Agree! I was offered for $1500 an extended warrant on my 2007 Toyota when I bought it new. The “warranty” would only be for 4 years and did not include “wear items” such as brake pads and shoes.
After 12 years of driving the only non -warranty that occurred was a noisy heat shield and that was fixes for $90.
So, an out;lay of $1500 would have resulted in a payback of a whole $90!!! great investment!
The salesman tried to scare me by telling me that some very expensive things could happen during that time.
I told him that if that was the case I would not have bought the vehicle in the first place!,
Just curious about how many insurance policies you have come out ahead on, be it auto, homeowners, health or umbrella. And you go without because it is a money loosing proposition?
Why do you spend time thinking about the 40 year old dud you owned? I had 3 Fords that were duds, and the only time I think about them is when you post your bad memories of your Citation.
Of course! This is the very nature of insurance. If everyone had to use it to it’s full extent, then the cost for warranty coverage would be prohibitive to say the least. I’m not a big fan of extended warranties. I can afford the occasional failure and repair cost. Some people would be devastated by a big repair bill and so may not be in a position to forego insurance like this. I know at least one guy that is VERY thankful he bought the extended warranty as he has experienced numerous expensive repairs that were all covered. If someone feels they need it, or would sleep better at night having it, just be sure to read the contract to be sure it covers what you think it does and that’s it’s reasonably priced for what you get. Not everyone is in a position to take a risk, regardless of how small someone else might perceive it to be…
That’s an extremely poor argument for extended warranty. You have auto, home and health insurance because the cost-to-benefit ratio is very low. Without auto liability, homeowners insurance could cost you hundreds of thousands of out-of-pocket money. People like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have ZERO insurance of any kind. They do have hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover any cost.
I’m not so much against getting an extended warranty…it’s the cost to benefit ratio that is totally absurd. If it cost me $300, then I might consider it. But $1,500 is totally absurd. You’re buying an extended policy on a vehicle during it’s period when it’s most reliable and when it’s least likely to have any repairs that come under the policy. Might have to replace brakes and maybe a battery (if you live in the south), but those things aren’t covered anyways.
I want to be insured against financial ruin. When I was a graduate student back in the late 1969s and early 1970s, I had to provide my own health insurance. The policy I could afford had a $1000 detectible provision. That was acceptable because we maintained a savings account with a balance of about that much. I did not carry collision on my 1965 Rambler. If I wrecked the car, I could find a transportation special for around $500. However I did carry liability to protect me if I was charged with causing an accident. .
I feel the same about extended warranties. I can cover the cost of repairing or replacing my vehicles. However, I do insure my house. I want to be protected if we are hit by a tornado or a fire.
I think this extended warranty business is carried too far. The electric company wants to sell me insurance on the wiring from the meter to the circuit breaker panel. The water utility wants to sell me insurance for the underground supply pipe from the meter to the house. I know digging up the line would be costly, but I will take my chances.
I bought a flat screen television and was offered an extended warranty which I rejected. Six years after buying the set, my dog was slinging his blanket around and he had his chew bone in the blanket. The bone went flying out of the blanket and hit the television screen and cracked the screen. I don’t know if an extended warranty would have paid for the damage or not, but the prices of flat screen televisions had dropped so much in six years that what I would have paid for the extended warranty more than paid for a new television. (The dog was not allowed to watch reruns of Lassie or Rin Tin Tin for a month).
No, I did not have the misfortune of buying the infamous X-cars. Because I will never buy a new and unproven car model, especially from GM who regard the customers as their Guinea Pigs.
However, my brother bought the Oldsmobile version, the Omega. Nice car but it soon displayed the now infamous steering rack problems and the transmission went as well. All covered by the standard factory warranty. He soon sold it and bought a Honda.
A driver who bought an X-car and did not drive enough would have all these things break down after the warranty expired.
This article has to do with Samsung’s badly-flawed refrigerators and with the uselessness of an aftermarket warranty from anyone other than the manufacturer.
Yes, this article deals with a kitchen appliance, rather than a motor vehicle, but the same caveats apply if anyone is foolish enough to even think of buying an aftermarket warranty from anyone other than the vehicle manufacturer:
Appliance quality has really nosedived over that last few years.
A recent independent survey found that a foll 50% of all appliances bought failed between 5 and 10 years of ownership!
In the past, fridges could last 30 years (ours is now 27 years old with no repairs). Our latest top of the line Whirlpool washer lasted mere 8 years before it was junked; not repairable!
Other appliances we’ve owned were a Kenmore stove that I sold at 14 years in good condition, because our new house had a built-in unit.
Our first Maytag washer lasted from 1976 to 1986 and survived 3 moves.cross-country. Our Kenmore dryer was bought used in 1970 and soldiered on till 1987!
Some manufacturers are now also refusing to sell parts to independent repairmen; a practice that is federally illegal!.
Yes, but as has been noted for several years by Consumer Reports, there is a drastic difference in reliability/durability between kitchen appliances made by Samsung vs those made by Whirlpool, Bosch, and LG. My LG refrigerator and my Whirlpool dishwasher and microwave are all 16 years old, and are going strong.
