Should You Buy Extended Warranty on Appliances

Warranties are important when purchasing home appliances, and should be treated as such. However, as the years run down on the initial warranties that come with the products, you begin to wonder if there’s a need to purchase an extended warranty to give you that protection you need over your protection, but the question is – should you buy an extended warranty on appliances? A kitchen appliances warranty is always ideal; you’ll always have that confidence that your kitchen appliances are protected, and if anything happens, these appliances are covered by warranties and will be duly taken care of, depending on the warranty terms and conditions.

To best understand the concept of extended warranties, people have asked questions like “should you buy appliance warranties,” “should you get an extended warranty on appliances?” and “are extended appliances worth it.” It’s hard to find straightforward answers to these questions as opinions are always divided on whether or not home appliances extended warranties are worth the money, although it’s hard for you not to get approached by salespeople who often push for you to subscribe to some of their service plans.

If you’re purchasing a new home appliance, you’re usually facing a lot of difficulties because some factors need to be properly considered before you make your decision to ensure you get your hands on the perfect product for your home. According to Consumer Reports, you should resist the temptation to opt for an extended warranty on that new product out of fear of being left exposed when the warranty offered by the manufacturing company expires. You’ll also get encouraged by other resources online to embrace extended warranties because they are ideal and will give you the protection you need when you most need it.

The extended warranty business, after all, is valued at about $40 billion, making it very lucrative, which is a good basis to argue that some of these companies are only using people’s fears to make good money for themselves. The same Consumer Reports study shows that two-thirds of in-store electronic consumers and about three-quarters of appliances consumers say that ideas of extended warranties have been pitched to them at least once. Consumer Reports advises against taking this offer because another study from Stanford University found that people purchasing these appliances may be forced to overpay for extended warranties due to overestimation of the likelihood that their appliances will need a repair which may not happen.

Despite these warnings and facts that back the amount of money, these extended appliance warranty companies are making yearly, about ⅓ of people that purchase appliances have purchased at least an extended warranty. That’s not to say extended warranties are not ideal, after all, people spend a chunk of money on insurance programs and they are eligible for the full benefits. However, in this case, it depends on what goes wrong with your appliance, which is why you must consider everything that needs to be considered before making this decision.

Extended warranty on appliances is dividing a lot of opinions as you must have noticed so far in this article and other resources available online regarding this particular topic. The concept of an extended warranty for appliances is to help protect you when the appliances in question break down unexpectedly. This type of warranty comes into play once the protection provided by your manufacturer’s warranty runs out, and it helps offer more coverage for the new appliance you’ve just bought, especially if it’s a very expensive appliance.

When your appliance has an extended warranty, the warranty will help you pay for repairs at a lower price than you would have paid if the warranty had not been in existence. While the idea may seem very appealing, different companies have different warranty terms and conditions, so even if you’re opting for an extended warranty, you need to get accustomed to these terms properly before making any financial commitment. Before we get into how to find out if your appliance is under a warranty, let’s quickly look at the difference between an extended warranty and another type of warranty known as the home warranty.

Difference Between Extended Warranty and Home Warranty

Extended warranty and home warranty are the two basic types of warranties that help cover home appliances after the expiration of the original manufacturer’s warranty. Extended warranties are offered for specific appliances within the home and are usually purchased right before the expiration of the original warranty which is offered by the manufacturer of the appliance in question. What sets extended warranties apart from home warranties are the terms and conditions which are just like the typical ones with the original manufacturer’s warranty, although extended warranties can be bought from other providers such as the dealership you’re purchasing the appliances from or a third party.

Home warranties, on the other hand, are, according to This Old House, a separate policy that offers bundled coverage for the major home appliances and systems. Home warranties usually cover most of the appliances you have in your home such as the heating system, cooking range, refrigerator, cooling system, and refrigerator among many others. This warranty type is more comprehensive as it covers more appliances as opposed to an extensive warranty that only covers one appliance at a time. A home appliance warranty is also more ideal for more expensive repairs and replacements costs, which is why a lot of folks prefer it to the other warranty type, although you’re likely to spend more money when opting for this warranty type.

What To Consider Before Opting For Extended Warranties

Extended warranties are not so ideal, especially when you put a lot of factors into consideration and you realize they may not be worth the stress as well as the money after all. However, if you’re going to consider extended warranties, you might as well put some important factors into consideration so you can be clear about what you’re getting yourself into and how the extended warranties can benefit you. Knowing that some of these extended warranty plans are just duplicates of what is being offered by the original manufacturer’s plan will also help you decide whether or not these plans are worth the money.

We all know how important it is for you to feel protected, especially when you own expensive appliances like a cooking range that costs over $10,000. You’ll want to feel protected against unexpected repairs, which will be made easier when you have an extended warranty protecting you against making expensive repairs that are not unusual for equally expensive appliances. For example, you’re looking to get an extended warranty for your refrigerator, some of the questions you should be asking yourself are “are refrigerator warranties worth it” and “should I buy an extended warranty on the refrigerator.”

