Do you guys get warranties for your products? Or just not worth the money.

[samcool55]

Warranty is free for 2 years where i live  Of course it doesn't count for human stupidity but still, it's nice.

 

Yay EU, i guess.

[Lord Nicoll]

10 hours ago, LaboonTheWhale said:

Hey guys

 

so retailers everywhere offer these protection plans that cover anything that can happen to a product ranging from monitors/ systems to watches. Do you ever get them? 

 

It does trigger the thought of "What if ___ happens to it" in our heads and some see it as a reasonable choice. 

 

Best buy offers $70 on a Gear S3 smartwatch that replaces anything that can happen to it for 2 years. Would you get it? I keep rationalizing it as only $3 a month for 2 years. but will I have the product for 2 years? but what if something happens within the year. I'm out $350. 

 

But what are your thoughts? 

Well, that's insurance, not warranty, a warranty is a legal obligation to replace faulty products from manufacturing or material faults that fall outside of the accepted life or average range of products, I got protection for a new D-SLR I bought but I cancelled it a few months later because it didn't get used much where dangers could threaten, so it felt a waste, my Samsung Note 4 is almost 2 years old now and not broken, despite some pretty nasty drops and accidents, so I'm happy that wouldn't need accidental coverage on top of the theft plan with bill pay. 

[mmaatt747]

5 hours ago, AlwaysFSX said:

Considering I abused a warranty on my headset to get it replaced seven times, yes. I do.

lol here is why warranties are so expensive.

 

Anyway I don't ever buy them.  I can't remember the last time I would have actually needed one.  I've saved more money by not buying ANY warranties than I would have on a broken item.  That being said I don't have kids so that would be a big factor too I think.

[NannerBeans]

No, they're a waste of money. Most credit cards offer a 1 year extension of the 3 year warranty already so any more would be throwing money away. 

 

Edit: Looks like amex offers 1 year extension of up to 5 year warranties. 

[Coldfuson]

10 hours ago, Drak3 said:

In my experience, tech warranties are seldom worth the price.

 

If a device is prone to breaking, the warranty is prone to having workarounds so that they don't have to cover it under most circumstances.

If a device isn't prone to breaking, the warranty is fairly rock solid and only a slimy employee will try to get out of it, and you'll often interact with one of those slime balls.

If it takes the will of God and an act of congress to break a device, the warranty is 100% rock solid.

 

I only get warranties from Harbor Freight, and only because it's a guaranteed straight exchange or refund, no questions asked, on the warrantied goods. It's nice to have for their shitty power tools that break after a handful of light uses.

Yeah, that sounds about right for Horrible Freight. 

[Coldfuson]

29 minutes ago, NannerBeans said:

No, they're a waste of money. Most credit cards offer a 1 year extension of the 3 year warranty already so any more would be throwing money away. 

Solid advice, American express doubles warranties, and some cards like my citi diamond prefered card will do price rewind on major tech purchases. So when I bought my lg G5 outright on that card, I submitted the receipt to then. For the next 6 months, they automatically reference approved retailers online, and if they find a price lower than what you paid, they will take the difference off of the card. It saved me roughly 150$ on my G5!

[manikyath]

i get warranties, because in europe law says you get one

[suits]

Really depends on the item. And how prone I am to breaking it. 

[michaelocarroll007]

11 hours ago, LaboonTheWhale said:

Hey guys

 

so retailers everywhere offer these protection plans that cover anything that can happen to a product ranging from monitors/ systems to watches. Do you ever get them? 

 

It does trigger the thought of "What if ___ happens to it" in our heads and some see it as a reasonable choice. 

 

Best buy offers $70 on a Gear S3 smartwatch that replaces anything that can happen to it for 2 years. Would you get it? I keep rationalizing it as only $3 a month for 2 years. but will I have the product for 2 years? but what if something happens within the year. I'm out $350. 

 

But what are your thoughts? 

 i Personally Look at it like This.

 

Mathematically company X has come up with a price that they will profit from selling such warranty which then overall my odds of not buying the warranty seem better. so as the average consumer or me personally better then average consumer with breaking items it doesnt seem worth it. For thoses on the other end maybe

 

Now theres more to just take into account then this how clumsy you are and deductibles  But out of the last 10 smartphones ive had ive only broken one screen iphone 3g when it was about 1 year old. and i typically never use a case and in the last 8 years haven't broken a single phone.  but thats based on myself what warrantys would of cost me id have to go on a big breaking spree

[michaelocarroll007]

7 minutes ago, manikyath said:

i get warranties, because in europe law says you get one

in america you typically get a manufacter warranty but that doesnt get covered if you run it over with a car then drop it in a pool. 

[Coldfuson]

11 hours ago, LaboonTheWhale said:

Hey guys

 

so retailers everywhere offer these protection plans that cover anything that can happen to a product ranging from monitors/ systems to watches. Do you ever get them? 

 

It does trigger the thought of "What if ___ happens to it" in our heads and some see it as a reasonable choice. 

