Extended Warranty Advise

[quickdraw]

I've heard that most purchased, extended warranties are not a very good investment. The reason is that if you have a dud TV, it most likely will fail within the first year. I just bought the Vizio E601i-A3 from Walmart (BF sale) and it comes with a one year warranty. I purchased it on my credit card which extends the warranty to two years (a lot of major cards double your warranty). They were selling a warranty which covers the product for 3 years. BTW, I currently own a Vizio 37", which I've had for almost 3 years with absolutely no issues, however I've never owned a "large" TV. Are they prone to higher failure rates?

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I've heard that most purchased, extended warranties are not a very good investment. The reason is that if you have a dud TV, it most likely will fail within the first year. I just bought the Vizio E601i-A3 from Walmart (BF sale) and it comes with a one year warranty. I purchased it on my credit card which extends the warranty to two years (a lot of major cards double your warranty). They were selling a warranty which covers the product for 3 years. BTW, I currently own a Vizio 37", which I've had for almost 3 years with absolutely no issues, however I've never owned a "large" TV. Are they prone to higher failure rates?

it's usually the BRANDS or specific models of major brands that have higher failure rates (brands due to cheaper components and certain models of majors because of design flaws etc). usually they aren't a good deal, but it really depends, on a vizio I'd honestly just pick up a costco squaretrade warranty for $60 and be set for an additional 3 years, most of the time extended warranties are bogus though. the size of the tv really shouldn't have anything to do with it. and on a side note . LUCKY you for snagging the 60 inch Vizio, I couldn't get/find that one for the life of me

[Blu-Benny]

i had to use it on my 32" samsung lcd.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by wormraper

it's usually the BRANDS or specific models of major brands that have higher failure rates (brands due to cheaper components and certain models of majors because of design flaws etc). usually they aren't a good deal, but it really depends, on a vizio I'd honestly just pick up a costco squaretrade warranty for $60 and be set for an additional 3 years, most of the time extended warranties are bogus though. the size of the tv really shouldn't have anything to do with it. and on a side note . LUCKY you for snagging the 60 inch Vizio, I couldn't get/find that one for the life of me

So, you can purchase and extended warranty thru Costco, even if you didn't buy from them?

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

So, you can purchase and extended warranty thru Costco, even if you didn't buy from them?

correct, and unlike squaretrade's normal warranties it runs in ADDITION to your MFG warranty and not in parallel like it will if you buy the extended warranty from their website or another retailer

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

So, you can purchase and extended warranty thru Costco, even if you didn't buy from them?

Originally Posted by wormraper

correct

Are you 100% sure about this?

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vinyl

Are you 100% sure about this?

100%... been around on slickdeals and fatwallet for a couple years, did it on my last tv from Walmart. when you register the little pamphlet they give you it asks you where you bought it from.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by wormraper

100%... been around on slickdeals and fatwallet for a couple years, did it on my last tv from Walmart. when you register the little pamphlet they give you it asks you where you bought it from.

Interesting. Thanks for that!

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vinyl

Interesting. Thanks for that!

no problem, many of the Costco employees don't even know about the fact that it works on any tv bought just about anywhere (except for used etc)..

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by wormraper

no problem, many of the Costco employees don't even know about the fact that it works on any tv bought just about anywhere (except for used etc)..

I'm one and I didn't know. . Gonna fire off an email to corporate tomorrow and get clarification.

[quickdraw]

I'm going to try to do this on-line. Went to Costco today and talked to both the customer service desk and a TV sales person and they both said no problem. When I got to the register.... Errrrrrrrrh, air brakes. The sales clerk didn't know how to do it (even though I had the brochure with barcodes as well as my original receipt. He called over the manager and he said he wouldn't do it through the register and that I needed to go online and probably fax my receipt. He said that he thought the pricing was only for items bought through the store and that if it was bought elsewhere it would probably be more. Me thinks he's clueless, just because of how he came across - like he was BS-ing his way into an answer to give to me on the spot without actually verifying it himself.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I'm going to try to do this on-line. Went to Costco today and talked to both the customer service desk and a TV sales person and they both said no problem. When I got to the register.... Errrrrrrrrh, air brakes. The sales clerk didn't know how to do it (even though I had the brochure with barcodes as well as my original receipt. He called over the manager and he said he wouldn't do it through the register and that I needed to go online and probably fax my receipt. He said that he thought the pricing was only for items bought through the store and that if it was bought elsewhere it would probably be more. Me thinks he's clueless, just because of how he came across - like he was BS-ing his way into an answer to give to me on the spot without actually verifying it himself.

I'm confused...what does the sales clerk have to do with a register transaction? And how did you get an original receipt if you hadn't gone through the register? I think we need some clarification here.

It does sound to me that the manager didn't have a "definitive" answer for sure, but he couldn't have tried to get one either....not on a Sunday when Corporate is closed.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vinyl

I'm confused...what does the sales clerk have to do with a register transaction? And how did you get an original receipt if you hadn't gone through the register? I think we need some clarification here.

It does sound to me that the manager didn't have a "definitive" answer for sure, but he couldn't have tried to get one either....not on a Sunday when Corporate is closed.

The sales clerk has to ring up the policy, after which they give you an envelope with the policy and the policy number. Luckily, I went to a different Costco, where they had someone familiar with the warranty. Square Trade says in their written policy that it will cover items either purchased at Costco or elsewhere. If you purchase the item at Costco, they have what they call "Concierge Service", which warranties the item for 2 years, more or less no questions asked. Square Trade then extends the warranty an additional 3 years after the Costco warranty. If you purchase the item elsewhere, the 3 year Square Trade policy kicks in after the manufacturers warranty expires (usually 1 year). After you purchase the warranty from Costco, you register your TV and policy number through Square Trade. BTW, the policy cost is based on the price paid for the item, so you need the original sales receipt to determine the correct policy price. Also, Square Trade is a warranty service not affiliated with Costco, although as you can see, you get an added benefit if you purchase through Costco.

