Ugh, this question gets me every time no matter where I am & no matter what I am buying. The very nice salesperson does his/her best to make me feel like an idiot if I don’t purchase it but my head tells me that I’m not supposed to – right?
Since I’m admittedly no expert, here’s what I’ve found from others who are more knowledgeable than me in this area. Mark Huffman from ConsumerAffairs.com offers the 5 Reasons NOT to Buy An Extended Warranty:
- They Usually Cost More Than They’re Worth.
- Warranty Work May Be Unreliable.
- The Warranty May Not Cover What You Think It Does.
- Warranty Underwriter May Go Out Of Business.
- The Extended Warranty May Overlap the Manufacturer’s Warranty.
Gary Altunian from About.com poses the following questions about electronics & their extended warranties.
- Does the Product have Moving Parts or is Delicate?
- Is the Product Based on New, Unproven Technology?
- Is In-Home Service Provided?
Specifically for auto extended warranties, there’s a considerable amount of research online, and Stacy Johnson from WiseBread had pulled together a great article that puts it all in one place. Overall it seems like a gamble and by buying an extended warranty you are essentially betting that your item is going to break & the companies are betting that it won’t. Who’s got more stacked in their favor?
