extended warranties

[peggyfromwastate]

I've pretty much read nothing good about them. I hate buying expensive appliances and not having a warranty, but I already know that the companies that service the warranties in our area are crap (our appliances that we got with the house had some issues and were covered under warranty, but it took something like 10 phone calls to get someone to answer, then they could come out in a couple of weeks kind of a deal...).

If you buy them, why do you? Peace of mind?

Have you had to use the extended warranty and it's paid off?

If you don't buy them, what do you do to plan for repairs?

Everything is so computerized-- it makes me nervous... Just saying "motherboard" is enough to pretty much raise my BP by 20 points lol.

[spotty_dog]

If you buy a thing, and replacing the thing would cause undue financial strain, then consider some sort of warranty protection. But first A) make sure you know exactly what the warranty covers, and B) reconsider buying the thing. Because if replacing it outright (presumably after the limited warranty is up) would break the bank, then maybe it's breaking the bank now and you need to be looking a little more...budget-friendly?

DH got the extended warranty on his big fancy TV a few years back. At the time it seemed like a pretty good deal, it was easier to spend the couple hundred up front on the warranty than the $1000+ for a new television, and it covered all the things like accidental damage. But at the end of the pitch after he'd agreed to it, they deigned to explain he'd have to haul the thing himself to the nearest service place, which was like 2-3 hours. Um right. And of course, years later and the TV is already starting to be obsolete, we haven't used the warranty, and the cost of replacement is really just not that scary any more, so the original cost of the warranty turns out to have been basically money pissed away, you know?

We have an emergency fund that suffices for repairs. We also expect for about 1-2% the cost of the house to go into maintaining/repairing the house, annually. The years we don't need much work done are balanced by the years that we need the siding stained and the exterior trim replaced and the SubZero fridge repaired all in one go, LOL.

[SoonerTexan]

The only thing I've really bought one for is our Macs. When we get our next iPhones we may go ahead and buy some sort of warranty because they would be very difficult to replace once I quit.

[Pollyanna]

The only thing I've really bought one for is our Macs. When we get our next iPhones we may go ahead and buy some sort of warranty because they would be very difficult to replace once I quit.

This. We've had those pay off big time! Replaced iMac, iPod, and a new internal screen on a MacBook.

Other than that I think it's easier to self insure those big ticket items. And for appliances I would go with reliable and easy to service before I would go with style.