[SCAM ALERT] Gadget Insurance and Extended Warranties - Comments Page 2
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I feel that you are wrong to call them scammers. Your language is much too polite and forgiving. |
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I purchased a A/C wall unit from an independent store.They kept trying to convince me to purchase a extended warranty by using a mild scare tactic. I finally asked are you selling me a piece of junk, they said a course not. That ended the warranty push. |
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I do not purchase mfg extended warranties, nor do I purchase store warranties. I do pay for the insurance on my phone from the service provider, as it was less than 3rd party coverage. I have purchased refurbed equipment, and almost ALWAYS purchase the warranty on big-ticket items. Twice I had refurbed monitors fail, and the warranty replaced them, no deductible, no fee. YMMV |
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I tend to be very skeptical of extended warranties, but sometimes I make exceptions. I inexpensively covered my Galaxy S9+ via Upsie, due to the risk of dropping it and cracking the special screen. When we bought a computer at Costco, they offered a very cheap 3-year comprehensive add-on plan from Square Trade which we took. For a previous computer purchase from Fry's we also got their extended warranty, and ended up using it when the hard drive failed. Otherwise the best deal is to make purchases with a credit card which extends the manufacturer's warranty by one or two years. Several times we've had electronic products fail just outside of the manufacturer's warranty period but within the credit card extended period, and that has saved us a lot of money. The other great deal is to buy items (e.g., TVs and computers) from Costco, which typically doubles and sometimes further extends the warranty period. An ambiguous experience we had was with a VIP Plan from Living Spaces on a set of chairs. When one chair leg broke, we tried to utilize the VIP Plan, only to be given the run-around because they were an independent contractor that Living Spaces no longer associated with. Eventually, after much argument and many hours wasted on the phone, we were given a new chair of comparable value. These days we just self-insure for most items. |
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One other amusing story: A few years ago my daughter bought a used low-mileage Prius from a Toyota dealer, and added on a 7-year 100,000 mile extended warranty for $1,800. Years later the hybrid battery pack failed, which can cost about $3,000 to replace. The car had just under 100,000 miles on it, so we tried to use the extended warranty to replace the battery. But the dealer had never actually submitted the extended warranty application to Toyota! At first blush that sounded like bad news, but it turned out to be very good news. The helpful Toyota representative we talked to mentioned that California law extends the original manufacturer's warranty on hybrid batteries by 10 years, so we were eligible for a free battery from Toyota irrespective of that extended warranty we'd bought. Furthermore, since we had the contract paperwork showing that we had indeed purchased the extended warranty and had already paid for it, the corporate Toyota office would of course reinstate it to cover the car. However reinstating it would provide little benefit to us since we were already near the 100,000 mile mark. So instead we had Toyota refund the $1,800! In summary, we ended up essentially having a free extended warranty, since if any major problem had arisen prior to then Toyota would have had to honor the extended warranty. We got our $1,800 back, and we also got a brand new replacement hybrid battery pack for free. |
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I have an Epson WF7620 a very large printer/scanner, can print or scan up to aprox 13 x 18 size, originally purchase over 6-yrs ago from Office Max. I now have three for the price of one + $35 EW. 1-yr mfgrs + 2-yrs EW. Called them & told them that it was very slow on WIFI, they sent me another, it was also slow, so they sent me a 3rd printer. It was also slow, but I then figured out that it was my WIFI, not the printers, hooked it too a cord connection & now everything is fine. Now I have two good extras as backups, they said for me to keep them. Thanks EW. |
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I bought a Dell laptop directly from Dell. Since I live in Europe, I paid for the extra worldwide warranty. I am glad I did. Six months after the regular warranty expired, things started to happen and I had Dell on the phone. They have repaired all the issues without a hitch. |
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I can't comment on warranty plans for phones - I only buy cheap ones, so not worth considering but as far as e/w's on home appliances is concerned i generally no longer bother as on more than one occasion the appliance has failed just out of the extended warranty period. |
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So one more comment. When it come to consumer goods the buyer is the final quality control inspector. When you buy a new electronic gadget like a computer or TV burn it in for three days. If there is a bad component it will likely fail during the burn in period. Should that happen return the item for a replacement. No warranty required. |
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Good article and insithtful replies. Regarding a homeowners insurance rider, however, be careful. Some homeowner insurance companies consider a claim for covered repairs to be just as much as a claim for theft, fire, etc., and you risk a premium increase for the next few years. I've had EMAs on two autos, and received repairs that would have cost more than the warranties. Also a refurb all-in-one desktop that had everything replaced over four in-home visits at no cost, which would have cost more than the EMA. |
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This is an excellent article! I have a few thoughts. First, I have always been skeptical of those gadget insurance policies; therefore, my policy has been to NOT accept their policies. This is because I have been made aware that insurance, in general, and gadget/appliance insurance, in particular, is a big racket. Next, we live in a throw-away society, where things are fabricated to break after a time of usage. Few things are durable and intended to last. Why waste additional money on things that will fail? Last, I always do research on products, which I intend to buy, and there are reliable sources of information. In addition, for many things, I prefer to walk into the store to check and "inspect" things on my own. Thank you for this very informative article! |
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Beware of the fine print. The small print usually negates what the large print says. |
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On smaller items even the manufacturer's warranty is worthless. Most times one has to ship the item back to the manufacturer on the other side of the country, at a cost far more than the item is worth. Most retailers want nothing to do with their items once they leave the store. |
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I bought a Samsung washer and dryer in 2105 from an appliance dealer in Spokane, WA state. In addition I bought a 5 year warranty with the appliances. If at the end of 6 years I have not used the warranty I will get a credit for the cost of the warranty which was $495 towards any appliance. I paid $1098 and $495 for the warranty which basically was he full cost of the appliances. They happen to be on sale on Veterans Day. So far no problems with the appliance. There is no exp date on the credit. I will let everyone know if I was taken to the farm. |
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I totally agree, and I am going to cancel the couple I do have such as Directv. |
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I purchased my first ever EW when I bought a 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan in Jan 2017. I bought the bumper-to-bumper EW. Since then the warranty company has shelled out over 8,000.00 for repairs and I'm still having problems. It won't be much longer until what the warranty company has paid out will exceeded the price I paid for the SUV. This was probably the smartest purchase I ever made (the EW, not the Volks). |
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Next question I would want to know. Should you leave your desk top on all the time or turn it off daily. My last two I leave on all the time. Each one has been on for 7 years without a failure. I think turning on and off is harder on them than always on. Yes I do understand it leaves them more prone to hacks, and uses more elec. What is your educated advice Bob? Mine is only my opinion. EDITOR'S NOTE: I leave mine on 24/7, and have done so for decades. If you have antivirus software, I can't see any additional concerns about hacking when the computer is unattended. Generally, viruses need your help to do their dirty work. If your computer goes into "sleep mode" when idle, you won't be using more than a few dollars per year of electricity. |
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I've purchased extended warranties from Square Trade several times for various electronic items because I am disabled and cannot do even simple repairs by myself. I've never had a problem with Square Trade. On another note - Bob, I'm sad that you are running an ad on this page from WifiBlastShop. I know you have costs that must be met, but why run tech-oriented ads from companies that have been reviewed by reputable sources as being scammers? Just curious. |
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