wergo

So, the TV I want is $2500 at Best Buy.

Plus delivery, plus cables, plus stand.

And they want an extra $300 for the performance plan (two years; $500 for four years).

Anyone bother to go for this or is it just for naive suckers?

Would it come in useful if something predicable but awful (like, say, my cat jumping on top of it, knocking it to the floor and smashing the screen) happened?

trubiet

I don't think it covers physical damage/abuse. If you need it down the road, it was worth it. If you buy it and never need it, who cares 4-5 years down the road.

Brian Shannon

You have to measure what you might gain from having spent the money.

I this case I think that price is excessive (since it is Best Buy i would expect nothing less) for two years.

In my case I did purchase an extended warranty for my projector for four years that cost me less than the price of a single replacement bulb, which the warranty covers.

Suckers are people who do not do their homework.

Sdallnct

It's all about comfort level, but there are 3rd party companies that offer more for less.

And perhaps as disturbing is that you would buy cables from BB. Please don't tell me they talked you into Monster???

Order all your cables from Monoprice.

Patman

I think you have to look at what they want to charge you for the length of coverage. The 2 year plan is a bit much for 1 extra year outside the usual 1 year warranty, and the 4 year plan (when it's more likely something will go wrong) is 20% of the cost of the item. I think you'll better off saving the $500 for your next TV purchase. That being said, if they offered you $125 for 4 years of coverage, I'd do that because $125 is only 5% of the cost of the purchase price. I did that with my recent plasma HDTV set purchase, but I went with a Mack warranty.

shelland

You might want to check into warranties direct through the manufacturer. I saved quite a bit buying a warranty straight from Sony. There are also some very reasonable options online.

nateman

I usually buy a PSP when I buy a bigger item like a TV, HT receiver, VG system, etc.

I got a PSP ($89.99) for 3 years with the 40GB PS3. I went through 3 PS2's, so getting a PSP for the PS3 was a no brainer.

I don't know if I'd pay $300-$500 for that "comfort" feeling. You can probably get a PSP for cheaper with the actual brand of your TV. Also, don't get sucked into buying $250 cables. If the $50 HDMI cable looks exactly the same to you as the $250 cable, go for the cheaper one.

sniper308

FIXED

sniper308

I always look at the protection plans from the aspect of what % of the original cost/replacement of the item is the plan, as well as compare it to what a single repair call would cost (possibly figuring in the expense of the most likely part to fail).

If the percentage is higher than I'm willing to accept or the warranty cost is not in line with what a single repair call would cost, I don't opt for it.

wergo

How do you guesstimate what the repair call cost might be in advance, though?

I think I'm tempted to just live dangerously and forego the plan.


And, no, I really wasn't seriously considering buying cables from Best Buy.

Thanks for all the advice.

sniper308

Admittedly it is somewhat difficult on electronics rather than appliances. You could check into the price of bulb replacements on specific types of TV's, although probably not the kind you are looking at.

You could also look up "authorized" repair centers for the brand of TV you are looking at and give them a call and ask about the most common type of repair they see what the average cost is for that repair.

nateman

Spiky

Why guess? Find a local shop that services that brand TV, ask what repairs they do on similar models. Ask what their minimum is. They charge a certain amount just to check something over. Usually $50 or so on something you can bring in, not sure what they'd charge if the TV is large enough they have to come to your house.