Extended Warrenty?

looked at extended warranties as insurance for 'peace of mind'. If you think about it, that's all you're really buying...peace of mind. If you will be using the camera a lot and outside then I would consider it. Usually, if it's going to break, it'll happen in the first year of use. But, then again, there's that 'peace of mind' factor. The Rebel is known for its ruggedness and, under fairly normal use, shouldn't require an extended warranty. But it's nice to know you have it if you ever need it in the future. This is the process I go through when thinking about 'extended warranties' and I haven't gotten one yet.

You just watch!! My camera just off warranty will need repairs next week!!

and life goes on...

Jack

Last year I bought a Olympus digital camera at Best Buy. I never purchase an extended warrenty but the salesman suggested to buy one since he said that this type of camera is rarely repairable. So I spent about $40.00.
Eight months later the camera stopped working. Best Buy honored the warrenty and I was given a new camera (same make and model) as the old. I was surprised that they did not give me a "hard time".

I am a manager in a "major computer/electronics superstore" that offers extended warranties or express replacement plans for most everything we sell (hardware & peripherals). Even though I have 'instant access' to our techs and am fairly saavy myself, none of us can get parts for free! Truthfully, personally, I rarely buy extended warranties on cars, appliances, etc., but on my computer "stuff" (& there is ALOT here!!), I always get the warranties.
I tell my team members to be very honest about manufacturer warranties -- their standard warranties offer parts for one year (due to DEFECT) but in most cases "wear and tear" is NOT covered. Most retailers' warranties offer parts, labor, toll-free and fee-free tech support 24/7 as well. Short of obvious abuse, most problems are covered under the warranties -- including wear and tear. The replacement plans offer walk-in one time replacement of your peripheral and 9 times out of 10, if it's been over 4 or 5 months since your original purchase you are always going to end up with a NEWER, BETTER product as a replacement for basically the cost of buying a NEW replacement plan... that's a 'no-lose' situation!
In short, buy the warranties -- as another member stated: it's worth the peace of mind and if you're smart you'll take advantage of all it has to offer.

...which is why they always push them. My retort to pushy salespeople is "well, is this likely to break within two years? If so, why should I buy it? If not, why do I need the extended warranty?" At that point they shut up and complete the transaction.

If you can take the risk (will the cost of repairs/replacement be an undue financial burden?) you will also save the profit that the store makes on X. warranties.

Same thing for insurance. I am insured against the big stuff, but I've never had collision insurance on my car. And I'm WAY ahead after all these years.

Reliability theory says things normally break early in life (infant mortality) and late (wearout) with a long stretch of high reliability inbetween. Extended warranties "cover" you during the bottom of this bathtub curve, at high cost to you.

I absolutely refuse to purchase extended warranties when it comes to electronics, I'll take my chances. It is simply an excuse for manufacturers to make substandard equipment. Had I purchased extended warranties for all of the electronic equipment I own, I would have paid thousands of dollars more, and based on the equipment failures I've had after the basic warranty date has passed, I would have saved maybe a couple hundred.

My take on it is, the manufacturers should build the equipment to last the same amount of time (or longer) than you would get by purchasing an extended warranty, and charge the appropriate price for the product to begin with. I'd rather pay a higher amount and have the equipment last a longer amount of time, than to pay less, buy the extended warranty, have the equipment break down sooner due to shoddy manufacturing, and have to hassle with replacing the item.

Either way you'd pay the same amount, but with cheap equipment and an extended warranty, when it breaks you have to go through all the trouble of disconnecting it, taking it back, waiting (in some cases) for a replacement, possibly arguing about whether or not it was covered under the extended warranty, then having to bring it home and set it up (and possibly configure it) again. This is especially true of something like a computer or a hard drive that can dramatically impact your life when it fails, and simply replacing the defective item doesn't make everything fine. It's also true of things that are difficult to dismantle like a car stereo or speakers.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents on the matter...

I decide on extended warranties based on the cost to repair or replace the item. For example, on my large appliances, it'll usually cost a lot more to repair a unit or replace parts than what I'll pay for, say, a new glass cooktop, for my range (which did have to be replaced after my BF dropped a cast iron skillet onto it). I did not get extended warranties on my cameras (35mm or digital) because in MY case the cost to repair is actually greater than replacement with the same model. My 35mm cost about $500 new, but I've since replaced it for less than $100. Cost to repair would have been $90/hr, the typical bench rate. If the camera breaks while in warranty, the manufacturer will repair it. If it's beyond the warranty period, you may be able to replace it with a used or factory rebuilt model for a lot less than the cost of an extended warranty.