Get to the bottom of the manufacturer’s warranty

If you’re going to be purchasing an extended warranty, you should try as much as possible to understand the manufacturer’s warranty before making that financial commitment. Backed by law, you must have access to the manufacturer’s warranty before deciding to buy it. It means you must read a note on how long the warranty is, what the warranty covers, and whether or not the company will refund your money when it gets to that point.

We mentioned earlier that different companies have different policies, so while Company A is offering to replace or repair your appliance when something happens, Company B may be offering to refund you in full, and that’s why you need to properly understand the manufacturer’s warranty. Some manufacturers will even offer to repair a product for you after the warranty has expired, but you won’t know you have access to this offer if you don’t take your time to learn about the manufacturer’s warranty. What most companies offering extended warranties do is duplicate the coverage that manufacturers are already offering.

Put costs of repairs into consideration

According to Consumer Reports, extended warranties usually cost an average of about $136 for big appliances and $21 for their smaller models. Considering some extended warranties would even require you to hit a deductible before they start covering charges and your costs, it is best you consider the cost of repairs yourself before putting your money on some of these extended warranties. To repair your appliance, you may only need to part ways with an average of $26, but most consumers are not aware of this, although that’s good in a way because some repairs will require you to spend a lot of money that could have been reduced if you had invested in an extended warranty.

Since repairs are relatively inexpensive, you may not need to get an extended warranty to protect yourself from huge repair costs. The financial fear involved in needing a repair without an extended warranty is what pushes most people to get an extended warranty, but most times, the risk is often very small. In summary, it is ideal to consider the likeliest repairs you may have to do in your appliances, consider the costs as well, before putting your money on extended warranties.

Always read the terms and conditions

Most folks can be forgiven to think extended warranty coverage is all that comprehensive, after all, that’s what salespeople preach to them in a bid to sell their products and services. You won’t realize how important this is until you’ve paid a huge sum on extended warranties before taking your time to go through the terms and conditions, then you’ll realize the service may not be all that useful after all. If you check some companies’ terms, you’ll realize that the coverage may not include accidental damage, which is one of the main reasons why anyone would want to get an extended warranty.

The convenience is not just provided most times, especially if you don’t live in a big city. You may be required to take the product to a specific location that is not convenient for you, and when you consider the cost of taking the product down, you may be able to connect the dots at the end of the day. According to the Federal Trade Commission, some companies may even deny a claim if you haven’t been following their laid-down maintenance instructions.

Check your extended coverage status with your credit card

Rather than moving to spend a lot of money on extended warranties, you may want to slow down a bit to check whether the card issuer will help extend the warranty if you bought the appliance using a credit card. To confirm whether or not your credit card comes with this perk, simply put a call across to the issuer’s customer service, or check the status via an app. Most of these issuers usually offer extended coverage for a year or more.

What Things Do Extended Warranties Cover?

If you go in search of an amazing extended warranty deal with high expectations without properly going through the terms and conditions, you will end up being disappointed, because these deals don’t usually cover that much. An extended warranty only covers damages caused by general wear and tear to some of the appliance’s electric and mechanical components. A warranty like that doesn’t cover things like doors or any of your house’s structural components. Also, extended warranties are mostly applied to specific appliances which means for every appliance you want an extended warranty on, you must purchase an extended warranty separately.

Where Can You Buy An Appliance Extended Warranty?

It is generally believed that once the manufacturer’s warranty on your appliance expires, you can’t get the warranty extended with the same manufacturer. That is not true as you can purchase an appliance extended warranty from the original appliance manufacturer. You can also purchase an appliance extended warranty from a third-party provider as well as the store you’re purchasing the appliance from. This means both retailers and manufacturers have the right to offer an extended warranty.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What items should you buy extended warranties on?

Although you can get extended warranties on any of the appliances in your home, it is more ideal to get these warranties for your most expensive appliances such as the refrigerator, smart televisions, cooking ranges, and many more.

2. Can you buy an extended warranty after purchase?

Extended warranties are usually purchased right before the initial manufacturer’s warranty on the product expires.

3. How long is the GE appliance warranty?

GE usually offers around 2-5 years on their major kitchen appliances, depending on what appliance you’re purchasing.

Should You Buy Extended Warranty on Appliances?

This is the big question, and no matter how you try to find answers online, the answers lie within you. The only things you can get help for are the factors you need to consider before deciding to purchase an extended warranty on appliances. Again, extended warranties can only cover one appliance at a time, so if you have many high-end appliances in your house, you’ll have to purchase an extended warranty for each of them, which will cost a lot of money. Alternatively, you can opt for home warranties which usually cover more than one appliance in the home, depending on the package you opt for. To decide whether or not you need to invest in extended warranties, we’ve highlighted some of the most important to consider.