Extended Warranties: Yamaha's factory direct option [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Woochifer
03-09-2006, 02:40 PM
The topic of extended warranties has come up many times on this board in the past, and people have gone back and forth on the value of these warranties. The only consensus seems to be that they buttress the bottomline for the retailers that offer them. Some aspects of extended warranties can be fairly worthwhile, for example, the extended warranty offered by Best Buy includes wear and tear items such as projector bulbs.

I bring this topic up because I only recently discovered that Yamaha offers extended warranties thru its own website. A 4-year warranty extension for a receiver costs $50, and includes product replacement after two repairs. The other interesting thing about Yamaha's warranty coverage is that you can buy the extension up to 30 days before the original factory warranty expires. I'm not sure if other manufacturers have similar offerings available on their websites.

Just for comparison, I looked up Best Buy's extended warranty, and found that it costs $35 for 4-year extension. But, my understanding is that you need to purchase the coverage when you buy the product. The terms and conditions seem the same as what Yamaha offers.

Eric Z
03-09-2006, 06:05 PM
thanks for the info, wooch! i feel extended warranties got a bad rap a while back- they used to be quite expensive and electronics seemed to last a lot longer so there was no need (or little need in my book).

i like yamaha's feature of purchasing the warranty just before the original runs out. you're right about bb and cc, you usually need to buy the warranty when you buy the product- in a couple situations, i went back into the store to ask some questions and they offered the extended warranty again (that was only a couple weeks later though)- not sure they'll do that 90 days or a year down the road.

like yamaha, my local independent dealer sends a notice as the original warranty runs out asking if you want to extend it through them- i love that idea.

L.J.
03-09-2006, 07:22 PM
I know CC allows you to renew your warranty. I've had my 36" JVC for years and I still have the option to renew another 3 years on the warranty which ends this month. I'm gonna pass this time around because I'm trying to get rid off it.

I've always gotten the extended warranty on everything I purchase and it has payed off. I know that most of the time it is money down the drain, but I like the peace of mind. I also like the option to just take a broken product back to the store and let them deal with all the headache. Eric your right, it does seem like the prices are going down. My 5 year warrant for my Onkyo 603 was only around 60 bucks.

I've purchased an extended warranty at BB about a month after purchasing speakers. That's cool that Yamaha allows it after the two year warranty is up.

Woochifer
03-09-2006, 07:30 PM
thanks for the info, wooch! i feel extended warranties got a bad rap a while back- they used to be quite expensive and electronics seemed to last a lot longer so there was no need (or little need in my book).

i like yamaha's feature of purchasing the warranty just before the original runs out. you're right about bb and cc, you usually need to buy the warranty when you buy the product- in a couple situations, i went back into the store to ask some questions and they offered the extended warranty again (that was only a couple weeks later though)- not sure they'll do that 90 days or a year down the road.

like yamaha, my local independent dealer sends a notice as the original warranty runs out asking if you want to extend it through them- i love that idea.

I think that they're definitely worthwhile for something like a projection TV, especially if it includes on-site service and bulb replacement. Of course, the catch is that the extended warranty for a big screen TV will run around $400. My parents recently bought a LG plasma, and one of the selling points was its two-year on-site warranty. The dealer they bought it from interestingly did not offer an extended warranty. (As an adjunct to the other discussion on restocking fees, this dealer does not accept returns either)

One more interesting feature of the Yamaha warranty is that it is fully transferrable, and they will replace the product after two repairs. I read the fine print on the BB extended warranty, and their lemon protection does not kick in until the fourth repair.

Woochifer
03-09-2006, 07:47 PM
I know CC allows you to renew your warranty. I've had my 36" JVC for years and I still have the option to renew another 3 years on the warranty which ends this month. I'm gonna pass this time around because I'm trying to get rid off it.

I've always gotten the extended warranty on everything I purchase and it has payed off. I know that most of the time it is money down the drain, but I like the peace of mind. I also like the option to just take a broken product back to the store and let them deal with all the headache. Eric your right, it does seem like the prices are going down. My 5 year warrant for my Onkyo 603 was only around 60 bucks.

I've purchased an extended warranty at BB about a month after purchasing speakers. That's cool that Yamaha allows it after the two year warranty is up.

For the products where I've purchased the extended warranty, I've only had to use it with my notebook computer. IMO, it's with notebooks that you definitely should purchase the extended warranty. At my company, well over half of the notebooks we've bought over the years have had some kind of major failure, whereas the desktop units have had a much lower failure rate. And with my laptop, the CD-DVD drive failed after 2 1/2 years, and was replaced under warranty. In that case, the extended warranty did not just cover the part replacement, but it also meant that I could still call their technical support line. Once the warranty expires (which it did last week), then I can no longer call tech support without paying a fee.

I've also gotten the renewal notices before on extended warranties, but with something like a DVD player, I'm pretty much ready to move onto a new one if it breaks after the extended warranty expires.

And Yamaha will allow you to purchase the extended coverage up to 30 days before the factory warranty expires.

Woochifer
03-09-2006, 07:49 PM
More stuff from the Yamaha website store ...

They also sell b-stock items, and discontinued components. I saw the HTR-5590 (aka RX-V1400) selling on their website for $450, and b-stock units going for $400.

EdwardGein
03-09-2006, 09:17 PM
20 Years ago I was living in the Bay area with my then girlfriend by the Presidio in the Marina & I was offered full earthquake insurance for $100 which I refused, thinking if something did happen, I'd be dead anyway. Well a few years later something big did happen (luckilly I had moved away by then) & it did major damage to alot of buildings in my neighborhood there. The point is, isn't a couple of hundred bucks in the case of an expensive HD TV worth not having to worry if disaster, albeit not an earthquake, ever hits. Think of it like paying say $80 rent each year for the privilege of watching your great set.

In alot of cases, you might actually make out on the deal, big time. IE, ine thing people should definately get extended warranties for no matter how low the cost, is DVD recorders. These have a limited lifespan before they self destruct. In my case, I bought a DVD recorder for $170 2 years ago. It broke down in year 2 & as that model was no longer sold in the store I was given $170 gift certificate which I bought a DVD recorder which was better but cheaper then my original one because the technology had improved & prices went down, & had plenty of extra money left over to buy other things.

shokhead
03-10-2006, 07:07 AM
Sometimes they pay off and sometimes they dont.