Should I buy an extended warranty?

[Hep]

Originally Posted by Edh63

How could anyone give you an educated answer on this? That's a personal choice.

I would have to respectfully disagree with this statement. There is such thing as an educated answer for this question. It's a simple matter weighing probability and cost.

To illustrate this point assume the cost of the coverage is equal to the price of purchasing a new unit. In this case it obviously makes no sense to purchase the extra coverage.

On the other extreme, if the coverage was free, it would be a no brainer. Everything in between is a matter of probability of failure, and cost of coverage. While I freely admit I don't have all the data to give you the answer, there is a logical thought process you may want to consider:

Just like gambling, the odds always favour the house. This means that manufacturers/retailers (who have access to the appropriate numbers) always set the cost for the coverage above the probability of failure costs.

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

Consumer Reports says no almost universally!
The one exception is projection displays.

Consumer Reports does this independently, and has found this to be true as well (I would suggest the manufacturers underestimated the failure rates of projection displays, leading to the exception).

Using this logic, if you live your life with numerous products, and never take the coverage, you should be ahead. If you decide to take the coverage, over a lifetime, odds are you will pay more.

If this gives you no peace of mind, then by all means give them more money.