Are extended warranties really worth it?
 

I just bought a Samsung DLP TV today, model HLP5085W. I'm still undecided on whether or not the get the extended warranty, which will be $380 for two years and $600 for 4 years. Samsung already has a 1 year warranty. If the product is defective I would imagine that something would go wrong in the first year and it would be covered by Samsung's warranty.

The bulb has an estimated life of about 8000 hours. At 4 hrs a day that would be about 5 years. A replacment bulb is $200.

I would rather spend the $600 on something else. Has anyone heard about any reliabilty problems with this specific model?

I'd say in most cases an extended warranty is not really worth it. But, I added the piece of mind for my RPTV. Spending that much on a TV, an extra couple hundred for 5 extra years seemed worth it.

Plus, it's an IN HOME warranty. Imagine trying to transport that thing yourself. It would cost you a few hundred just to get it to the shop.

Ding ding ding!

I've worked on the other side of the fence with these. They sell them for a reason, because they are huge moneymakers for the company. It's like printing money.

If you're "playing the odds," then extended warranties are a "sucker bet." But if the peace of mind means that much to you, by all means, indulge.

Now I just have to figure out if peace of mind is worth $600 over 3 years. Samsung's 1 year warranty has in home service too. They made changing the light bulbs a do-it-yourself project so I don't need a technician to help me with that.

The extra $600 could be spent on upgrading my home theater system and a Samsung DVD player with DVI inputs.

Thanks for the input guys. I am having a really hard time trying to make a decision.

Here is my take on extended warranties.

Your cost of the warranty is rather small compared to the hassle of getting service. Bulbs are rated for a life not guaranteed.

I took an extended warranty on my Sharp 10K projector for 4 additional years. I figure that even factoring that into the total cost I was happy with the price I paid and I am totally clear if I decide to upgrade in 5 years, which I might do anyway.

HELL YES! TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

I had a Sony 51" projection, went to crap after 4 repairs, I got $1900 store credit after 2 years! just got a new Sony Grand WEGA 50" LCD HD!!!!!!!!!!! I only paid the difference, so to answer your question, if it's over $200, I'd say YES!

Ive never got the extended warranty on anything ive ever purchased and for all the things ive bought that would have been a small fortune by now.I most recently purchased a Panasonic 34 inch hdtv and the guy of course tried to get me on the extended warrantly but i explained to him about my policy on that ;) So far i like to think im way ahead of the game since its never come back to haunt me(knock on wood) and if it does technically im using the money ive saved over the years by not forking out the extra dough.

I have a 5yr extended warranty for my Samsung DLP that cost about $350. This includes bulb replacement, so I figured it's worth it.

I bought a dvd player several years ago when a cheaper player was about $250. I got the $25 extended warranty for 4 years. Two years after I bought the player it wouldn't read disks. They said it would cost too much to repair, so they replaced it with a $250 dvd player which was better than the one I had bought. 2 months before my warranty expired that one stopped working and they replaced it again. That player is still working perfectly. So sometimes it is a good deal.

One time the salesman suggested that I buy a warranty and accidentally fry the equipment before the warranty ran out. I'm sure there are people who do this, but it isn't something I would do.

Normally I don't buy extended warranties unless it makes sense. For example, when I bought my RPTV I knew I would be moving nearly 1000 miles about 1.5 years after the purchase. So I assumed it could get damaged during the move and the warranty was only $300-400ish.

If ur buying it at Circuit City, heck yeah!!!!!!!! From what I read on avsforum, CC will give u the credit back if ur tv gets messed up as long as it is still covered by the extended warranty. Let's say you bought a 4 year extended warranty for an hdtv that costs $2000. After 3 years and 9 months, the tv just doesn't work at all, just take it back to CC and they'll give you a $2000 store credit, no hassle. I've bought most of my home theater equipments (htib and a 27" panasonic tv) at CC and I had to exchange it a couple of times and no hassle at all, unlike Worst Buy.

Thanks for the input guys. I am going to go ahead and get the 4 year extended warranty. After some haggling I got them to lower the price to $400. They didn't seem to happy about it since I already got them to give me 10% off the TV.

we are trying to find a plasma or LCD for my grandparents and i went by tweeter's to talk to them about things, warranties included. from talking to the guy there, they have inhome repairs, no lemon guarantee for the life of the warrantee, and really good coverage for the tv's as long as you don't abuse them. sounds good to me.

Let me ask a question regarding extended warranties.I just bought the Onkyo 7.1 Home Theater Receiver and Speakers. Paid just over 400 for it. Is it worth buying the extended warranty on that? It's between 80 and 120 dollars (can't remember exactly). Got it at Circuity City. Basically, what do repairs generally run vs. cost for the warranty?

No. Repairs would be more than that. But you are just wasting money on an extra warranty for receiver and speakers. I don't know about HTiBs, but speakers have the longest standard warrantees of any HT component, usually 5 years minimum. And receivers don't generally go bad after a year or two. They are either DOA or they work for a decade or more.

Onkyo's usual warranty is 2 years. What is it on that set?

I have jvc htib (4 years old) and an onkyo sr502 (year old) receiver and they are still working fine. **knock on wood**

I don't think it's worth it to pay an extra 25% off the original price to get a warranty. Just set the volume level low when you're about to turn off the receiver. That way you won't pop your speakers when you turn on your receiver again. I've never heard any horror stories from receivers and speakers, most of my friends have surround sound (We're still in college and we can afford it, ain't technology great ?). With that extra $120, you can buy a stand for your receiver, go out to dinner, or just buy dvd's with it.

What happens if Circuit City isn't in business in 4 years?

I worry about buying a warranty that's covered by the store that sold me the equipment. I bought a 5 year warranty on a Sony VCR a long time ago and when I needed service I found out the store and the warranty provider (which turned out was a division of the store's company) were out of business.

Take a look at the extended warranty your are buying. I can tell you that 99% of the time they are bonded and if the company went out of business you would still be covered. I know this holds true to CC and BB.

If you buy a plasma or lcd get one. I purchased it on my 50" plasma and when a plasma breaks it becomes a table. Not much they can do to fix a plasma.