Buying a Washing Machine : Should I take out extra insurance

WLM21

After many years our washing machine has finally packed in, so it is time to buy a new one.

I pop to my local JL store to take a look

There is an AEG machine priced at £479 which has a guarantee of 2 years, with an additional option of adding 'breakdown and accidental damage' for £165 for 5 years.

However looking at the pictures, there is a warranty of 5 years included.. I assume this is with the manufacturer rather than JL directly.

We always take good care of products, so I am assuming there would be no need to fork out the extra £165 .. am I right ?

thanks

daveoc22

I'm looking at the picture online and it says 5 year guarantee included. The only options available are £25 for installation and £20 for recycling---I'm not seeing an option to pay extra for a 5 year breakdown cover. As you looked instore I'm guessing they forgot to take down the £165 offer sign.

CliveOfIndia

It's just like any other form of insurance - great value if you need it, a waste of money if you don't.

What you want to watch out for with the standard 5-year guarantee is that very often it'll cover parts only, not labour.  And you have to use their authorised engineers who will usually charge quite a lot more than your local independent Domestic Appliance repair outfit.

If the insurance covers both parts and labour, and if it doesn't have a list of exclusions as long as your arm, then it can be tempting.  However, in my personal opinion, it's rarely worth it.  I'd expect any appliance to last well in excess of 5 years, and if it's going to break then it'll be after it's 5 years old.

It's your call, of course.  In just the same way that I've been paying house and car insurance for donkey's years and never made a claim - a complete waste of money, one could argue.  But if my house burns to the ground I'll be glad of the insurance.  Then again, that's not really comparing like with like.  The total loss of a house would be devastating if you weren't insured.  If the washing machine packs up after 10 years, so what?

Yes, you'll always get the odd exception where it breaks within the first 5 years, in which case the insurance would be handy.  But on the balance of probabilities, my view would be don't bother with it.

Brambling

There are exceptions but I was once told from someone who worked with extended warranty companies that most electrical appliances break down in the first year when they are still covered by their guarantee or a lot later when they are no longer covered by the extended warranty, they used a bathtub graph curve to demonstrate. It is why they pressurise you to take it out as it is a money spinner. 

I believe JL offer a 2 year guarantee so you would be covered for the first couple of years. 

WLM21

daveoc22 said:

I'm looking at the picture online and it says 5 year guarantee included. The only options available are £25 for installation and £20 for recycling---I'm not seeing an option to pay extra for a 5 year breakdown cover. As you looked instore I'm guessing they forgot to take down the £165 offer sign.

It was on the store display

WLM21

CliveOfIndia said:

It's just like any other form of insurance - great value if you need it, a waste of money if you don't.

What you want to watch out for with the standard 5-year guarantee is that very often it'll cover parts only, not labour.  And you have to use their authorised engineers who will usually charge quite a lot more than your local independent Domestic Appliance repair outfit.

If the insurance covers both parts and labour, and if it doesn't have a list of exclusions as long as your arm, then it can be tempting.  However, in my personal opinion, it's rarely worth it.  I'd expect any appliance to last well in excess of 5 years, and if it's going to break then it'll be after it's 5 years old.

It's your call, of course.  In just the same way that I've been paying house and car insurance for donkey's years and never made a claim - a complete waste of money, one could argue.  But if my house burns to the ground I'll be glad of the insurance.  Then again, that's not really comparing like with like.  The total loss of a house would be devastating if you weren't insured.  If the washing machine packs up after 10 years, so what?

Yes, you'll always get the odd exception where it breaks within the first 5 years, in which case the insurance would be handy.  But on the balance of probabilities, my view would be don't bother with it.

Thank you for your comment .. i think I agree .. no need for extra insurance.

Funnily enough though, our current model was a JL own brand .. we took out the 5-year insurance. After just over 4 years there was a problem .. can't remember what now, as it was a while ago. I called in JL and for some reason the guarantee had not been processed, although I had paid and had a receipt to prove it. they agreed to repair the fault and issue the guarantee .. to my surprise it was for 5 years from that date, not the original purchase date. Nothing else happened to the machine. and that extra 5-year guarantee has long passed now. So JL were brilliant, so we are always happy to return there.

CliveOfIndia

It says the breakdown cover includes the guarantee period.  So if JL are offering a 2-year guarantee anyway, you're only getting an extra 3 years cover.

And whatever you decide, it pays to check the T&Cs of the extended cover very carefully - you'll often find there are a whole host of exclusions, and things that are deemed to be wear-and-tear are almost always excluded anyway.

DullGreyGuy

JL are not what they used to be, had to issue court proceedings on them to get them to do the right thing for us. 

If it died could you afford to replace it? If the answer is yes then I'd be cautious about any insurance offering value for money. 

As CliveOfIndia said, ask someone who's made a dozen claims and they'll say how great the insurance was. As many who've bout 10 policies and never made a claim and they'll probably say it's a waste of money. 

1/3 of the price for an extra 3 years isn't the worst value but have seen much better 

Albermarle

daveoc22 said:

I'm looking at the picture online and it says 5 year guarantee included. The only options available are £25 for installation and £20 for recycling---I'm not seeing an option to pay extra for a 5 year breakdown cover. As you looked instore I'm guessing they forgot to take down the £165 offer sign.

I think with Aeg and a handful of other manufacturers ( Siemens is one ) if you register the appliance with the manufacturer on line ( and get on their mailing list), then they extend the guarantee to 5 years.
These are pretty reliable makes so unlikely to break down in 5 years even with heavy use, but useful to have as its free.

WLM21

OP .. many thanks .. I've just saved £165 

Swasterix

Nothing to add to this that hasn’t already been said. I just wanted to say that it was deliciously ironic that the post just below yours was titled- “Washing machine broke after 4 months. What are my rights?”. Not any more mind since my reply will re-jig the order of things.  

Read into that what you like I guess.