Do you typically purchase extended warranties? For your car? Electronics? Cell phone insurance? When salespeople pitch these things do you become suddenly violent? Have you ever been greatly relieved that you did buy one? My factory Apple warranty expires in 5 days, and I'm wondering us it's worth the $186 to re-up?

I never do on personal things but on company purchases I almost always get the same day on site plan, 4 hours if possible.<br><br>I remember being asked if I wanted to warranty on a chest freezer I bought last year. My answer? Well, seeing how I'll be voiding the warranty as soon as I get it home, I think not. Why do you say that? she asked. I'm drilling holes in it to install beer taps. I guess it wouldn't do you any good then.<br><br>You need to determine the worst case scenario for these things. If it's my TV or Tivo, getting a new one after the manufacturer's warranty might just be an upgrade or I might decide I don't really need it anyway. But if it's my laptop that I use for programming or answering email on the road, the cost of the laptop is minor compared to what I need access to. Paying a 5%-15% insurance premium seems like a drop in the bucket in comparison.

Speaking as someone who works in the Consumer Electronics industry, I can unequivocally state that these Extended Warranty contracts are absolutely pure gold for the retailer. Profit margins on consumer electronics are so low, that high profit margin services (translation: rip-off to you) such as Extended Warranties are the only thing that keeps consumer electronic retailers in business. So yea....keep on buying those Extended Warranties please! Some of us in the businees need you to send as much money as possible this way!!!

I never do this. Because after either searching for a good deal, or lamenting the fact that I can't find one and have to pony up MSRP, I simply don't want to spend the extra cash.<br><br>However, I've seen someone buy an iMac, with their warranty/service package, crash it months later, and get a brand spankin' new, even nicer upgraded iMac(as his model had since been discontinued). Replaced with zero questions and zero hassle (besides a couple of weeks wait)... sooo... maybe, just maybe, THAT particular warranty might be worth it...<br><br>Hi, my name is Indecisive, aren't I a huge help?

YES! YES! YES! Do it as long as it covers more than the manufacturer's defects. I used to work in the consumer electronics industry as well and I can tell you the people that had fried thier own computers because of stupidity have thanked thier lucky stars that they had it. Stupidity is not the only reason to have them. I use my laptop all the time and the lcd has had spots that the retailer had repaced for me. New LCDs are uusally at least $300 to repair. My camera is my livelyhood. If I didn't pay the extra $90 to have the service plan my cleanings alone would be $100 a pop. Nevermind that it covers if It gets dropped. The lens had an unfortunate accident when I was shooting a wedding and the store lent me theirs duing that wedding and until mine came back. So yeah they do make money on it ( why sell it if you're not gonna) but I am living proof of getting your money back and then some.

However if I understand it correctly on top of the added insurance premium there would be a deductable which is over the cost of the service plan and the insurance company won't pay for my professional sensor cleanings. I also do them at the retailer because of the relationship I have with that specific store. I am an important customer to them ( or they do a good job at making me believe I am anyway.) I don't even know who my insurance rep is anymore the have changed so much recently. I do have business insurance on it but it is much simpler to go to the store and say this is broken because of this and the give me a new one, lend me theirs or fix it in a resonable amount of time. I understand my experinces my be out of the norm but it has worked out well for me. I'll have to look deeper into the BOP though.

We never do. Ever. We sometimes tell sales people ahead of time, Please, don't ask us about the extended warranty, we won't be getting it.<br><br>We've also never regretted not getting it.

Yes. We do it at the office for most electronic equipment and I do it at home for major electronics (laptops, computers, plasma tv, etc.). I've learned a couple of work/home lessons that were costly.<br><br>Dinky electronic scoobies? No, not for anything a few hundred bucks.

As a rule I don't usually buy the extended warranty but I may buy Applecare for my macbook pro. There has been some talk about the video card in the early 08 laptops overheating and dying. I agree with Daddy K, I wouldn't buy it on cheaper stuff but my mac cost $2500 CAN.

I'll also offer that I have regretted buying them several time, but never regretted refusing to buy one.<br><br>I can't speak to Apple's warranty service, but for most retail extended warranties here are things to keep in mind. Most electronic devices that fail will fail early, usually well within the standard manufacturers warranty. Second, if, for example, you get a 2 year extended warranty, the first year is really the manufacturers warranty, so you are actually get less than you think. Plus, many, if not most, only cover very specific failures, often not damage.<br><br>Since most people never use an extended warranty, they are like free money for retailers, which is why they push them so hard.