Friday, May 3, 2013

Should I spend 10% of the cost of a HDTV on the extended warranty?

Q. I’m trying to calculate the total cost of ownership on a $3K HDTV. Are extended warranties a scam, or a must have? I’m also thinking of purchasing from Costco. Do they provide extended warranties?

A. Remember that the cost of an extended warranty is calculated by an actuary so that the company providing the warranty ultimately profits. In effect, Costco expects you to have less than $300 of problems with your TV over the term of the warranty.

From a purely numerical perspective, it is then not worth the money, but then again no extended warranty is based on this definition. In one or two years it is exceedingly unlikely that anything will go wrong with your tv, but if it does, it could be much more to fix than $300.

Then again your $3000 tv may only be worth $800 in 3 years (if not less), so why bother?


How much would extended warranty cost? And how long would it last?
Q. Without paying for extended warranty, the warranty on the 32 inch hdtv is a year, so on average how much would extended warranty cost and how long?

A. It depends on the product and the store that you purchase from. I saw a 2 years ext. warranty on a tv at Best Buy and it was only $34.
Consumer Reports magazine says it's a waste of money because most things break in the warranty period. The products are much better today and last a long time without problems.
The only way I would take out an ext. warranty is if the tv or whatever was too big to move and the warranty covers in house repairs.


Can you transfer an extended warranty when you sell a tv to someone else?
Q. I bought a 46 inch lcd hdtv from circuit city in august, and bought the 2 yr extended warranty on top of 1 yr manufacturers. Im selling the tv on ebay/craigslist w.e, and i want to know if assurant solutions, the company that controls my warranty, lets me transfer ownership. Do they even know who owns the tv? or care? does it even have to be transfered if they have all the paperwork?

A. You will have to read the fine print in the warranty agreement.





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