Extended warranty @ circuit city???

[tex1230]

In preparation for another season of USC Trojan football domination, I went out and bought a ridiculously hudge TV

(actually, it's a late father's day present from Mrs. Tex)

So I go to the local circuit city and picked out a Toshiba. not top of the line but a very nice TV from a company with a decent reputation for electronics...

The salesman is pushing the extended warranty...

The cost for 2 years is 25% of the price of the tv, 4 years is 35%

Does anyone buy these? I figure the chances of a major meltdownafter the firts year (factory warranty is 1 year) are maybe 1 in 10...probably less than that...

So I tell him no thanks - and he proceeds to tell me repair costs are much more...blah blah blah

Am I taking too much of a risk here or is this just a money making scam (my guess)?

[up an down]

Am I taking too much of a risk here or is this just a money making scam (my guess)?

according to consumer reports magazine, your guess is correct

[smmokan]

Save your money. Its like buying insurance from a blackjack dealer.

[Sensisnow]

Thirded on the money making scam.

I went through the same thing last week when CompUSA wanted to charge me almost $400 for an extended warranty on an $800 laptop. I ordered online and when I went to pick it up at the store they said that they had it over at tech service and that I could pick it up over there. Walked over to tech service where the employee took me into a back room where they had a table covered in all the warranties and extra software that I "needed" to buy. I told the guy not to waste his time on me, grabbed my laptop and walked out.

I have a friend who previously worked at the same store who would routinely drop computers, laptops, monitors, etc. from the stock shelves onto the floor from 10 to 20 feet if customers pissed him off or didn't buy the extended warranties.

[focus]

He probably makes a nice little commish on those warranties. He felt you waffling and went for the kill (repair costs, bla bla bla).

Extended warranties are nice little margin boosters for electronics resellers.

[steve]

i am glad i bought the EW for my digital camera.
made sure that it covers accidental damage due to dropping..

i wouldn't buy one for a non-portable device.

salesmen do get spiffed on EWs because they're very high on margin.

microcenter's EWs are pretty good. Best buy's suck ass. not sure about CC.. I have heard it be a good deal - or at least it used to be.

you may consider buying it from a 3rd party. you might save money, or at the very least get a better contract than what CC is offering you. disadvantage of this is you can't take it to the store if you need it.. you often have to do shit over the mail. again, not a big deal if you have a digital camera.. a large screen TV on the other hand..

UCLA!!

[tex1230]

on the other hand..

FUCLA!!

fixed it for you

[Crass3000]

Depends on what type of a TV you got. If you got an LCD/plasma screen then the warranty is a good idea as they are about the price of a new TV to fix. If you went with the regular TV then the warranty is a scam.

In general LCD/Plasma screen TVs, laptops because of the LCD, LCD monitors? (maybe but probably only huge ones) are the only things I can think of that would be worth the warranty. I'm sure there are a few other things but those are a few of the best things to warranty. The electronics stores make very little money on electronics. Most of the money they make is on the warranties and the cabling for the electronics. I have watched "Inside Edition" like show reports that back up the claim that these warranties are typically a scam and they make huge profits on them.

[St. Jerry]

OK, here's the scoop:

http://consumerist.com/consumer/tend...ker-267566.php

Bottom line: Don't do it.

[tex1230]

Toshiba DLP rear projection...not LCD or Plasma (couldn't believe how easy it would be to spend 5-10k on a tv if you were so inclined...)

[sftc]

Have you ever seen the Simpson's episode when Homer finds out he has a crayon stuck up his nose? He gets it removed and it makes him super smart. He doesn't like being smart so he has the crayon reinserted and the deeper it goes the dumber he gets. In the end he says "Extended warranty? How could I go wrong?" and the doc says "That's dumb enough."

[smalls]

i'm very thankful i got the extended warranty (17% of total cost). then again, it was an earlier generation plasma (circa '02ish). nonetheless the warranty more than paid for itself.

[Altaholic]

The only thing I feel extended warentee is good for are large iPods, I have a 20GB photo that I have had to send back to apple a few times, going for the 80GB video soon. My 2GB nano that I got free has no warentee, & it has never acted up on me, though the flash drive in it kicks ass.

[steve]

Since I last posted in this thread, I used my extended warranty..
I have a brand new replacement digital camera.

It actually took me 3 weeks to complete the process, but I had a unique situation. Had to verify that Kodak wouldn't honor the manufacturer's warranty. Dropped the old camera 6 months ago, and it stopped working three weeks ago.. After I shipped it to them, it turns out that I voided the manufac's warranty when I dropped it 6 months ago. so I had to get it shipped back to me, and then they couldn't replace it over the weekend.

bottom line - a little stress, but like I said, I have a brand new camera. Bought a new extended warranty for this one.

btw I would have liked to get the olympus shockproof waterproof camera.. but according to dpreview.com, it's a piece of shit. plus xd cards. too bad.

[SKISC]

I never buy the stores plan. If the product dies in the first year I will use the manufacturers warranty. After that I will take my chances and buy a new one. I guess I have been lucky with electronics as it has been time for a new one by the time the old one broke. I really think the extended warranty is just a scam anyway.

[TeleHoar]

Good read here:
Confessions of a circuit city employee