Should You Buy an Extended Warranty for Your Appliance?

 In the past 10 or 15 years or so, extended warranties have become all the rage among retailers. Many stores have quite a heavy pitch at point of sale to try to convince you to shell out a couple extra hundred dollars for additional warranty protection. By presenting this option just when you’re ready to walk out of the store, they make it difficult to fully consider your options. So before you go on your next appliance shopping trip, you would be well served to do a bit of investigation into this topic and be prepared to give a decisive answer to that dreaded extended warranty question.

Most manufacturers’ warranties provide at least a year of coverage against manufacturers’ defects that could send you scrambling for appliance repair. This amount of coverage is generally sufficient, because after a year of operation you can be pretty confident that your appliance works properly and is not going to suddenly break down under normal usage conditions. An extended warranty would cover the next few years of service, but it turns out that this is not very useful because statistically speaking appliances rarely break down during this period. For example, one study found that the average age for a serious washing machine repair was 8.6 years. This would be well beyond the extended warranty period.

There are a few rare situations where you might consider getting an extended warranty. For example, maybe you are buying a brand you’ve never heard of because the price seems too good to be true. The deal might be too good to resist but at the same time so good it arouses your suspicions. You might buy the extended warranty here as a way of hedging your bets on an unknown quantity. However, if for the cost of the cheap appliance and the extended warranty, you could get a better model from a more reliable brand, why wouldn’t you choose this option instead?

Another possible situation where you might want an extended warranty is if you are buying a new model of appliance from a trusted brand that is radically different than anything they’ve ever made before. These kinds of first-generation appliances sometimes have some bugs and you might like to have that extra protection.

If your appliance is under warranty and needs repair now, read your warranty agreement carefully to see what is covered and who is permitted to service the unit. Authorized Appliance is an authorized service provider for Amana, Jenn-Air, Maytag, Whirlpool, and Scotsman and we can certainly perform high-quality appliance repairs for these brands in compliance with your warranty provisions.