I purchased a Dell Dimension desktop with the 3 year extended warranty. I have a zillion programs installed, so there usually is a glitch at one time or another, and being able to call for free and get straigtened out is great. About 4 months ago, I was having trouble turning it on - they had a tech here the next day, and of course the problem ceased to exist, but he thought there was a problem with the power supply. Sure enough, it went within 2 weeks and Dell had somebody here, in house to put in a new power supply in less than 24 hours. Being a web designer, a computer down for an extended period of time is not an option. I figure the cost of the extended warranty was worth the price of the power supply and in house replacement.

I also have a Gateway notebook with an extended warranty which I consider useless. The only way I have found to solve any problems with it are to make 3 or phone calls or how many it takes to get someone to give me the right answer. Any major problems with them require boxing up the notebook and sending it to them and they say up front they have to reformat the hard drive. As far as I'm concerned, that extended warranty isn't worth the money I paid.

On the other hand, my husband is in favor of them and we have had numerous occaisions for household appliances, etc., for which they have proven well worth the cost.

It's a crap shoot but sort of like any insurance - if you have it you don't need it, but if you don't have it you need it!

I do on-site computer service and consulting for a living, and a good friend of mine worked for an extended warranty company for years, covering mainly computers and peripherals.

From everything I've heard and observed, I'd say that extended warranties are *typically* not worth buying. (For example, one of the major retail electronics and appliance stores in the U.S. was *only* showing a net profit last year because of money made on extended warranty and service contract sales. Without these, they would have been operating at a loss!)

Extended warranties should probably be looked at just like insurance policies for specific products. Not all insurance policies are created equal, and the same goes for extended warranties. Just because the store you bought a product from is "reputable" doesn't mean their extended warranties are too. You have to do a little research. EG. Years ago, I purchased an inexpensive HP color inkjet printer from the local Office Depot for my employer. Normally, this would have just been a "disposable" printer, *but*, we had already gone through 3 of them in 3 years. It printed color charts and graphs from a piece of expensive industrial equipment in a factory environment. Knowing that odds were VERY good we'd only get about 1 year of useful life out of this replacement, I opted to pay Office Depot about $45 for a 3 year warranty extension with "guaranteed replacement". Sure enough, after a little over a year, I got a call to "fix or replace the printer" again! I dug up my paperwork and called the toll-free number for the extended warranty. Found out it was handled by a 3rd. party which had recently gone bankrupt, and all claims were now being handled by a new warranty company at a different number. Called the new number, and they claimed they didn't have my warranty in their database at all! Went through weeks of hassle, faxing paperwork to people and so on. After all that, the final resolution was a compromise. The new company offered me $50 cash, via a compensation check in the mail, to "buy me out" of the remainder of the warranty. They refused to pay for the full cost of another printer!

Another factor to consider is the physical size of the product. On a very large product (such as a big-screen TV), the original warranty often requires shipping it back to the manufacturer for service. Obviously, FEW people are really ever going to do this. So effectively, you have a useless warranty unless/until you buy someone's extended version that includes on-site service if it's needed.

For what it's worth, I do know that with most higher-end digital cameras (such as your Rebel XT), the manufacturer insists that all repair work be done through them for a certain amount of time. (They enforce this rule primarily so they can get a first-hand look at what is breaking on their products to see if they can spot trends that would lead them to redesign things on newer models down the road.) This policy recently frustrated a buddy of mine who was primarily concerned with getting his camera repaired and returned to him *quickly*. I think he paid a local shop to fix his, rather than mail it back to Canon under his warranty, just so he could get it back in a "couple days or so". Turns out, the local shop just mailed it off to Canon anyway.

I don't. Therefore I don't waste money on extended warrantees. Especially on electronics when the obsolescence period for most electronic gadgets is usually shorter than the warranty period. Meaning that you'll be looking at a new device or upgrade before the warranty period on the original one expires. Besides, electronic devices are so reliable today that the only devices I have ever failed on me were 2 CRT displays and 2 disk drives after several years steady use.

