Extended warranties: Vital or Money for old rope

Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2003
Posts
5,508
Location
Cotham, Bristol
Title says it all really, when buying an expensive product such as an LCD TV, are extended warranties vital or are they money for old rope?

I used to be of the opinion that If something is going to fail it will fail within the first year of buying it and would therefore be covered by the manufacturers 1yr.

Now i'm not sure.
 
It's a gamble but the companies selling them have huge margins so hat tells you all you need to know

On average you will be better off not taking one but on just one item there is a risk you could lose out, I never take them myself
 
I read a study somewhere that basically said that the cost of extended warranties was generally completely disproportionate to the probability of failure of the equipment so they were best avoided.

Jokester
 
Obviously it'd depend how much said warranty will cost you, but with something like a TV, I don't really see the point in it personally.
 
The items are protected under existing laws to be free of defects throughout their 'lifetime' within 'reasonable use', I'm sure an extended warranty would likely get a company to fix or replace your item much more quickly BUT you already are legally entitled to such a warranty - hence them common disclaimer that such a warranty does not effect your existing legal rights.
 
A lot of items normally included in the extended warranty can be recovered via the Sales Of Goods Act (1994) however if the warranty is a low price then out of convience it may be worth getting it.
 
It all depends really. I bought an extended warranty from my laptop maker that covered fault and accidental damage for 3 years, and it cost £90.

Ended up using it twice, and getting a brand new upgraded replacement delievered next day.

Just have to check whats good value as with everything.
 
I posted about this the other day...

Basically, when you buy a new item it's covered under 'The sate of goods act' and must 'last a resonable amount of time'. The common concensus is that that is anything upto six years! So all the extended warentees are what your rights are anyway.

EU law protects you for the first 2 years when buying new aswell, just some added protection over and above the sales of goods act.

I've use the sale of goods act myself to get something replaced well out of so called warentee, they didn't like doing it and I had to go to the head of customer services but in the end they replaced my item with new.
 
2 years? 6 years? This is all new and very exciting to me! What types of products do these laws apply to? Is the length of the "lifetime" determined by the cost of the product? Can I take my broken £20 3-year-old kettle back to Argos and demand they replace it for instance, or is it just for expensive electronics? Why do all the manufacturers offer 1-year warranties if they're obliged to replace the product within 2 years according to EU laws anyway?
 
If your worried just get accidental cover on your house insurance, sod extended warranty there a waste of money.

Insurance is the way..
 
manveruppd said:
2 years? 6 years? This is all new and very exciting to me! What types of products do these laws apply to? Is the length of the "lifetime" determined by the cost of the product? Can I take my broken £20 3-year-old kettle back to Argos and demand they replace it for instance, or is it just for expensive electronics? Why do all the manufacturers offer 1-year warranties if they're obliged to replace the product within 2 years according to EU laws anyway?


It's reasonable life time. If you buy a £5 kettle you couldn't expect it to last 5 years. if you spent £200 you could assume it would last 6 years. Nothing is protected after 6years.

However it sounds simple but isn't.

You have to prove the fault was there at manufacturing, which is why this legislation is pretty much usless, apart from 2nd hand cars from dealers.
 
manveruppd said:
2 years? 6 years? This is all new and very exciting to me! What types of products do these laws apply to? Is the length of the "lifetime" determined by the cost of the product? Can I take my broken £20 3-year-old kettle back to Argos and demand they replace it for instance, or is it just for expensive electronics? Why do all the manufacturers offer 1-year warranties if they're obliged to replace the product within 2 years according to EU laws anyway?

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page24700.html

Should cover everything you buy if you're a consumer, but as said it can be pretty hard to prove how long something should last and that the fault was an inherent one.
 
AcidHell2 said:
You have to prove the fault was there at manufacturing, which is why this legislation is pretty much usless, apart from 2nd hand cars from dealers.


I thought it was for the manufacturer to prove it wasn't though I don't claim to be an expert on the subject
 
Your both right in a way.

The onus lays with the manufacturer to prove that the fault wasn't there at manufacture for the first period of time.

After that it's down to the consumer to prove that the fault was present at manufacture.

Can't remember exactly how it's divided but i think it could be 3years/3years.

This is all AFAIK, so not certain.

If a consumer chooses to request a repair or replacement, then for the first six months after purchase it will be for the retailer to prove the goods did conform to contract (e.g. were not inherently faulty)

After six months and until the end of the six years, it is for the consumer to prove the lack of conformity.

There you go then, shows how little most of us understand of our rights to replacement products etc.
 
Last edited:
I never take them out, i've only ever once had a failure of a laptop and the money i had saved by not taking extended warranties more than paid for a replacement
 
Extended warranty purchased on my car.
Took standard 12 month warranty with breakdown cover and turned it into 48 month warranty with breakdown cover.
The breakdown cover alone was almost worth the cost of the extended warranty.
Power Assisted steering pump failing after 3 years (£700 quote for repair) - warranty worth every penny paid for.

Extended warranty purchased on our washer/dryer - 4 year total cover.
Machine had problems after 2 years - part was unavailable, warranty people replaced whole unit with brand new model (latest and greatest) - worth every penny.

Extended warranty purchased on fridge/freezer.
Never gone wrong once - waste of money

It's like insurance - it's a gamble.
 
Ranek said:
Your both right in a way.

The onus lays with the manufacturer to prove that the fault wasn't there at manufacture for the first period of time.

After that it's down to the consumer to prove that the fault was present at manufacture.

Can't remember exactly how it's divided but i think it could be 3years/3years.

This is all AFAIK, so not certain.



There you go then, shows how little most of us understand of our rights to replacement products etc.

Indeed - however it is still down to the consumer to prove that the fault was there etc.
I doubt that is going to be in the least bit easy.
 
Back
Top Bottom