I am probably going to buy an XBOX today at BB. Does anybody think that is is worth buying the extended warranty package.And if so what are the advantages.

I usually never buy extended warranties. Usually. But for the xbox i did, and I don't regret it. It's for 2 years past the 90 days after purchase, only cost $50, and includes parts and labor. I love my xbox, but i had problems with a bad dvd drive when i first got it. I sent it in on a thursday, got it back on that saturday! It hasn't let me down since.

If you've got the money for it, I say do it. Better safe than sorry.
Whatever you do, though, make sure you register with microsoft after you get it.

I have to agree with this also. I usually never get the extended warranty. My first X-box wouldn't eject the discs that I played. took it back for a replacement. Now I am good for another 2 years after the first 90 days as well.

Raven

I mentioned that a buddy of mine had purchased an xbox and he bought the extended warranty. He returned it the next week because he didn't really have enough money at that time. When he returned it the guy at BB told him that if he got the xbox again to make sure and get the warranty because they get many of them back with overheating issues.

Bullcrap. That might be what your friend says, but overheating is not a problem with this machine. That's fanboy heresay. A guy I know at school, a PS2 fanboy says that all Xboxes overheat as well. That is one problem you won't see with this machine.

I bought an X-box and I had problems playing DVDs on it. For some reason it wouldn't read my UHF DVD and it had trouble reading a couple of games.

I took it in to best buy and exchanged it, but I also went ahead and bought the 2 year full replacement thing for $25.... so I guess I would say it is worth it.

What about purchasing one for a GameCube? I'll be picking one up here in the next couple of weeks (getting Best Buy GC's for birthday). Last time I was in they said $17 for the 2 year replacement coverage ... opinions?

Go for it. The GCN isn't known for having problems really but just in case...

Personally, I think all these warranites are bullcrap. It's just another way for BB and everyone else to make a little more off us.

That said, it's your choice. If you got the money, go for it. I bought my Gamecube without it and don't regret it. But for the PS2 and especially the XBOX, I would at least consider it.

It's going to not read games from time to time, even the ones that work great. It's just going to happen. All you do is reboot and restart. Does UHF work fine now?

It's only $25 for 2 years and I think its worth it for the game system since you will be playing it alot and if you have any problems with it they replace it for ya.

I bought my PS2 for $300 almost a year ago and it broke down a few weeks ago and not only did they replace it but they gave me $300 soter credit. $200 went to the system of course and since the price went down, I got $100 to spend on games or whatever I wanted.

The reason they sell extended warranties is that they make good money off them. To think of it another way, you're gambling when you buy one and BB is the house.

But it seems many of the XBOX have some kind of defect...odds are in your favor

It's a crap shoot. You may have problems, or you may not. It's up to you if you think it's worth it. For $25, I'd say it's good for peace of mind.

I hope you haven't written that the odds are in your favor of having to use your warranty since that would mean you believe over 50% of Xboxes have broken/will break down. That's just ludicrous.

Even with all negative reports played up by the anti-Microsoft masses found online, Xbox defect rates don't even come close to Dreamcast, PS2, and original PSX levels. (Ranting about PSXes [and now PSOnes] built in the last half of the platform's now-nearly seven year run, by comparison, seems almost non-existent.)

With that said, after the three Yugo-like machines mentioned above, personally, I'm now always going to factor in buying a warranty, especially for any CD/GD/DVD-based console at $200 or above. $150 or less, I'll go without. And I'm very happy $179 is a skipped pricepoint every time.

I don't think warranties are worth buying for an item in this price range, for most people. If an item is defective, the defect will likely manifest itself within 90 days. Beyond that, the warranty is a buffer against the possibility that you might break your console.

A warranty is a bet. If you need it, it saves you money. If you don't, it's money you've thrown away for nothing. Essentially, you have to figure out how likely it is that you'll need the Best Buy warranty.

If you're the sort of gamer who will play for four to six hours a day, every day, over an extended period of time a warranty might be a good idea.

If you're careless, and might get distracted and accidentally leave your XBox on pause with the disc spinning overnight, again, the warranty is probably a good idea.

If you're clumsy, or if you have children or pets who might knock the console over, get the warranty.

But if you don't expect to have the thing on all the time, and it will be nestled securely in your home theater, your only risk is a defect, which is pretty low percentage.