The truth of the matter is that most people who buy extended warranties never use them. You have to remember, you are buying an insurance policy on whether or not the product will fail or not. And policies are sold for the simple reason of making more "Profit." You must also read the fine print, for example, some warranties cover accidental damage and others do not, some warranties only cover parts and not labor. The warranty for my Sony PSP I purchased at Best Buy for $40 states that it will only fix the PSP if it malfunctions, It will not replace a scratched up screen or replace the unit if it drops and breaks into a million pieces. It states, There can be no physical damage to the unit. I believe Circuit City has a accidental damage policy whereas, if you break it, they will still fix it. Another Example, if you purchased a warranty for the Nikon D70 from Ritz Camera, you would be covered for full replacement and repair costs, even if its your fault. So "READ THE FINE PRINT!" You also have to take into consideration the quality of the product you are buying and how well you take care of similar items. If you have had similar items that you let the kids play with and they have simply stopped working due to kid abuse, then you probably should buy a policy that will protect you against accidental or even a policy that will reapir or replace the unit if the damage is your own fault. You must consider average repair costs compared with the cost of the policy itself and shop around for the best extended warranty, remember all policies are not the same.

Quick Overview:
1. Read The Fine Print
2. Research other companies Extended Warranties (ex:Best Buy, Circuit City)
3. Assess & Compare the value of the policy compared to the average price to repair.
4. Ask Questions and make certain any guaranties are in Writing
5. Assess your own ability to keep your products & Devices like new. Meaning Rate yourself on how well you take care of your stuff? Then Decide

It really depends on the nature of the product and what the warranty covers. For an item subject to being dropped, a camera or laptop, for example, an extended warranty might make sense if it covers damage of that sort. For items that will reside in fairly secure environments, printers and routers, for example, I don't think they're a good use of your money. There are exceptions, but with modern electronics if something is going to go spontaneously wrong with them, it's going to happen right away - well within the manufacturer's warranty period.

The truth of the matter is that most people who buy extended warranties never use them. You have to remember, you are buying an insurance policy on whether or not the product will fail or not. And policies are sold for the simple reason of making more "Profit." You must also read the fine print, for example, some warranties cover accidental damage and others do not, some warranties only cover parts and not labor. The warranty for my Sony PSP I purchased at Best Buy for $40 states that it will only fix the PSP if it malfunctions, It will not replace a scratched up screen or replace the unit if it drops and breaks into a million pieces. It states, There can be no physical damage to the unit. I believe Circuit City has a accidental damage policy whereas, if you break it, they will still fix it. Another Example, if you purchased a warranty for the Nikon D70 from Ritz Camera, you would be covered for full replacement and repair costs, even if its your fault. So "READ THE FINE PRINT!" Even if your product fails, you may still owe a deductible, for ex: most cellular phone coverage plans require a $35.00-$50.00 deductible, take that into consideration. You also have to take into consideration the quality of the product you are buying and how well you take care of similar items. If you have had similar items that you let the kids play with and they have simply stopped working due to kid abuse, then you probably should buy a policy that will protect you against accidental or even a policy that will repair or replace the unit if the damage is your own fault. You must consider average repair costs compared with the cost of the policy itself and shop around for the best extended warranty, remember all policies are not the same.

Quick Overview:
1. Read The Fine Print
2. Research other companies Extended Warranties (ex:Best Buy, Circuit City)
3. Assess & Compare the value of the policy compared to the average price to repair.
4. Ask Questions and make certain any guaranties are in Writing
5. Assess your own ability to keep your products & Devices like new. Meaning Rate yourself on how well you take care of your stuff? Then Decide

Ten years ago they were really a good deal because there were quite a few part failures then. Now, I think they are of questionable value. My last two or three computers ran for a couple of years each without problems before I "moved up" to a newer model. In short: no problems for at least five years! (I'm tempting fate with that statement, but I'm covered because I bought an extended warranty with this one!)

Dell computers and TV sets are a different breed and different problems. Your experiences with these don?t mean squat. If you have an expensive prosumer digital camera, tell us about it AND name the brand / model..

I have an Olympus C5050Z and it has been in the shop twice now because of "failures".

If you start paying $600.00 plus for a digital camera, I recommend that you take out the extended warrantee. In my case it is $50.00 a year.

All Oly repairs cost $200.00 and in some cases the "faults" don't show up for 2 years according to our forum.

Are these "problems" manufacturing defects or something else is not really the question here. The question is do you want to take your chances or shell out a bunch of money when you ?baby? goes south.

Informal polls indicate that digital cameras do not last beyond 2 - 3 years without some fault that needs repairing. If you are a user that only takes a few pics or one that takes 5,000 a year (like me) doesn't matter. The electronics and or mechanical properties seem to fail more readily in digital cameras than other electronics.

Warm regards,

Gary