Best Buy extra warranty pays off

I always thought that the warranties were a waste of money. I guess you've proven me wrong. I will think twice about buying a warranty next time I go buy a really expensive item.

I guess there are multiple factors to consider: cost of the item, cost of the extended warranty, how sticky the merchant is in honoring the warranty, how much an item like a GPS is subject to abuse (i.e. drops, fall, vibrations ...etc.

I have one on my c340 on the premise that it will be dropped from dashboard, from my hand ... etc. Electronic components and force of gravity just don't get along very well. Just my security blanket.

Shouldn't your nuvi have been under warranty for a year? You really need your nuvi to fail after the standard 1 year warranty period for this extended warranty to be useful and that is unlikely. Warranties usually don't cover having dropped your device and broken something. What are the terms of the Best Buy extended warranty?

How much did the extended plan cost relative to the cost of the GPSr? I almost purchased one but it was over 50% of the cost the nuvi. I figured after the mfg warranty ran out, the nuvi would be a year old and I'd want to upgrade anyway.

dd

The difference during the first year is that you take it back to Best Buy and they hand you a box with a new one in it. With the Garmin (or pretty much anyone else), you call, get an RMA, mail it to them and wait for them to mail you back a new (or remanufactured) one. May not justify the cost of the extended warranty but if it broke two days before you leave on vacation, you might think so.

BB offers a couple of flavors of warranty, but they do have one that covers dropping, etc. It was about $40 if I remember rightly on my C340. Considering it was my first GPSr and I wasn't sure what kind of abuse it would get, I figured it was money well spent.

They also have a warranty for laptops that covers dropping, and I picked up that one since dropping killed my last laptop. That one ran a couple hundred bucks, but it was an expensive laptop so I bit the bullet.

But as a general rule, yes, extended warranties are like printing cash. I only get them for a) things that are liable to be mishandled, if the terms of the warranty cover mishandling, or b) untested technology (I bought one for my HD DVD player, though it has turned out to be plenty sturdy after over a year of use). Anything else is a waste of money.

When I bought my last car, the dealer tried to sell me the extended warranty. I told them that I used to write extended warranties for a competing dealership. He blushed and said, "Why didn't you tell me that in the first place." and pulled back the warranty and that was the last he said about it.

We very seldom purchase an extended warranty on electronic equipment that carry a one year warranty for several reasons:
1. If electronic devices are going to fail, they usually fail within the first year.
2. If they don't fail within one year, they're probably obsolete by then.
3. While working one Christmas Season at BB the one thing we were to push was the extended warranty. You know on the average, they're making money on the warranties or they wouldn't offer them.

Of course, there's always exceptions. Since a LCD TV is made for home use, we purchased the extended warranty because it was going to be beat around in a motorhome. Was it expensive? ... yes. Was it worth it? ... I'll let you know in 3 years!!

RT

I usually don't buy the extended warranty either, they are for the most part a cash cow for the retailers, however...

Quite a few years ago my wife bought me a Garmin GPS III+ as a gift and she bought the extended warranty for four years. This time it really paid off. My III+ died one day and I went home with a long sad face and told my wife that my favorite toy had died. She told me that she had purchased the warranty. Well, we looking in that file folder where everything goes that you don't know what else to do with and to my amazement we found it! And it expired in less than 30 days. I immediately went to Best Buy and showed them my dead GPS (which they gave to one of their techs to verify) and my warranty and receipt. After verifying it was dead they went to the cabinet and gave me a brand new GPS V since the III+ was no longer made. The package included not only the GPS but map CD, power cable, computer cable and a host of other goodies. It was selling for $500.00! Wow what a deal!

That probably wont ever happen again so I am back to not purchasing extended warranties....but I will probably regret that at some time!

Stan

Extended warranties have been hit and miss for me... Some were great, some were so much hassle it wasn't worth the time for the repair/replacement nor the money I spent on it... Sounds like the Best Buy one is pretty slick though...

I got a 2year warr.cost $40.00 my C330 came with a $20.00 gift certificate,so I put it towards the 2yr. warr.So the warr. only cost me $20.00
Ron

If it gives an individual peace of mind, Buy it.

If you're an electronics guru, and don't have butterfinger syndrome, Don't buy it.

In the end, either way, if it gives you Peace Of Mind, let your conscience be your guide.

Hence, To Buy or Not To Buy, That Tis The Question, Whether it be.....never mind.

Anyway, I vote for Peace Of Mind....I need to preserve what little I have left!