 

Best buy offers $70 on a Gear S3 smartwatch that replaces anything that can happen to it for 2 years. Would you get it? I keep rationalizing it as only $3 a month for 2 years. but will I have the product for 2 years? but what if something happens within the year. I'm out $350. 

 

But what are your thoughts? 

Former best buy employee here. So the thing you want to check out is what type of protection plan it is. They have GSP-ADH (offered on most portable electronics including laptops)  and GSP-R (Covers desktops and peripherals). You want to be careful that you are in fact getting the ADH (accidental damage from handling) if you do opt for the plan. And you do want to be careful. I wasn't around when smart watches were really huge(not that they're really huge now), so I didn't see any come in under protection plans. Best buy outlines in their protection plan perms that they have the right to try and fix the device up to 3 times before giving you a new product. In which case, you end up with the device out for service more than you've been able to use it. This is the express reason why I will not get an extended protection plan on laptops.

 

HOWEVER. If you want to "upgrade" at the end of the warranty, you can do so by throwing your laptop down the stairs. Just make sure that you've done enough damage to make it not worth their time to repair. Though they do have a clause that states any falls from excessive heights, or crazy damage like being ran over by a car, will invalidate your protection plan. sidenote: if you have gotten bodily fluid on the device the protection plan is void. For the love of god, nobody is willing to touch your vomit to fix your device. 

With the ADH, you can sort of abuse the system. If the repair quote comes in at more than 60% of product value they will generally "Junk it out" And give you store credit for the original price of the item that you purchased. My greatest suggestion is when dealing with the geeksquad, to be as kind as possible. A lot of the decisions are left up to their managers and what kind of hit they are willing to take on their bottom line (against their bonuses), and having the geeksquad rep feel that you deserve to be treated with respect can be a great perk to have on your side. This also may not be a bad time to mention if you have are an elite plus member or what have you. This (however stupid it sounds) will impact how the manager feels about you.  

[Praesi]

I bought extra warranty for my display. 50€ more or less doesnt realy matter in that price regions.

[Rune]

Anything that has moving parts (hard drives) or generates a ton of heat (monitors), yes.

Though, I get my warranty plans for dirt cheap, so maybe I am not the best source for this

[Coldfuson]

7 minutes ago, Jon1764 said:

My MacBook Pro doesn't have an extended warranty yet, I should probably go buy one soon.

Apple care can be a little trickier. With my experience with the "geniuses", they're god awful human beings with NO idea what the hell makes a device work. They told my wife that her iPhone 5 had a fan in it, and that it was broken, and that's why it was overheating. When she called them on their bullshit, they insisted that there was a fan in the device. 
Aside from the terrible people at the apple store, they also have a deductible that makes it a pricey exchange even after paying a hefty premium. Most repairs can be done on a mac pro with an ifixit kit and the replacement part you need. Motherboards don't fail too often, so I would opt for not getting it. The only issue is if you think you are careless enough to break a $1000+ device. 

[manikyath]

9 minutes ago, michaelocarroll007 said:

in america you typically get a manufacter warranty but that doesnt get covered if you run it over with a car then drop it in a pool. 

which it shouldnt, because it's not the manufacturer's fault if they sell it to a complete idiot.

[Coldfuson]

Just now, manikyath said:

which it shouldnt, because it's not the manufacturer's fault if they sell it to a complete idiot.

All he meant is that the MFG warranty covers defective parts and workmanship. Warranty not to be confused with a protection plan or insurance.  

[NannerBeans]

27 minutes ago, Coldfuson said:

Solid advice, American express doubles warranties, and some cards like my citi diamond prefered card will do price rewind on major tech purchases. So when I bought my lg G5 outright on that card, I submitted the receipt to then. For the next 6 months, they automatically reference approved retailers online, and if they find a price lower than what you paid, they will take the difference off of the card. It saved me roughly 150$ on my G5!

Which amex card doubles the warranty? Mine only offers 1 additional year. Although if it's a 1 year warranty then I guess that's doubled. 

[Coldfuson]

1 minute ago, NannerBeans said:

Which amex card doubles the warranty? Mine only offers 1 additional year. Although if it's a 1 year warranty then I guess that's doubled. 

Sorry I may have been wrong about specifics. I checked and it seems to cap out at 1 year. I don't even have an Amex. 

[NannerBeans]

5 minutes ago, Coldfuson said:

Sorry I may have been wrong about specifics. I checked and it seems to cap out at 1 year. I don't even have an Amex. 

My Chase Sapphire Preferred is only 1 year as well. I think that's the standard for the industry but it's not bad at all. Haven't had to use it but it's definitely nice since it's free. 

 

Edit: Looks like practically every credit card offers extended warranty. 

 

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/the-official-nerdwallet-guide-your-credit-cards-extended-warranty-policy/

[NannerBeans]

On 1/18/2017 at 10:18 AM, Coldfuson said:

Sorry I may have been wrong about specifics. I checked and it seems to cap out at 1 year. I don't even have an Amex. 

Hey so turns out you were actually right about the doubling of warranty. It's just that they only do it on the business cards. Just found out because I got accepted for one today.