warranties - worth it?

[admin_exported]

I am in an industry that sells warranties and know how much profit is in them. Knowledge is a dangerous thing and because of this I am making it impossible for myself to make a decision on where to purchase my TH42PZ85B from

Should I pay the extra from John Lewis for a 5 year warranty or spend less on the same set with no warranty???

How likely is it that the thing will go wrong?

Appreciate your thoughts

 

[John Duncan]

My view is that generally things break early on or they don't break (as evidenced by my now being on my third Scalextric in a week, after my son's fifth birthday).

Having said that, I will always buy my television from John Lewis because a) the John Lewis deals are generally close to the cheapest around anyway, b) the 5-year warranty is icing on the cake and c) their pre-sales *and* after-sales service are second to none, in my experience.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply - the real problem is that from a cost point of view (I appreciate that it is not always about cost) the difference in the price of the set with John Lewis and various other retailers is the cost of the warranty - take the warranty away and they are alomost identical in price.

Is it worth paying for a warranty??

Thanks again

 

[professorhat]

Impossible to say! If someone tells you no so you buy without and then the TV goes wrong after the standard warranty has run out, will you blame them?!

Basically, it's a risk if you don't, but then if nothing goes wrong, you've saved money.

You could do as some people suggest which is add up how much you would be spending on warranties if you purchased them and set this money aside. If something goes wrong, you've got some money to get it fixed / replaced. If nothing goes wrong, you can buy something extra for yourself!

Of course if all the devices go wrong, you're probably in trouble (as you're the unluckiest person in the world!)

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="yarn"]
I am in an industry that sells warranties and know how much profit is in them. Knowledge is a dangerous thing and because of this I am making it impossible for myself to make a decision on where to purchase my TH42PZ85B from

Should I pay the extra from John Lewis for a 5 year warranty or spend less on the same set with no warranty???

How likely is it that the thing will go wrong?

Appreciate your thoughts

[/quote]

Get JL to Pricematch with the cheapest retailer they'll do it against.

 

[Anonymous]

If you are in the industry that sells warranties, and you can't decide, imagine how complicated it is for the rest of us!

My view is that unless it comes included with the price, they are a waste of money. Panasonic give a one year warranty, so it is really 4 years, not 5 that JLewis is giving.

 

[Anonymous]

Even more unsure now - a local retailer has told me that on the new series of Panasonics there is a 5 year warranty included by Panasonic - not sure if they are just telling me that to try and get the business

Problem with warranties is that they are worth the money on products that are likely to go wrong eg. cars, my question is really how likely is a panasonic plasma likely to go wrong - I know really that there is no right answer to this but any stories as to the reliability of Panasonics would be greatly received

Thanks,

 

[Anonymous]

id say very reliable but anything can go wrong for any reason, i prefer peace of mind than non stop worry and panic

 

[tvmog]

Given the way TVs seem to depreciate in value I would say that most extended warranties are not worth it. A five year warrenty can add as much as 30% to the cost. I've just found an online retailer asking £350 for a five year warrenty on a set costing just over a thousand. If you invest the money in a savings account then it will go a long way towards paying for repairs if the machine does go wrong, and if it was to go wrong in the fifth year you would proably be looking to replace it rather than having it repaired and the £400 or more that you would have in the bank would be very useful.

Also as the OP points out, these warranties are very profitable for the dealers, therefore we must conclude that the odds are in favour of the machine not going wrong. (My Phillips 32 inch widescreen CRT went 12 years without any problems, my fridge freezer has done 20 years with only one minor repair, and my washing machine is now up to six without problems - if only the same could be said for my car)

 

[Cass]

[quote user="Eddiewood"][quote user="yarn"]
I am in an industry that sells warranties and know how much profit is in them. Knowledge is a dangerous thing and because of this I am making it impossible for myself to make a decision on where to purchase my TH42PZ85B from

Should I pay the extra from John Lewis for a 5 year warranty or spend less on the same set with no warranty???

How likely is it that the thing will go wrong?

Appreciate your thoughts

[/quote]

Get JL to Pricematch with the cheapest retailer they'll do it against.[/quote]

Good call. I understand (though can't confirm) that JL will pricematch against Sound and Vision, who are selling the Panasonic set for £1077.

 

[Anonymous]

I thought that the interesting point was that Panasonic are apparently offering a 5 year warranty with their new sets - if that is the case it would certainly make an additional warranty purchase from many of the online retailers pointless?

Again, I am not sure if it is my local retailer that is giving me duff information or not

Thanks again,