Extended

I have read many articles telling us not to get extended warranty.   According to these articles, extended warranty are money makers for many companies and that we should not waste money on extended warranty.   However, I found extended warranty can come in handy.

Axim

Axim was the PDA sold by Dell a couple years ago.   It was a useful gadget and I depended on it for sometime.   I purchased a 5 year extended warranty.   The device comes with a one year warranty.   It was a good thing I had the extended warranty because just after the one year anniversary, the device died.   

With the extended warranty, I received a refurbished unit as a replacement.   The refurbished unit lasted a few years (more than 3 years) until I stopped using it.   I guess the refurbished unit was more reliable than first unit I received.

LCD Monitor

I bought a LCD monitor a couple years back –  I think it was a LG monitor.   There was a special offer at the time.  Instead of the usual one year warranty, it came with a three year warranty.   One the first year anniversary, the monitor died.    I tried to claim the warranty – initially the distributor argued that all monitors came with a one year warranty but when I produced the warranty card which shows three years, they reluctantly agreed to fix it.

It took almost 6 months to fix.   After it was fixed, I used it until the 3rd year anniversary that was when it stopped working again.   Since the warranty has expired, I went out to got another LCD monitor but this time I decided on another brand – I bought a Dell.

Net book

The net book came with a one year warranty but there was an option to extend the warranty by another year.   It was not easy to get the extended warranty.   I had to go to the service center to do that.   I am glad I have the extended warranty because recently some ants decided to make a nest in my net book.   

The service center was good enough to service and clean it for free.   It is just a few weeks before the extended warranty expires.

Warranty Void if Seal Broken (Photo credit: eirikso)

Smart phone

I bought a smart phone a couple of years back.  Again, I went with the extended warranty.   Unfortunately, this time the warranty was voided because my “smart phone” decided to go swimming and drowned.  

The warranty was voided even though I had the phone for only 2 months.    The smart phone wasn’t that smart after all, it can’t swim.

Conclusion

The key thing about extended warranty they are insurance.   As in insurance, you don’t want to have to do a claim because something bad has happened.

So share your story, have you been saved by an extended warranty?

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