extended warranty: has it paid off for anyone?

Not sure what everyone's policy is, but Ultimate Electronics stated that dead pixles are coverd under the extended warranty. Burn in is not.


I don't have a plasma so I obviously don't have an extended warranty for one, but I can share a couple stories where an extended warranty paid for itself...or where it would have.


Few years back my parents purchased a Magnavox 46" RPTV from Best Buy. The warranty stated that if the unit is defective, someone would come in-home and fix it. If it happened to break more then 3 times, on the 4th time they would replace the unit with a new one.

Well, after about 3 years, it had a defect for the 4th time. Sure enough, Best Buy gave my parents $1500.00 in store credit. After 3 years, there were able to purchase a 50" Toshiba RPTV and a microwave with the money.


Seperate instance, Ive purchased subwoofers and amps from Best Buy and bought the extended warranty. Ive blown both subs and amps, both got replaced on the spot without question after being confirmed they are not working.


Finally, I bought a cheap-o LCD monitor from Fry's Electronics about 14 months ago. I did not get the extended warranty.

About a month ago, or 13 months after purchase, it fried on me. Smoke and everything. I was out $300.00. I had to buy another montior, and you can bet this time I got the 3 year extended warranty for $25.00


So bottom line, in my opinion they are very worth it. If you think about it, most of the warranties break down to $8.00 of less per month for the life of the warranty...that's not very much.


There are also some other options, such as purchasing on a credit card. Some will extend the warranty at no charge. Or you can always buy at Costco. No need to purchase a warranty, and you can bring it back at any time for an exchange or refund.

I hope this thread will debunk some misimpressions about extended warranties much as a previous thread did about the burn-in bogeyman.


Information to the effect that somebody, sometime, benefitted from an extended warranty for "something" is, IMHO, pretty much beside the point. The question is, are these warranties for plasmas worth it, as indicated by reports of claims actually paid for that product. (And, BTW, there is a lot of evidence that extended warranties in general are about the biggest rip-off in the world of insurance: typically they pay 20-40% of premiums in claims, vs. 80% or so for other types of insurance, such as car or home coverage.)


I have seen several comments to the effect that people who "never buy extended warranties" make an exception in the case of plasmas because they are so expensive. However, the warranties themselves are proportionately pricey, and what you are insuring against is the cost of a repair (which will probably seldom exceed $2000 or so, even for the most costly plasma), not the original price of the unit.


Several posts have also made the point that the willingness of many credit card companies to extend plasma warranties for an additional year free of charge suggests that such an extension costs the underwriters much, much less than the $250-$300 price of such coverage if purchased separately from an insurer.


I don't know if you will find anyone who has benefitted from an extended waranty claim on a plasma; if they have, it would be interesting to know the price of the warranty and the amount reimbursed under the claim, as well as how quickly the repair was handled.

Have not purchased a plasma yet, but probably would with a plasma purchase. There a couple of reasons for this:


1. They are pretty expensive, and I am sure that any repairs in years 2-4 would be as well.


2. Most on this forum have purchased commercial models rather than consumer models because of the significant price difference when setting it on-line. With commercial models, the normal warranty generally covers carry-in repair. When I checked on the Plasma Extreme site, it clearly states that the extended warranty covers in-home repair. I know that many have said that these extended coverages only duplicate the original coverage, which would mean that it would be carry-in. But, as PE only sells commercial models, I have to believe that that statement is not true, at least for the EW's that Lisa sells.


3. On the above referenced EWs, they are only a couple of hundred dollars, not thousands. And they are for 4 years (three after the factory coverage). That comes to less than $11.00 per month. Not a bad value for the peace of mind that it would offer.


It is all a gamble. If you purchase one of these, you are "betting" that you will have a problem, and the insurance company is betting that you won't. I know that most people won't have any problems with their units. That is why steuert references the 20-40% in claims.


To quote Clint Eastwood, it all boils down to, after spending $3,000 - $7,000, "do you feel lucky?".

Thread title= "has it paid off for anyone?"


There is some interesting (general) data here, as well as many archived articles worth reading.

http://www.warrantyweek.com/


This is the 'terms and conditions' from one of the main providers:


BTW, It's Not an Extended Warranty....it is a Service Plan / Contract

http://www.warrantechprotectionplan....C/rmusg001.pdf