Let's talk extended warranty

[Lamb]

Do you buy the extended warranty on products?

We recently found out that our whole house generator has an oil leak, and our warranty ran out. We never signed up for the extended warranty and I did the math, and as long as nothing else happens to the generator, we saved money by NOT extending the warranty.

 

[tango]

With extended warranties it seems to me that on average you will lose. That's how the warranty companies make their profits.

The question is whether you can afford not to be average, although these days it seems if something is going to fail it will probably fail within the regular warranty period, and as long as it lasts maybe three years or so it's still cheaper to just put the warranty money to one side and buy another one as needed.

I still remember the time I bought a glass ornament. It was maybe $15 or so, and the assistant asked if I wanted to protect it for "only $5.99". I thought she was joking and laughed but she was serious. yes, for only slightly more than a third of the cost of the ornament I could take out an insurance policy in case I dropped it. She sounded very concerned as she asked what I'd do if I dropped it, so I just shrugged and said I'd throw it in the trash. It's not as if you can't live without a cheap glass ornament.