranty on everything, repeatedly.

Welllll... It's still partly on the topic of extended warranties:-))

When it comes to BB and extended warranties, or any other company
selling they, all the customer has to do is realize they are selling
that warranty for a reason and they would not be doing so were it not
to *their* advantage. *Unless* the product fails within the warranty
period that is all their cash. Nothing but a little paper work and
the odds are stacked highly in their favor. If they weren't then
they'd not be selling the extended warranties.

The question each buyer needs to ask is "Do I *need* an extended
warranty?"

They also need to see just what the warranty covers. Some, but not
many are very good. Most have more weasel words in them than a
politician's speech.

I've had extended warranties on some very expensive products and they
not only paid for them selves, they did it many times over. In two
cases the repairs, when labor was included, came to more than I paid
for the object.

OTOH that is a very rare occurrence.

My opinion is, for most products and users they are not worth the
money, but for some people and products they are a necessity. Thing
is, you have to be able to get one of the good warranties.

Just remember, except in special cases the odds do not favor the
customer.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Regards,
Nash


"Bob Thomas" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 06 Jul 2004 00:52:14 GMT, "pjp"
wrote:

I just heard/watched a little blurb on TV about someone who bought a
digital
camera at Blacks (Canada) that stopped working within 6 months. She had
bought an extended warranty etc. at time of purchase. Blacks, using the
manufacturer as the "excuse", refused to honor the warranty. To
paraphrase
"the camera must have been dropped" even though apparently there was no
sign
of such "damage".

Hence (along with my experiences with car dealers/manufacturers), I take
ANY
warranty as pure bs as it always comes down to the manufacturer honoring
it.
As far as I'm concerned, there should be a law dictating that any and all
warranty disputes can be resolved through mutually agreeable binding 3rd
party "arbitration".

Should be a law making manufacturers provide decent support in the
first place! An Olympic camera costing megabucks shouldn't be allowed
to die in just over 12 months with no responsibility taken by the
manufacturer.

Sods.

Bob T.

I've had extended warranties on some very expensive products and they
not only paid for them selves, they did it many times over. In two
cases the repairs, when labor was included, came to more than I paid
for the object.

What were the objects/companies involved? Who provided the warranty?
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

I've had extended warranties on some very expensive products and they
not only paid for them selves, they did it many times over. In two
cases the repairs, when labor was included, came to more than I paid
for the object.

What were the objects/companies involved? Who provided the warranty?
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

In article ,
says...
On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 19:11:09 -0400, "ZeeExSixAre"
wrote:


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?

I bought an expensive digital camera and an extended warranty through
Mack cameras - the camera broke down, and I had to fight for two
months to get Mack to pay up!

Useless service, ignored emails and pathetic excuses were the mark of
that company, who initially ignored the whole thing and told me it
wasn't covered by warranty (which it clearly was).

However, as the cost of repairs to a 12 month old camera was $500
(AUD) it certainly paid to have that warranty, although I'd choose
another company if i had a choice.

Bob T.


You could purchase with AMEX and get a 1 yr extension on
anything you buy through AMEX. Doesn't cost anything.

In article ,
says...
On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 19:11:09 -0400, "ZeeExSixAre"
wrote:


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?

I bought an expensive digital camera and an extended warranty through
Mack cameras - the camera broke down, and I had to fight for two
months to get Mack to pay up!

Useless service, ignored emails and pathetic excuses were the mark of
that company, who initially ignored the whole thing and told me it
wasn't covered by warranty (which it clearly was).

However, as the cost of repairs to a 12 month old camera was $500
(AUD) it certainly paid to have that warranty, although I'd choose
another company if i had a choice.

Bob T.


You could purchase with AMEX and get a 1 yr extension on
anything you buy through AMEX. Doesn't cost anything.

"ZeeExSixAre" wrote in
:


Mine have always had their problems right after the first year.


Kind of like car batteries. A 3 year battery will likely
die in the 37th month. Things are no long designed to last a
long time, just "long enough". The definition of that is up to
the mfg'er. We definitely live in a market that thrives on
disposable items rather than things that can be fixed.

Electronics are designed and built so in most cases, it is not
cost effective to repair. Even when you have something "fixed"
under warranty, most of the time they just replace the item and
not fix it.



--
Tim.

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

Extended warranties are a bad investment. The company knows when a
camera will break, on the average, and prices the insurance to make a
hefty profit. Your camera may be worse or better than the average but
all things being equal, you're best off keeping your money.

Not necessarily. It all depends on who you buy them from . I have
had very good experience when it comes to extended warranties and
cameras. I always use buy them and use it without any problems .
London Drugs in Western Canada is great. They have a third party that
they trust. I understand Future Shop is also very good too.

If the retailer comes back to you and they said you dropped it and
they won't honour the warranty, they have to prove it. If you dont
want to get the extended warranty then pay by credit card. Most offer
extended warranties.


"Tom Nelson" wrote in message
m.invalid...
: Extended warranties are a bad investment. The company knows when a
: camera will break, on the average, and prices the insurance to make
a
: hefty profit. Your camera may be worse or better than the average
but
: all things being equal, you're best off keeping your money.