When you're finally getting to the register with that shiny LCD TV that is going to look oh-so-good on your living room console, your biggest worry won't be how you're paying for it or whether it's got the right pixel response time. Your biggest fret will be whether to say yes or no to the extended warranty...
That's where CNET comes to the rescue. The gadget experts recently wrote a helpful FAQ all about those tricky extended warranty purchase offers, including offering up info on when you should pay up and when to hold off.
Here's some of our favorite tips:
- Consumer reports show that most gadgets don't break until after 4 years of use (CNET's got the breakdown for each type of gadgets' average lifespan).
- The manufacturer's included warranty is often enough for most gadgets. If there are any big problems with your device, they'll show their face early.
- The majority of gadgets don't ever need to be repaired.
- If the warranty is almost as much as the product costs, it might be a good idea to take your chances without coverage. Same thing goes for repair costs.
- Consider passing on a 5-year warranty if you know the gizmo will be out-of-date in 3 years.
(Image: Flickr user -nathan under license from Creative Commons.)
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Comments (8)
Those are all good tips, but for people like myself who can't afford to buy expensive gadgets more than once or twice a year, I say just get atleast a 2 year warranty on anything more than $100. I've bought two computers in the past few years and even on the more expensive one a 2 year warranty was only around $30.
I hope no one interprets the photograph to mean you shouldn't buy longer warranties on laptops (many of which come with a year or less, standard). I have never owned a laptop that did not need some significant repair before it was obsolete.
i bought apple care for my imac for peace of mind. Luckily I have not had to use it. Kind of sad, but worth it. I like the idea that some warranties are going to. You pay the price and if you don't use it, ever, in that time frame, you get the price you paid back. Makes sense...
Some credit cards actually double your warranty period. My VISA signature card extended my Apple Ipod touch warranty for another year, and I was able to get it replaced free of charge.
http://usa.visa.com/personal/visa-signature/benefits/warranty-manager.jsp
Warranties bother me on principle. If I'm forking over that much money for something...why should I have to pay MORE to make sure it doesn't break? Shouldn't it just...not break? It's like the company is saying "Hey, give us all your money, this is a great gadget...but we made it kind of crappy, so you should give us MORE money to make sure it doesn't break. But it's a great gadget!!"
@nevanna
But the thing is, everything is breakable, and even if they make it extremely well, they can't guarantee it wouldn't break, so wouldn't you rather spend $20-75 more on a gadget then $200 to buy a brand new one?
my laptop of 2 years stopped working 3 days before the extended warranty expired. I had to extend the warranty for 300 friggen dollars. I figured, I wouldn't be able to purchase another computer within 2 years, so it seemed better to pay 300 bucks for it to be covered for 2 years than to have it screw up and me be computerless. As soon as I got it back, the motherboard screwed up, so i guess it was worth it.
As far as macs go, AppleCare pays for itself. Increases resale value too.