Going to buy a 42" HDTV from Dell

[pontifex]

I'm looking at buying a Vizio 42" LCD HDTV from Dell
Link to TV

Should I get an extended warranty? I was originally thinking about getting the 4 year extended warranty for $99 extra. Is it worth it? Should I maybe go for fewer years?

It comes with a 1 year manufacturer warranty.

Here are the extended warranty details:

Extended Service Plan (ESP) protects your hardware investment by offering a 4-year service contract extension that covers repair of select Vizio LCD TVs after manufacturer's warranty expires. If you experience hardware failure during this period, call the Plan's toll-free number, report the issue. After basic troubleshooting if issue cannot be resolved over phone, your Vizio LCD TV will be scheduled for in-home repair. Purchase this Extended Service option at the same time as your products to take advantage of the coverage the plan provides.

This 4-year extended service plan provides the following benefits: - In-home service - Covers all parts & labor - 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week and 364-day-a-year access to service representatives via one toll-free number. This 4 year of additional coverage begins immediately after the limited manufacturer?s warranty expires.


I generally don't go for extended warranties but since this is an expensive (to me) TV, I thought it might be a good idea.

Total cost without ext. warranty = $836.94
Total cost with 4 yr. ext warranty = $934.95

 

[SlitheryDee]

I would. I hear Vizio's warranties are pretty crappy.

 

[KeithTalent]

I got a 4 year for mine for two reasons:

1. Expensive purchase of something I have no way of fixing and could definitely see breaking or damaging.

2. It's transferable. Since I will probably sell my TV before the 4 years are up, I thought it would be a good idea to have a transferable warranty for the new owner.

Besides, it didn't cost that much extra in the grand scheme of things.

KT

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I got a 4 year for mine for two reasons:

1. Expensive purchase of something I have no way of fixing and could definitely see breaking or damaging.

2. It's transferable. Since I will probably sell my TV before the 4 years are up, I thought it would be a good idea to have a transferable warranty for the new owner.

Besides, it didn't cost that much extra in the grand scheme of things.

KT

The TV is more than what I'd really like to spend, but I'm figuring I might as well get something that will be nice and last me for awhile instead of buying something cheap or something I'll want to upgrade soon.

and $100 isn't really that much in the long run.

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
I would. I hear Vizio's warranties are pretty crappy.

You heard right. The Vizio manufacturer warranty is pretty sucky.

 

[pontifex]

ok, gonna go ahead and get the tv with th 4 yr extended plan.

 

[tcthetank]

I bought it from dell a few weeks ago without the warranty. Im happy with the tv though.

 

[pontifex]

came out a little more expensive than i thought because the extended warranty they showed was for cheaper tvs. total is like $984 with a 4 year plan.

I also got a nice 7% discount because my employer has a EPP with Dell.

 

[n yusef]

Warranty = insurance. Assuming that the actuaries are correct, the warranty will cost more than the average repair fee (otherwise it would not be profitable). I assume that this fee is most likely $0 (no repairs), but possibly the full price of another unit. If $836.94 is a lot of money to you, then buy the insurance, because bad luck (a unit that breaks) will cost a lot of money. If you're wealthy and $836.94 is nothing, then you would theoretically save buy not purchasing the warranty.

For most people, the warranty is an OK buy on expensive items. On $40 DVD players and $20 clock radios, the warranty is a terrible buy, because you can just replace the item.