new appliances - extended warranty good idea?

[meandk0610]

i just bought what will become our homestead - 4.24 acres with a stream-fed pond with a double wide. it was a HUD foreclosure and has no appliances. i am trying to get very energy efficient appliances because i want to eventually add solar (hopefully before everything goes boom). would you get a 2-year extended warranty? i'm thinking that i might not be making as much money in the future and am not sure i would have enough money to replace them if they broke. what do you think? tia!!

[summerthyme]

I've always considered them a scam, but we recently had a small GE chest freezer (purchased at Sam's Club... I used it for meat and bones for the dogs) die at FOURTEEN MONTHS old. Naturally, the warranty was for 12 months.

I still think they're a scam, but possibly a necessary one these days. We used to be able to figure on a freezer lasting 30 years or more (our two large chest freezers are close to that). But it seems half the stuff they make now is junk. Ours isn't the only relatively new freezer I've heard of failing recently. Although I have to say that the identical model has worked just fine for our kids (we gave them each one for Christmas a few years back) for 5+ years so far.

Summerthyme

[Rubythedane]

Bought an extended warranty in 2008 for a TV we purchased at HEB. Picture started getting dark spots - looked like bruises. Got the check for the full replacement cost this weekend. The warranty was worth it for us in this instance. Your mileage may vary though.

[Heliobas Disciple]

I usually get them, and most people I know who've gotten them, have ended up needing a repair. See how much a home repair is in your area (just to come in and assess the damage, it's often close to $100 for just stepping in the door) - and if the warranty is not much more than that, it's worth it. You can use it for a tune up if nothing breaks in that time period (especially on washers and dryers).

ETA: they don't make things the way they used to unfortunately. It's not uncommon for something to break in the first few years

ymmv,
HD

[Smoke]

Today, things that are less than $200 are considered throw away, the warranty is a good idea, it is like insurance, hope you don't need it but it is there incase you do, the real question is does it start after the manufacture warranty is done or does it also ride the first year free? And then the cost, I sometimes buy them and then sometime don't. Right now I have a house warranty that covers all appliances and then some, so I don't buy them for those items, but will for a car, after having a transmission go out at 90,000+ miles, they do pay for themselves....

[meandk0610]

dang, i was hoping that everyone would say "no, you don't need them, things last at least 5 years". well, poo.

[Josie]

I've only gotten the extended warranty once when I bought a new car. A mechanic friend of mine said that he always gets them for his cars. I did use it when the cooling system had something go bad. It paid for it's self and covered both parts and labor.

I guess it would depend on how much the item costs. I very never get them for things that are cheap and throw away, so I prob wouldn't get it for something like a DVD player. Kmart offered me one on a blow dryer for my hair once! Also it would depend on what is covered. If it just covers parts and not labor, then I'd take a pass. For the most part, it's the labor that's gonna cost you in a repair. Also is warranty for something that you could live without if you had to? I could live without my television if I had to but I have to have my refrigerator.

They purposely don't make things like they used to. They can't sell you more of the item in question if they last forever. There's no profit in that.

[hunybee]

i too think they are a scam, but that was when things were built to last. now most companies seem to look at it as the maintenance plan. i cannot tell you how many of the new appliance people (when you get them comfortable) have told me that nothing is built to last more than a few years, the average being 3-5 for things that once lasted 15-20. for me, it depends on what the item is and what the highest cost of repair is and the replacement cost is as many times the repairman will tell you "it will cost less to buy a new one than repair it". that doesn't mean a new one will be inexpensive, just les than the repair

[TexasQF]

We do not get them anymore. Your area may vary, but here in the boonies I went without a fridge for 9 weeks! I had the 5yr master protection agreement from Sears. But they only service my area on Fri. So called on Tues. They'll be there Fri. Guy comes and says it was my fault because I was not running my a/c unit. Ordered a part. Then I had to wait 2 weeks. They come back, put on part... still does not work. Second guy notes it is a MANUFACTURING defect and they have to rebuild part of the fridge (coils run through drain pan). Same song & dance.... waiting for parts and the next Fri... for 9 weeks total. And yes, I called all the way through corporate.

When we moved here we had bought an all fridge, freezer, washer, drier, and dishwasher.... all from Sears. All with the 5 yr warranty.

The washer was rebuilt 2x. It was a front loader. HE3. The repairman showed me the size load I was *allowed* to run. Think 1/2 small round basket. It was likely repaired a doz times.... including 1 rebuild and multiple computer issues. We junked it the last time. I could not fight it anymore.