If this happens, you will probably have to deal with Microsoft on the phone, and maybe pay a repair charge of $50-$75, and be without your XBox for a couple of weeks.

If it happens, you'll wish you'd bought the warranty, but if it doesn't happen, well, that's another game you could have bought.

I think it was a defect.... UHF works fine now.

The reason I got the warranty on my x-box was for the surge protection. I have surge protectors all over my apartment, but even so, it could get fried. Full coverage on power surges. Plus, if there's anything wrong with it (even if it's only a minor hiccup after 2 years), you can take it back to BB and get a brand new one.

I'm don't know if this will work with such a high ticket item like the x-box, but I bought the extended service plan for a phone I had (you couldn't hear the person on the other end of the phone too well), it was only for $20, but the extended service plan was $5. Well, I decided I didn't like the phone. I called up CS and they're sending me a $25 GC to cover the phone. It might have just been the way the cheap phone was designed, but they took it back, no questions asked.

Another example...my friend bought a Kyocera phone. He bought the extended warranty, and, when the upgrade for the phone comes out (larger memory, or one with memory slots), he'll get his money back to upgrade to the new one. Well worth the extra money for the extended warranty on these types of things.

Where does one see these defect numbers?

The Dreamcast is a very reliable console, so I don't know why it is considered a Yugo. The early problems were caused by bad software pressings and not console problems. My launch DC is still rolling along and I know of at least 50 other people that still have their launch units. The only Playstation units that sucked were the launch Playstations. The overheating problem was fixed after the first generation of consoles. I also know of many people including myself that had DVD-Rom failures with the launch PS2 units, but those problems seem to be fixed as well. The Xbox and Game Cube consoles seem almost trouble free when compared to early Sony consoles.

As far as the Xbox goes I remember talk of problems with certain units manufactured in a certain place (maybe Mexico?), but it seemed very isolated overall. Every console will have a small percentage of defective units. I still think the scratching discs issue from Japan was crap, but that's my opinion. My console is a Mexico one and has never given me any trouble. There is no overheating issue with the Xbox unless you are blocking the vents, but that would not be the fault of the console. Considering it has a hard drive I think a two year warranty is probably an okay idea with the Xbox as that would be your biggest chance for a problem, however I didn't get one. I feel the extended warranties are rip offs overall.

If your console breaks after the 90 day warranty I have seen first hand just how easy getting a new one, swapping the serial numbers, and returning the broken one can be. A friend of mine at work has done it for three people on PS2 units. This is obviously illegal, but if my console died 6-12 months after I purchased it I would probably do it as well.

Let me get this straight. A $50 PSP on a $200 purchase is 25% cost increase.

Would you buy a $5000 extended warranty on a $20,000 car?

Do the math. It's a bad investment. PSP's are a huge money maker for retail stores. Why do you think they LIE out thier teeth to sell them?

I kind of did a compromise.

I bought a used Xbox (the only 1 in stock and apparently brought in that day, at Gamestop) for 170, and then the 2 year warranty for $25, which came out to $195 total. I could have bought the new one for $199.99, so I saved $5 and have a working Xbox for at least 2 years.

The only problem was I didnt get the "fun" experience of taking it out of the box So far though, everything has been great with it and the guy had some good rock songs ripped to his HD!

-Jim

It's not always that easy I don't think. I've only bought an extended warranty once, on my DVD player in '98. I bought because of how new DVD players were, plus the player cost $600. It turned out that I had a problem and they fixed it, player still works great. The way it was explained to me, unless the product is DOA it has to have a problem three times before they'll replace it. I've had it happen to friends on TV's. My grandma's TV was in the shop more than out the first year. They did replace it, but it's not as simple as "This doesn't work, give me a new one." YMMV.

It's not a $50 PRP. It was $50 when the Xbox/PS2 were at $299. Now, it's $25.

My Bad. The second post said $50 but not when.

But still would you pay $2500 for an extended warranty for $19,995 car? All sign's point to "NO" .

I used to be a Tech at Best Buy and they do shaft people even with valid PSP's they paid for using "Abnormal Wear" clause.

Remember that if the XBOX goes down in price in the next 2 years they will also refund the difference.What do you think the chances are that it will be lowered at least $25 in the next 2 years?I think that it will drop at least $50 in the next 2 years.And if they have a second edition unit with more features they will swap it out. Although I doubt that will happen but who knows.