Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The Value of a Warranty

Many times in the A/V world people weigh the option of purchasing an additional warranty.  For most people, the more expensive the item the more likely we are to purchase an additional warranty (such as a washer, dryer, refrigerator, or car). 

Warranties are often viewed as “insurance” and are considered an expense that is not needed or that it will never recover the money put into it.  I say that all of the naysayers need to remember back to a time when an extended warranty helped them out in a crisis.

Last week I took one of our cars to the shop for an oil change.  While there I also explained out there was a banging, bumping noise coming from the driver’s side front of the car.  I was staying at the shop anyway, so I broke out my laptop and book to wait it out and hope that the banging, bumping noise wasn’t anything extravagant that would require extra money or another visit to the shop.

After an hour or so the employee who helped me at the counter informed me that I had a damaged control link that is in stock at a local dealer and that it would be there within the hour.  Also, this fix would be covered under our warranty.  That was exciting news as when we purchased this vehicle (used) we decided to add on a 3 year extended warranty just in case.

My car was fixed in a total of 2 hours and all I paid for was an oil change.  Even though I knew the value of extended warranties, I was excited that I had one work in my favor that day.

The same principle of an extended warranty can be integrated with an A/V system.  If you don’t have the ability to maintain a system or simply don’t have the time, an extended warranty on your A/V system could really work in your favor, especially if you are trying to make your equipment last one more year before you purchase an upgrade.

1 comment:

  1. That's a great point, especially in this economy. You really have to weigh the cost of a warranty versus the time and cost of maintaining it yourself.

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