Extended Warranties on TVs, Dishwashers etc

chrisbairdclarke

Morning All,

I'd be grateful for some advice on extended warranties. My normal statutory yrs warranty on a number of household items has come to an end and I've been sent a request to take out extended warranties for 4 years on them all. The warranties last 4 years and all are approx 25% of the origional value.

Over four years the price doesn't seem that much and the protection is for full repairs and replacement including accidental damage with no costs other than purchase incurred.

However I would expect the equipment to survive at least upto 5 years with no problems anyway and so don't know whether it is worth it or another unnessecary protection / cost. I am unsure if my contents insurance does cover some of this but would need to check on the exact details in case I double protect.

Many thanks the thoughts and advice

Chris

Esqui

It certainly makes things a lot less stressful than the normal route for out-of-warranty repairs, which normally involves getting an engineer's report done, then hoping the company will offer a repair because of it. Plus the risk that the fault could be due to misuse (accidental damage), leaving you nowhere.

There's also the other risk that instead of repairing, the retailer will give you a partial refund...after a few years, it will barely be enough to get a new one. Most warranties will replace it with a similar machine if it's unrepairable.

With regards to insurance, you may be covered for accidental damage/flood damage etc, but not all cover breakdown. In any case, you may have to pay excess, or see your insurance costs go up the following year. They might also make you buy the new one and claim the cost back, which could take a while - not easy if you don't have much money to spare!

Are they worth it? Some are, some aren't. I'm sure some people here will tell you to stay away and don't touch them...but I think there are times when they are worth it.