Paying Attention To The Warranty

I do usually read the warranty particularly if the purchase price is significant for the item. When I'm offered an extended warranty I usually don't get it. Sometimes you can receive notices in the mail before the manufacturer's warranty expires which you can decide then to continue the warranty. I've never done that either and had no problems with the items.

 

I think it pays to pay attention. No one should just take their warranties for granted. Some manufacturers have weird conditions. One Korean TV manufacturer had stated that they wouldn't replace the product in case it stopped working after a surge or something, which was wrong, simply because all products have an in-built surge protection mechanism and its that mechanism(board) that usually needs to be replaced. By stating that they wouldn't replace that board or the tv, the manufacturer was infact saving itself from a lot of cost because those power board are what get replaced the most when tvs go boom.

 

We have plans to buy a new computer and we are torn between a laptop and a desktop although my husband is already decided on a laptop. My nephew in Hongkong upon learning of this plan had offered a cheap alternative. He could buy a laptop for us in an electronic shop that goes on sale with heavy discounts. With a 50% discount, that's a great bargain. However, my husband is not amenable to that because what if the computer has an issue? I remember our first desktop, it was running good but after a week, it was acting up with the disk drive. The repair center took 2 weeks to return it to us. And if we buy in Hongkong and there's an issue like that?

 

I like to ask before I buy most things what the warranty is on a product. My husband will choose garden tools based on the warranty. He has been able to get new garden hoses every few years because he buys only ones with 10 year warranty from big box stores. He's also been able to contact certain big manufacturers and get a new garden reel shipped to us because it was still under warranty. With electronics I would recommend buying from Costco. We bought a tv set there and it had water damage the screen. It was past the one year warranty but we found out after a few phone calls that Costco for no charge gives an extra year warranty on all tv's they sell. Since the tv was less than 2 years a full screen replacement was done free of charge. It would have been cheaper to replace the tv had it not been under warranty.

 

When I buy something expensive I always check for the warranty. If I have to pay for it then I'll be a little more hesitant but for t

 

When I buy something expensive I always check for the warranty. If I have to pay for it then I'll be a little more hesitant but for the less expensive items I let it pass. Most of the time for electronics the warranties don't work that well anyway unless for the really odd situations where you get an item that is already faulty to begin with but for those usually you can take it back to the store with no questions asked. The really screwed up situations are when the item breaks down just a few weeks later and there is no warranty to be found or worse, there is one but it runs out just as the item breaks.

 

I too would agree that its always wise to check the terms and conditions of any manufacturer's warranty prior to buying anything and particularly the tiniest of small print - especially as checking what is and isn't covered by a manufacturer can often be the deciding factor - as to whether you do or don't buy that particular product.

For example on electrical goods - sometimes its only specific parts that are covered - not all parts - along with what happens should something go wrong or be faulty - what would you be entitled to - a refund, a repair or a replacement and more importantly - particularly if its a large item - who would be responsible for the postage, packing and/or transportation costs if something needed to be returned.

Oh and another very good reason to always check - is that some manufacturers may require - in order to validate the warranty or guarantee - you to register or verify the purchase within a certain time frame.

 

That's why it is important to buy from a reputable store when it comes to your electronic item needs, because what if you found out that there's no warranty and you ended up with a defective item? Then the purchase will be a total waste, right? So we better be vigilant about these things.

 

When buying electronics you have to pay attention to the warranties but also watch out for and say not to offers of getting extended warranties [they'll cost you some extra money for nothing]. Buy only products that are covered by standard warranties so in case of anything, you can return them.