Are extended warranties necessary on plasmas?


I was considering purchasing a 42 inch plasma last week for around $2000. The salesman strongly recommeded the extended warranty, at a cost of $500. I backed off because something seemed very wrong with a 25% markup for a warranty. The unit came with a 90 day warranty for labor and 1 year for parts. Has anyone had or seen any lemons that tanked out before the manufacturers warranty expired? Has anyone ever have a plasma repaired? If so, what was the cost?
mitch4t

Showing 1 response by sdcampbell

The comments above are "on the money". Extended warranties are almost always a complete waste of money - and virtually pure profit to the seller of the warranty.

I have a colleague that used to work for Good Guys (before they went bankrupt), and he has told me that the sales staff were under intense pressure to sell extended warranties with TV's -- even to the point that they might tell the customer that they wouldn't sell the TV without the extra warranty.

You'd be far better off to simply put the cost of the extended warranty into a certificate-of-deposit and let it earn interest against the day that you might need the money to pay for repairs.