Many credit cards include extended purchase warranties for no additional cost. Usually they double the manufacturer's warranty up to another year. It does take a bit of time to process a claim, so it's not going to be instant gratification, but it's free...

what i mean is that if you use it, means you are lucky to have the warranty. If you didnt use it, that means that you are lucky that your item didnt break. haha!

but as the other member said about Automotive extended warranty, well as a mechanic myself, i will buy it.
reason: you spend like $30,000~40,000 on a brand new car, another $2000 is what? BUT Depend on how long you want to keep the car!!!!!

let say you want to keep the car for 4~5 years, in that reason you DONT buy it because mayor component like engine and powertrain are still covered for 5 years. but if you want to keep for 10 years well that is something to think about it. because most of the engine or transmission will break down after 4~5 years of use. reason why? i guess depend of the owner will do all the service required? or that most of the gaskets or rubber component starts to break down or fail after 5 years. so that is why you will have more leaks after that period of time.

but buying extended warranty you have to pay atention on how much it is cover and what fee you have to pay!!!
my family was very lucky twice.
my sister bought a acura integra in 1995 and bought a extended warranty for 5 years (that year powertrain warranty is only 3 years). and the last year of the extended warranty the transmission start to slip and took it back to the dealer, they check it and we just paid $25 fee and they replaced with brand new transmission.
my dad bought a 1996 honda civic with 5 years warranty too, same thing last year of the warranty period, the transmission started to fail, we paid $25 and got new transmission.

and actually my sister and my dad didnt know that their transmission starting to fail, only because i was testing their car and found out that they are having problems.

i guess my point is that when buying extended warranty, you will have to see the cost of the warranty compare to the product itself and if your product will probably fail in the long term or how much abuse it will get.
it will be worthless to buy a warranty like for GPS and use only 1 month per year(only for vacation). but it will make more sense if you buy for your TV or computer where you use it every single day!!

Ah also for your car, incase you are one of those who always try to extend the time for oil change.
(but advice, if you dont keep your car serviced regularly, it may avoid the warranty too)

Read the fine print!. The following applies to the BB's "Digital Imaging & Video" extended warranty and probably will apply to GPS as well:
1. "This plan is inclusive of the manufacturer's warranty". In other words, when purchasing a 4 year warranty on a one-year factory warrantied item, you're paying for 3 years as the factory warranty period is included in the 4 year BB warranty.
2. "This plan is fulfilled whan a product is replaced after the expiration of the manufacturer's warrranty". One replacement after the first year and your warranty can/will be terminated!
3. Even though the salespeople may tell you (as they did us) 'the big advantage is replacement even if only one pixel is dead', the fact is "Pixel repair based upon the manufacturer's guidlines". If the factory's replacement requirement is 17 or more bad pixels, so be it for the extended warranty.

Read the fine print!

RT

Hmmm, I wonder if this is typical of BB practices. My experience with Garmin GPSr products has shown that virtually NO model is still in production after 3-4 years. This would almost certainly mean that every extended warranty claim would be an automatic upgrade to the lastest model. Seems like an unscrupulous consumer (NOT any of the esteemed readers of this forum, to be sure) could just wait until the last 30 days of his/her warranty and then deliberatly damage his/her GPSr. TA-DAAAA! New GPS for the cost of a warranty.

Can anyone poke holes in this theory? (Please respond quickly, BestBuy here closes at 8:30 PM).

I don't believe BB has to replace it with a new one, or even replace it at all.
"Products, including those within the original manufacturer's warranty period, may be replaced with a new or rebuilt comparable product that meets the manufacturer's specifications of the original product, or you will receive a reimbursement (including but not limited to a check, voucher or gift card) in an amount equal to the original product's purchase price at our discretion".

RT

I did pretty well on a flat screen monitor that failed in the second year. These monitors were a lot more expensive 2 or 3 years ago and I paid $349 + $40 for the 3 yr extended warranty. If somethings fails under their plan after the original warranty expires you call an 800 number and they send you a shipping label and once they receive the item they send you a gift card for the original amount + tax. I was able to get a better replacement monitor on sale for $149 and used the rest of the card to purchase needed items.

I think my point is still valid. In the current and recent electronics markets, after 3-4 years, a much nicer and newer model, with many more features can be had for the price once paid for the "old" one. Case in point: I bought a Quest (115 mb) for my wife 2 years ago, for over $400.00. Today I can get a C580 for that much, or a Nuvi 360, or by adding a little bit, a Zumo 450. Another option would be a C550, and a dinner for 2 with the extra ca$h.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one they tried that on.

Without insurance, you may lose money; with insurance, you guaranteed to lose money. If you can afford the lost, don't insure. It's that simple.

I'm wondering,I have a 2 year,say if my C330 last within the 2yrs.And then my C330 just goes south.Bestbuy told me if I have any big problem they would give me a new C330.Well we all know the C330 is no longer being made and or discontinued for sure,so Garmin tells us.So if this is all true and say Bestbuy does not carry the C330,would they try to fix it or upgrade me for free on another model?
We all know when you don't buy the extra warr.and something goes wrong,now we wish we bought it.Then when we have it we don't use it.This always happens with us.
Ron

Quoted from their extended warranty " ... may be replaced with a new or rebuilt comparable product that meets the manufacturer's specifications of the original product, or you will receive a reimbursement (including but not limited to a check, voucher or gift card) in an amount equal to the original product's purchase price at our discretion".

Since the door is pretty much wide open, my guess is they'll probably go the cheapest route ... be it a rebuilt C330 (if they can find one) or gift card.

RT