Extended Warranties

Extended warranties are offered on just about everything these days, but such a warranty may or may not be a good buy. Let' s consider appliances.

Most appliances come with a one-year warranty. This is the time period when most problems arise. If your appliance makes it a year with no problems, there probably won' t be any for several more years. Problems begin to crop up near the end of an appliance's life span, say after five, seven, or 10 years. If the extended warranty covers only the second year or third year of ownership, it may not make sense to buy it.

Consider the average cost of appliance repair (approximately $125.00), allow for any deductibles and then decide if the warranty cost is reasonable. There are few, if any, lifetime appliance warranties.

- Stephen Corwin

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2001