All of this is explained clearly on the policy literature, so the manager at the original Costco, obviously is a dipsh!t, since all he had to do is read the policy. Interestingly, the cashier said I couldn't purchase the policy since I didn't purchase the TV from them, but luckily the service rep who I talked to was within earshot and corrected her. Costco really needs to better train their employees. It's actually shocking that the manager wouldn't even know the terms of the warranty, especially since I'm sure they sell a ton of them.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vinyl

Are you 100% sure about this?

C'mon, John. Your memory is about as bad as mine! We went over this in a thread last year when I bought a Square Trade warranty at Costco for my Pany I bought through Amazon.

LOL



To the OP: Most warranties are not needed, and a BIG ripoff. However, the ST warranties at Costco, based on the cost of the TV, are very reasonably priced for piece-of-mind. I'll spend $100 for 3 year EW. I'd not spend any more than that, which is what you'll end up doing (3-5X as much) elsewhere.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I'm going to try to do this on-line. Went to Costco today and talked to both the customer service desk and a TV sales person and they both said no problem. When I got to the register.... Errrrrrrrrh, air brakes. The sales clerk didn't know how to do it (even though I had the brochure with barcodes as well as my original receipt. He called over the manager and he said he wouldn't do it through the register and that I needed to go online and probably fax my receipt. He said that he thought the pricing was only for items bought through the store and that if it was bought elsewhere it would probably be more. Me thinks he's clueless, just because of how he came across - like he was BS-ing his way into an answer to give to me on the spot without actually verifying it himself.

You have to register your EW online at the ST site. When you purchase the ER, you should get a packet of info with a unique serial number (or something similar) that you'll use to register with.

As for the purchase, all you should "have" to do is take the display card to the register and pay for it. They'll send you to the service desk for your info "packet". No questions asked. At least, that's what happened with my purchase.

[dloiphone]

If you want the squaretrade warranty you can just get it from their website. I have also seen the option for used products as it works with eBay as well. It will ask for the ad ID and stuff like that. Did that once with a PS3 I bought from eBay. Hope that helps. Good thing I bought it as well since close to the expiration of the warranty the blu-ra lense decided to quit.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by My_Two_Cents

You have to register your EW online at the ST site. When you purchase the ER, you should get a packet of info with a unique serial number (or something similar) that you'll use to register with.

As for the purchase, all you should "have" to do is take the display card to the register and pay for it. They'll send you to the service desk for your info "packet". No questions asked. At least, that's what happened with my purchase.

Got it. I figure 60 bucks is a good investment for peace of mind. Now just have to wait 24 hrs. for the Costco info to be processed so I can register it @ ST. Walmart wanted $70+ and I'm sure it wasn't Square Trade.

BTW, I hope this isn't an omen, but as I was talking to a service rep, someone was wheeling in a D.O.A. Vizio 60".

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by My_Two_Cents

C'mon, John. Your memory is about as bad as mine! We went over this in a thread last year when I bought a Square Trade warranty at Costco for my Pany I bought through Amazon.

LOL

Haha! I do remember that, but I must have forgotten about the fact the warranty can be applied to non-Costco purchases. I think my question at the time was related to the warranty being in addition to the 2-years that are standard for Costco.

I have little to do with our sales department in electronics, so I'm kinda out of the loop with all of this.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

The sales clerk has to ring up the policy, after which they give you an envelope with the policy and the policy number. Luckily, I went to a different Costco, where they had someone familiar with the warranty. Square Trade says in their written policy that it will cover items either purchased at Costco or elsewhere. If you purchase the item at Costco, they have what they call "Concierge Service", which warranties the item for 2 years, more or less no questions asked. Square Trade then extends the warranty an additional 3 years after the Costco warranty. If you purchase the item elsewhere, the 3 year Square Trade policy kicks in after the manufacturers warranty expires (usually 1 year). After you purchase the warranty from Costco, you register your TV and policy number through Square Trade. BTW, the policy cost is based on the price paid for the item, so you need the original sales receipt to determine the correct policy price. Also, Square Trade is a warranty service not affiliated with Costco, although as you can see, you get an added benefit if you purchase through Costco.

All of this is explained clearly on the policy literature, so the manager at the original Costco, obviously is a dipsh!t, since all he had to do is read the policy. Interestingly, the cashier said I couldn't purchase the policy since I didn't purchase the TV from them, but luckily the service rep who I talked to was within earshot and corrected her. Costco really needs to better train their employees. It's actually shocking that the manager wouldn't even know the terms of the warranty, especially since I'm sure they sell a ton of them.

Thanks for that quickdraw! And yes, employees and managers should definitely be better educated about this program. I'm in Canada, so I'll doublecheck if the same rules apply here, which they should. Thanks again!

[Johnny Vinyl]

Costco U.S.
The Square Trade warranty in the U.S. is also applicable to non-Costco purchased warranty items.

Remember though that Costsco US items already have a 2-year warranty, which can be extended to 5 years with the Square Trade program. BB only has a 1-year warranty, so the Square Trade addition would extend to 4 years only.

Costco Canada
The Square Trade warranty in Canada is ONLY applicable to items purchased at Costco Canada. You cannot apply it to purchases made elsewhere.

Hope this clears up any confusion!