News, Appliance Warranties: Wasteful or Worth It?

[harry chickpea]

<shrug> Guess I'm a rare person. Collected big when the yoder loop sprung a leak in our 25 cu ft Maytag refrigerator, had TWO OTC microwaves fail under extended warranty, had a fair number of pumps from Harbor Freight that were covered by a purchased warranty and failed. The key is to know WHAT can't be fixed in a D.I.Y. manner and what can and will go wrong. Microwave circuitry over a heavily used stovetop is a no-brainer. IT WILL die. Refrigerators depends on model and features. Stoves - when the electronic ignition failed on our stovetop I bought a piezo grill lighter for a buck rather than bother with a repair.

I find it funny that when I used a similar risk/reward equation to determine that I was better of without homeowner insurance, people were having purple cows. "OOH! You can't do that!"

[PNW-type-gal]

Depends on the device and how complicated it is.

For the big new fridge which, to get the space features I wanted also came with a ton of microprocessor-controlled stuff? Yes, I bought the warranty.

For the plain-jane top load washer and dryer I bought, deliberately NOT buying anything with a lot of microprocessors? No. (By the way, I swear my son's fancy front-load LG washer plays "What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor?" when the clothes are dry. It also plays "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean" for some event which I have never been able to figure out).

For the $80 Blu-Ray/DVD player? No. It'll die in 30 days if it is going to die before it is obsolete.

I also bought the extended warranty when I bought my last car - I had to replace the fobs on the one with the expired factory warranty and it was $800 - exactly the cost to extend the full factory warranty (including the fob with the remote start) to 10 years, 100,000 miles on the new car, after a bit of shopping around. The first price offered on the warranty was $2,500

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Microwave circuitry over a heavily used stovetop is a no-brainer. IT WILL die. Refrigerators depends on model and features.

Ours died and I fixed it. Really strange fix too, after taking the control panel off a few times and cleaning all the leads only to have it work for a day or two I did alittle reaerch on this model. The keypad will peel off, peeled it off and reseated... Keypad is a little lumpy but it's been working ever since. There is actually a YouTube video on it.

I find it funny that when I used a similar risk/reward equation to determine that I was better of without homeowner insurance, people were having purple cows. "OOH! You can't do that!"

It's not worth it for most people however you don't want to be the guy without insurance and have a house fire. There is a significant difference between a single appliance dying and your house burning down. If you owned 20 houses then the insurance becomes less of an issue. It's unlikely a single house will burn let alone 20 of them. The risk is spread just as it would be with multiple appliances and the savings on the insurance will be substantial. Long term the savings on the insurance will more than cover any losses if you do have a fire. If you own a single home on the other hand then it's an enormous risk because you are literally betting the farm.

[Hopes]

I heavily research appliances prior to purchasing. That's how I learned the dishwashers are more likely to break down than any other appliance. It was a no brainer to buy the five year warranty. It's only $20/year,

[Kreutz]

For something complex like an HVAC system; they're worth it.

Most other things the manufacturer warranty is good enough.

If you buy with most credit cards you get an extra year free on the manufacturers warranty.