@VDCdriver. What I find disrturbing about the Samsung case is that the company seemed to have no respect for the customer’s time.
The same is true about cars. We bought a new Toyota 4Runner back in 2003. We purchased it from a dealer about 20 miles away. We hadn’t had the 4Runner a week when the serpentine belt started chirping. We took it back to the dealer. The belt was replaced, and not only did the belt start chirping again, but the engine leaked oil. We returned to the dealer. The belt hadn’t been installed correctly and it pulled out the oil seal. The oil seal was replaced and a new belt was installed. In less than a week the chirping noise returned. We returned to the dealer. I had a copy of the lemon law. I informed the service manager that this was his last chance. If it wasn’t fixed this time, the dealer could buy the 4Runner back. I also demanded a loaner car to drive. I stressed to the dealer that our time was valuable. When I did consulting work beyond my regular job, I was paid $100 an hour. I couldn’t afford to make trips of 20 miles each way to the dealer. This time the dealer got serious. We were given a loaner and the 4Runner was repaired. The problem was the belt tensioner had a weak spring. I would have thought any mechanic would have figured that out by the second visit.
Now we still have the 4Runner. Fortunately, a dealer opened up a mile and a half from my house. I have purchased two new Siennas from this dealer. The dealer respects my time and I am always offered transportation while my vehicles are being serviced.
I know any product can have a defective part. We have a Samsung microwave oven that we bought in 1984. It has never had a problem and still works perfectly. Still, had I purchased a new refrigerator of any make, I would expect it to work properly and if I had an extended warranty, I would expect it to be repaired properly during the warranty period. However, I would never buy an extended warranty nor would I purchase an icemaker on a refrigerator. I have no problem emptyting an ice cube tray.
+1
Having lived in Europe–albeit for a brief time–I just can’t fathom the American obsession with icy-cold beverages. Yes, I do enjoy a chilled drink–be it of the “adult” variety, or not–during the summer months, but I have never seen a need for more ice than can be provided by the manually-emptied ice trays in my refrigerators.
@Docnick. You scare me with your statistics about appliances. I have a refrigerator that is 25 years old, a washing machine that is 28 years old and a stove that is 30 years old. I know things won’t last forever, but I dread replacing an appliance where the replacement may croak after only five or ten years.
Now I don’t need fancy gadgets. I don’t need an app that relays the contents of my refrigerator to me . I don’t need an app to turn up the heat in my house from my smartphone. I am perfectly o.k. turning up the thermostat from 65 to 70 when I enter the house. I don’t need an altimeter on my vacuum cleaner that let"s me know the suction loss when I take the vacuum cleaner upstairs.
I know I was not with it as a teenager when I thought Studebaker had the right idea with its 1957 and 1958 Scotsman. Back in those days extended warranties weren’t needed. Besides, I think the only thing a warranty does is guarantee you the right to fight the manufacturer.
I remodeled our kitchen two years ago. I put in a new dishwasher, disposal, sink, faucet, cooktop, built in microwave, and wall oven. The refrigerator had been replaced a year earlier. I don’t expect any of those appliances to last the 50 years of the ones they replaced. If they last as long as I do ( maybe 9 or 10 years), I’ll be satisfied.
It scares me too! The drive for energy efficiency, and cost pressures have resulted in much lower design life! Traditional US brands such as GE, Whirlpool, Maytag and others no longer have that long design life they once had.
My sister’s Maytag dishwasher was installed in 1978 and is still operating!
One of the ladies in our rummy club bought a new Whirlpool dishwasher and it broke the first WEEK she had it.
I would hang on my old appliances as long as possible; the new ones won’t be near;y as rugged!
My neighbor two houses down still has all the appliances that were in his house when he bought it in 1984. The’re avocado but he does not care about the color!
That is the spin the appliances companies use. I don’t by it. I deal with electronics every day that are made cheaper and far more energy efficient then they were even a decade ago, and yet they are far more reliable. Even very high-end appliances where price obviously doesn’t matter - are far less reliable then they use to be. Even gas stoves are not as reliable as they use to be. Some of these high-end gas stoves cost over $10,000. Where’s the cost cutting in those stoves? And they are no where near as reliable as low end gas stoves built 30 years ago.
@MikeInNH. Once in a great while, I watch HouseHunters on HGTV. Young couples look at the kitchen in a house and remark “It’s so dated. All the appliances will have to be replaced”. I guess I am old, but the appliances don’t look outdated to me. Often the appliances don’t look more than 10 or 15 years old. I can’t understand replacing something that works, but I guess the appliance manufacturers cater to this generation. Why make a stove that lasts if it will be out of style in 10 years and you can sell another $10000 stove…
This was the situation with cars until recently. I thought the cars of the late 1950s were grotesque. They were designed to go out of style. Maybe that is why today GM and Ford quit making minivans. There isn’t much one can do to restyle a minivan. The 1990 Ford Aerostar I once owned looks as modern as my 2017 Sienna. Since not much can be done to restyle a minivan, the manufacturers came out with SUVs. Since not much can be done to update the appearance of an SUV, now the in vehicle is a 4 door pickup with a bed that has the hauling capacity of a molecule.
