Extended warranty pays off for my FIL - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Kuan · #1 02-16-2006, 11:54 AM

I never buy extended warranties. I've always felt they were a ripoff. Well, my FIL bought one for his $1200 TV a few years ago. This year the damn TV broke just before the Superbowl! They didn't get it fixed before the bowl but man, a guy came over and installed a new tube and new motherboard and now the thing's sharper than ever. Imagine that... anyone ever make good on an extended warranty?

Lebenz · #2 02-16-2006, 12:02 PM

I've bought extended warranties for all my MBs and it has returned at least 10x the value of the warranty.

For notebook computers I always recommend the extended accidental damage warranty along with the purchase. I've done this probably ~30 times over the years and almost all of those have resulted in replacement computers down the line.

Electronics represent the state of the science of value engineering. With normal use, the manufacturer’s goal is to get the product to last to the end of the standard warranty, plus a little more. After that they want it to fail.

OTOH, if something gets light duty, an extended warranty is often of no value.

cscmc1 · #3 02-16-2006, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lebenz

For notebook computers I always recommend the extended accidental damage warranty along with the purchase. I've done this probably ~30 times over the years and almost all of those have resulted in replacement computers down the line.

Butterfingers!

Lebenz · #4 02-16-2006, 12:18 PM

Not unlike the manufacturers who are butter-sluts.

GottaDiesel · #5 02-16-2006, 12:25 PM

High-end telephones... work related. I *always* get a plan with them. My phone breaks once a year, and I get a new phones. Haven't paid for a phone in 15 years.

sailor15015 · #6 02-16-2006, 12:35 PM

I've never bought anything that offered a waranty but when my mom got her new E-Machines computer she bought one. Its a good thing she did because the mother board went out on it a month after the free waranty expired. They replaced that then six months later it fried another mother board!! Lucky twice because it was still under waranty. This time they just gave her a whole new computer. The down side was it took about a month each time to resolve the probelm. After seeing all she went through I will never buy an E-Machine, and if for some reason I do then I'm definately getting a waranty.

G-Benz · #7 02-16-2006, 05:38 PM

One of the few times I did was for my daughter's PC years ago. The PC monitor died, and in searching through paperwork, discovered that I had indeed paid for a sevice agreement...and it had about two weeks left!

The monitor was obsolete, so they told me to choose one of similar value...went from a 15" to a flat screen 17".

DieselAddict · #8 02-16-2006, 05:59 PM

I assume you guys all use surge protectors for your electronics. I have yet to have any electronic equipment fail on me (knock on wood) and I don't see the point of spending money on extended warranties. Buying an extended warranty is like going to a casino and hoping to make money. The vast majority will lose, and only the lucky few will benefit. The only time I purchased an extended warranty was when I bought my first car many years ago, but I didn't keep the car long enough to ever need it. I've had many cars and some electronics since then and not once did I wish I had an extended warranty. The oldest piece of electronics that I have is a Sony monitor from 10 years ago. It still works as good as the day I bought it.

If you still want to purchase an extended warranty for something then I highly recommend that you read all the fine print. You may be surprised by all the exclusions and limitations.

G-Benz · #9 02-16-2006, 06:49 PM

You've been lucky with electronic equipment, then. I've got surge protectors on everything in the house and several Furmans in the home studio. Still, stuff dies eventually. Most recently, a lightly used, mint Philips CD recorder that one day, just didn't power up.

blackmercedes · #10 02-16-2006, 07:01 PM

I don't usually buy them either, but the long warranty coverage for the C230 was cheap (at the time) in comparision to the potential cost of major repairs, so I broke my own rule and bought it. The new 722.6 having just hit models the previous year put a bit of a scare in me.

So, at 150,000kms (only 10K from the expiration) the trans begins to hiccup. It needs the common-fix pressure control spring, but since the car is under warranty, MB Canada opts to install a new trans, ETC, and converter. At the time, the total bill for that gear and labour would be close to $8K. My $1200 investment paid off on that one alone. Overall, I came out well ahead on the extended warranty. I imagine lots of people did, because I understand that coverage is something like $3K ona new C-Class thanks to escalating warranty costs since 2001.

DieselAddict · #11 02-16-2006, 07:45 PM

Escalating warranty costs? That shouldn't come as a surprise with the part-swapping mentality of North American repair facilities. The fact that MB decided to replace the entire transmission when only that one spring needed replacing is the most extreme example of this that I've ever read about, and it speaks volumes about the facility's diagnostic ability. What a waste. I've heard from one of my Indian co-workers that in India it's exactly the other way. Over there the repair shops patch up, tune up or rebuild existing parts whenever possible and reuse them. My approach to repairs is somewhere between these two extremes.

Lebenz · #12 02-16-2006, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselAddict

I assume you guys all use surge protectors for your electronics. I have yet to have any electronic equipment fail on me (knock on wood) and I don't see the point of spending money on extended warranties. Buying an extended warranty is like going to a casino and hoping to make money. The vast majority will lose, and only the lucky few will benefit. The only time I purchased an extended warranty was when I bought my first car many years ago, but I didn't keep the car long enough to ever need it. I've had many cars and some electronics since then and not once did I wish I had an extended warranty. The oldest piece of electronics that I have is a Sony monitor from 10 years ago. It still works as good as the day I bought it

There is something evil and wrong about someone from a place called “Sparks” who has never had a problem with electronics. Who are you and what have you done with humanity!?

aklim · #13 02-16-2006, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselAddict

Escalating warranty costs? That shouldn't come as a surprise with the part-swapping mentality of North American repair facilities. The fact that MB decided to replace the entire transmission when only that one spring needed replacing is the most extreme example of this that I've ever read about, and it speaks volumes about the facility's diagnostic ability. What a waste. I've heard from one of my Indian co-workers that in India it's exactly the other way. Over there the repair shops patch up, tune up or rebuild existing parts whenever possible and reuse them. My approach to repairs is somewhere between these two extremes.

The labor cost in India is dirt cheap so they can afford to tinker around with it as opposed to getting a reman unit. Here they R&R it, take it back to a factory and just rebuild it cheaper than getting a tech to tinker with it.

DieselAddict · #14 02-17-2006, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lebenz

There is something evil and wrong about someone from a place called “Sparks” who has never had a problem with electronics. Who are you and what have you done with humanity!?

sailor15015 · #15 02-17-2006, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackmercedes

I don't usually buy them either, but the long warranty coverage for the C230 was cheap (at the time) in comparision to the potential cost of major repairs, so I broke my own rule and bought it. The new 722.6 having just hit models the previous year put a bit of a scare in me.

So, at 150,000kms (only 10K from the expiration) the trans begins to hiccup. It needs the common-fix pressure control spring, but since the car is under warranty, MB Canada opts to install a new trans, ETC, and converter. At the time, the total bill for that gear and labour would be close to $8K. My $1200 investment paid off on that one alone. Overall, I came out well ahead on the extended warranty. I imagine lots of people did, because I understand that coverage is something like $3K ona new C-Class thanks to escalating warranty costs since 2001.

This reminded me of another time my dad bought an extended warranty on his Tahoe. It had some kind of whirring noise coming from the rear end and, since it was still under warranty, the dealership went ahead and replaced the differential, both axles, and whatever kind of bearing assembly was back there. The vehicle was only a couple of years old and now, looking back with the mechanical experience I've gained from reading here, it was probably a much easier fix. That thing still whirred till the day he traded it off.