Are Extended Warranties on Appliances Worth It?

Are extended warranties on appliances worth it? Should you buy extended warranties on appliances?

Appliance extended warranties are generally not worth the cost.

There, I said it.

Let me give you the scenario.

It’s a few days before Thanksgiving and your oven doesn’t work.

You call your appliance store, tells you to call a 1-800 number after being on hold for 19 minutes, then being told 8-10 weeks.

You have a sinking feeling that warranty will not help you fix your stove or any other appliance.

Well, there’s always take out next Thanksgiving.

In this article, you’ll learn why extended warranties don’t work almost all the time. You’ll also learn how they really work.

Then you’ll learn the one case where you might want to consider buying an extended warranty.

Service Problems

Service is a big problem and a huge need.

We logged over 40,000 service calls just last year in the Boston area alone. Moreover, these service calls were only for people who bought an appliance from us.

We don’t have the technicians to handle appliances bought elsewhere.

We expect the situation to be worse as manufacturers have new suppliers to fix their broken supply chains.

Warranty Prices

Shopping for a warranty is harder than shopping for an actual appliance.

We shopped at several internet dealers and box stores for warranties by category.

Interestingly, none of the appliance dealers employ a single technician to fix your appliances.

I’m not sure how Lowes and Home Depot manage their five-year warranties. However, appliances without service sell the warranty to a third party.

The third party company is responsible for fixing your appliance.

Warranty Problems

Buying an appliance is way different from buying a car. Your car dealership has a robust service department, especially if you own a better car.

Yet fewer than 5% of all appliance stores, even the high end ones, have a service department.

Your warranty and personal information are sold to a third party insurance company. The appliance store does not handle you.

However, you will encounter many problems if you need service during your extended warranty.

Here are a few.

I remember being in an appliance service conference in 2003. The concern back then was the average age of a service technician was 53.

20 years later, problems are worse because all those people have retired and there are even few people learning the trade.

Service is the hardest part of the appliance business. Only 5% of the stores have an actual service department.

These third party call centers will have difficulty finding people to fix your appliance, especially in the higher end, more technical brands.

Covid 19 and supply chain issues have worsened already bad situations. It’s tough for finding parts now in general than prepandemic.

And it’s expensive to be in the service business. Workman’s comp, vans, general reliability in case something goes wrong in your house.

And that doesn’t include the technician’s salary, gas or stock for parts.

Just look at the online reviews.

They’re awful because you’ll be caught in endless finger pointing. The technician who finally shows up doesn’t have any connection to you or your purchase.

You didn’t buy it from them, so it doesn’t matter.

You didn’t buy the warranty from the appliance store either because they only sold your information to a call center handling the claim.

The store pockets proceeds, but they don’t own the warranty. The appliance warranty company will hide behind the many provisions on the terms and agreements page.

When to Buy a Warranty?

The answer is simple enough, buy the warranty from an agency with an internal service department like the car dealerships, whether a dealer or service-only agency.

They sold you the warranty and have the resources to fix the issues.

You must ensure they don’t sell the warranty to a third party.

It does make some sense for some products because your appliance will most likely need to repair within the first five years. Typically, an extended warranty is less expensive than a service call.

Key Takeaways

In most cases, you should not buy a warranty because most don’t provide adequate coverage.

You’re better off taking your chances and saving money, especially on the more reliable appliances.

Service percentages for every appliance will probably rise due to the many parts incorporated into many products these days.

You should only buy a warranty after vetting reputable service agencies.

As we often say, check and verify before you buy.

Check review sites like Google, Yelp and Better Business Bureau.

You want to understand how you’ll be treated after buying any product or service, especially in extended warranty.

Any good or bad experiences with extended warranty to your services?