The dishwasher... ended up repaired 1/2 doz times incl a recall/repair notice. The last time the repairman was the same one who claimed the fridge was my fault for not running the a/c. He said the dw was customer abuse. I can assure you NOT.

So now I have a top loader from a local furniture store, no bells & whistles, only 1 repair needed in 5-6yrs. No warranty. Repair cost me about $120.

The dw I got from the same store needed a repair a couple weeks in... the store replaced it with no warranty.

We now are sold on buying from small local stores and finding a local repairman. We were given a non working fridge about 6wks ago... and took it to the repair guy. $80 later... working fridge.

So long story short. NO we do not and will not buy warranties. And will NOT buy from Sears.

I have friends in the city though who have been very pleased with their warranties, but another friend in the boonies (4hrs from me... ) had a similar experience with Sears.

[Grammytomany]

I used the extended warranty on our new (to us) it was three years old Refrigerator & Freezer three times within a month. On our truck, we had to use the warranty before we got it out of the DRIVEWAY. It had 20 miles on it and the transmission went. HONEST.
So, I guess if you have lots of stored food, I would want a warranty extension. Or even on a car/truck. Good luck

[summerthyme]

We do not get them anymore. Your area may vary, but here in the boonies I went without a fridge for 9 weeks! I had the 5yr master protection agreement from Sears. But they only service my area on Fri. So called on Tues. They'll be there Fri. Guy comes and says it was my fault because I was not running my a/c unit. Ordered a part. Then I had to wait 2 weeks. They come back, put on part... still does not work. Second guy notes it is a MANUFACTURING defect and they have to rebuild part of the fridge (coils run through drain pan). Same song & dance.... waiting for parts and the next Fri... for 9 weeks total. And yes, I called all the way through corporate.

When we moved here we had bought an all fridge, freezer, washer, drier, and dishwasher.... all from Sears. All with the 5 yr warranty.

The washer was rebuilt 2x. It was a front loader. HE3. The repairman showed me the size load I was *allowed* to run. Think 1/2 small round basket. It was likely repaired a doz times.... including 1 rebuild and multiple computer issues. We junked it the last time. I could not fight it anymore.

The dishwasher... ended up repaired 1/2 doz times incl a recall/repair notice. The last time the repairman was the same one who claimed the fridge was my fault for not running the a/c. He said the dw was customer abuse. I can assure you NOT.

So now I have a top loader from a local furniture store, no bells & whistles, only 1 repair needed in 5-6yrs. No warranty. Repair cost me about $120.

The dw I got from the same store needed a repair a couple weeks in... the store replaced it with no warranty.

We now are sold on buying from small local stores and finding a local repairman. We were given a non working fridge about 6wks ago... and took it to the repair guy. $80 later... working fridge.

So long story short. NO we do not and will not buy warranties. And will NOT buy from Sears.

I have friends in the city though who have been very pleased with their warranties, but another friend in the boonies (4hrs from me... ) had a similar experience with Sears.

THAT (bolded) is the BIGGEST lesson to learn! Sears service SUCKS. We bought a brand new freezer from them - the biggest upright they sold at the time- to replace the freezer when our house burned (way back in the last century!) It died WITHIN A YEAR- major compressor failure. They fixed it- grudgingly- and it failed again within months. That time, they sent a guy out who said "Oh, I can't work on a freezer. I only carry heating tools at this time of year" (winter)!! Oh, and their "24/7 service" was actually "when we get around to it, and we only have an answering machine on except 9-5 on weekdays".

It failed TWICE more within 2 years, and we were told it was because they had to "open the sealed system"- got dirt in it, and it essentially wasn't ever going to be worth anything. The last time, we had just butchered a cow and had over 700# of prime beef in the damned thing. They couldn't have cared less. We stacked it all in an outdoor doghouse, covered it with tarps and snow, and prayed. The repairman (it was around 50° outside in a freak warm spell for winter) just said "oh, there's no way that meat is any good. Just throw it out" - as if that wasn't a HUGE loss. A**hole.

We put the freezer in the machine shed and use it for storage. We bought a GE chest freezer from someone else, put all the (thankfully, still frozen solid) meat in that, and it's now been 29 years without a single problem.

And I've never set foot in a Sears store since.

summerthyme

[Publius]

There also the non electric like Dometic and a few other brands that can run on 120 volt and LP gas and they are a little on the pricy side and smaller than the typical home frige and the biggest is around 10 cubic foot, but no moving parts and when the power go's out it will switch over to LP gas and having a big tank say a 500 pound LP tank your good to go for some time.

[Dosadi]

I never get them, they never seem to work out for me, and just suck money out of my pouch.