To Pay or Not to Pay…

Lately, because of the bad economy, most people fear, they won’t be able to pay repairs for what they buy (especially for pretty expensive things).

According to the Service Contract Industry, the sale of ‘extended warranties’ for laptops and desktops, has only increased.

In regards to this, Consumer Reports says that: (I love them!)

“Often it isn’t worth the money, because such policies cost between 5-20% of the value of the item.”

For beginners in this story of ‘guarantees’ of products purchased: the normal manufacturers’ warranty covers workmanship for 90 days, and parts for 6 months to 1 year and that pays the most repairs. And in general, few products break during this period of time, that the extended warranty typically covers it (2-3 years after the normal expiration date).

Repairing an item costs on average, the same as that kind of extra insurance.

Summary of the story: don’t go with this type of “coverage” (the extended warranty), and instead, check with your credit card company, to see if they offer ‘extended protection’.

It is very little known, but if you’re paying for something with your credit card, many of these companies, double this kind of protection, without charging you anything.

However, yesterday, Mr.Slipper Socks Man, bought four new tires for his car, and decided to pay the ‘extended warranty’ in this case because, if any one of the tires is damaged, for example, hitting the curb or something (even if it were his fault), the extended warranty will give him a new tire, free of charge.

And in the case of a laptop, ‘they say’ that if you get angry with it, and decide throw it against the wall, or by accident, let it fall out of the car on the way home or vice versa, the extended warranty gets you a new one.

So, you have to be wise, read the small print… And pass this information so that no one falls into a scam. ;-)

Filed under: Information

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