Extended warranty is it worth it?

[Raddly]

Extended warranty is it worth it? I'm interested in your opinions. I own a B7800 with almost 300 hr, I use the tractor on my 10 ac of land. She gets a good workout but is not abused.
The extended warranty gives the same coverage as the basic warranty.

Thanks For your opinions.


Stephen

 

[framer]

no no had to have five letters

 

[fredhargis]

I'm guessing you'll find this to have many varies opinions, and in truth it's one of the personal things. I do not find extended warranties useful on anything and almost always pass on them. In effect that makes me more or less self-insured (or self-warranted, if there is such a thing) on my stuff.....and I can live with that, but many others cannot. Just seems to me that warranties, even extended ones, only cover things when they are relatively new and unused, which is usually when there will be no problems.

 

[blueriver]

I never have had one ... just don't think its a deal.

 

[sweettractors]

I am in the business and I have never owned one. Ken Sweet

 

[rScotty]

Extended warranty is it worth it? I'm interested in your opinions....
Stephen

I've often wondered if mechanical things have a bit of magic and predestination built right in. What I mean is that when I was a young mechanic years ago I began to notice that people tend to get mechanical troubles in proportion to their ability to deal with them. For example, my wife's truck might suffer flat tires and dead batteries, mine tends toward flat cams and dead relay contacts. She burns out a taillight bulb; I burn out an O2 sensor....that sort of thing.

Wait a minute, I'm really going somewhere with this idea. Where it's headed is toward a decision of how an extended warranty fits your own machinery. Now an extended warranty wouldn't do my wife a bit a good. Her truck rarely breaks down, and if it does it is likely to be cheap to fix and besides...I'm there. For me it's a different story. I like to buy new tools ( a tractor is a tool) which I cherish with love and devotion which it invariably returns by breaking in the most frustrating way possible and right after the factory warranty expires. It wasn't until extended warranties became available that I finally got ahead of this curve.

Being the type of guy who prefers to fix things myself I'd never take anything to a repairman if the work needed is anywhere near my capability. I'll actually do the work for the fun of doing it with the expectation that the tool and I will develop the kind of relationship where we take care of each other forever. Not surprisingly, I still have most of the tools and tractors I've ever owned. Even the ones that are retired....but that's another story.

The thing I'm trying to build up to is that on parts alone I've never had an extended warranty fail to pay off.Two to one being the worst payoff, and BTW that was on a tractor. The best bet was on a brand new SUV (Toyota) where it yielded better than 10:1 on parts alone. The average over 15 years now is - now I'm just guessing - maybe about four to one. On the other hand, I never buy an extended warranty on a household appliance or anything electrical. Experience show that those things seems to work for me for decades with no attention at all....that probably explains why our home sound system still has a built in "turntable" - whatever that is...

So I'd say that only you can answer the extended warranty question because it turns out to be more personal than mechanical. And because you probably already know your answer...
Enjoy! rScotty

 

[teg]

If it was very VERY cheap... I would think about it but the fact is that *most* of these tractors are reliable. I would search on TBN to see if the B7800 has any issues or problems that are common (front axle??). What I've seen covered with the warranty... it's not worth it.

 

[Thomas]

I didn't purchase ex- warranty,but if I was in business I check into it.

 

[jlsmith]

You may never need the warranty but reaching up to 5years or 7500 hrs for around $2000 isnt bad if you ever do need it and thats bumper to bumper coverage. I got it on both of my new tractors (but I use all of my tractors alot more than most people) :thumbsup:

 

[TripleR]

I quit buying them years ago.

 

[buckshot721]

I never bother with them, but it's kind of a double edge sword. Yeah it's worth the price IF something happens, that you need to use it. And then no it's not worth it if you do not use it. We purchased a new Impala this year, the first thing out of the sales man mouth was " Would you like to purchase a extended warranty?" My next question was "Is this car such a piece of s*&^ that I need one?" He never asked again! Unless you get a VERY good price for one I would not bother.

 

[teg]

I would also add... if I were to be putting 500-1000 hours on the unit a year. I would seriously think about it more... as it is, I think many of us are 100 hours or less.

 

[TripleR]

I would also add... if I were to be putting 500-1000 hours on the unit a year. I would seriously think about it more... as it is, I think many of us are 100 hours or less.

Good point, I am at about 400 on a couple and as little as 150 or so on another; one hasn't moved in months.

 

[Travelover]

An extended warranty is basically a form of insurance. My rule of thumb is to never insure against a loss that I can easily sustain. Million dollar liability lawsuit or house burning down? Better insure against it. $500 tractor repair? Self insure.

 

[smstonypoint]

I recall reading an article in the WSJ or similar source about extended warranties at Best Buy. Best Buy apparently released financial info that allowed analysts to calculate the Best Buy margins on extended warranties. Apparently, the extended warranties were a major contributor to its bottom line.

I have no hard evidence to back up my opinion, but I suspect that extended warranties are cash cows for the issuers.

Steve

 

[funwithahoe]

An extended warranty is basically a form of insurance. My rule of thumb is to never insure against a loss that I can easily sustain. Million dollar liability lawsuit or house burning down? Better insure against it. $500 tractor repair? Self insure.

I agree- It is simply "insurance" where you are lumped in with everyone else - If you take all the money you would spend on extended warranties and put it in a bank only withdrawing when you had an issue I promise you that you will come out WAY ahead. Assuming you aren't a baffoon running you equipment. Think about it this way - You putting your money in a pot with everyone else and someone is going to manage that money. When someone (idoit or otherwise) breaks something they are going to take money out of the pot and fix it. Do you think they have set up those odds in your favor??

Again insurance can be extremely valuable for a big loss and I am not knocking that idea at all but incase you need a couple hundred dollar fix?? Self Insure with an emergency account!!

 

[teg]

My luck even if I have the extended warranty, they'll say that it's abused... no, it's a tractor... (I have to admit that I don't wash and wax my tractor... or trucks... or cars)

 

[smstonypoint]

I have heard the same thing from other sources over the years. Often times, these warranties have various limitations on them. I'll play the odds in my favor.

I just remembered another story about Best Buy. They were selling some electronic device for about $50 and wanted a similar amount for an extended warranty. DUH?

Steve

 

[funwithahoe]

I just remembered another story about Best Buy. They were selling some electronic device for about $50 and wanted a similar amount for an extended warranty. DUH?

Steve

This is no BS - My wife once bought my 2 year old a "phone" (toy of course)at a place like that and when they rang it up the cashier asked if she wanted an extended warranty. My wife clarified what she was talking about and said she must be mistaken this was a kid's toy but the cashier insisted that she could buy an extended warranty if she wanted!

In the end they have an extremely high margin and although a few people "win" most would do way better not putting that layer of administration between them and the fix.

 

[DeltaT]

An extended warranty is basically a form of insurance. My rule of thumb is to never insure against a loss that I can easily sustain. Million dollar liability lawsuit or house burning down? Better insure against it. $500 tractor repair? Self insure.

+1

Companies that offer an extended warranty or insurance basically try to cash in on fear. "what will happen if ...." Nobody knows, so why worry about it.
I use my common sense and try not to abuse whatever you use. If it breaks after my basic warranty, I just pay out of my own pocket and carry on.