Manufacturers' Extended Warranty

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  tonyjzx on 20/02/2013 - 10:49

  I think $50 is a bargain for a laptop even if its $500 shitter

  10% of the cost price and you know any repair costs hundreds

  my impression is most 3yr extensions are like $200+

  • 

    sm007h on 20/02/2013 - 11:53

    Just based on comments on a few deals in the past, someone would complain that a $849 deal with 3 years warranty is not a good deal because they bought the same laptop for $799 with 1 year warranty.

    Hence the reason why I wanted to gauge what everyone else thought.

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  tonyjzx on 20/02/2013 - 12:04

  its a value judgement

  if i only had the one laptop i'd buy the HP business support which is they come to you next business day and fix it on the spot

  if i was only after a home laptop i can waste time on facebook with and i had other machines you can always get an Acer where they fix stuff with no time line and you get it back some time months later

  whats worth $50?

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  Steven-GAF on 20/02/2013 - 15:01

  Extended warranties are a waste of money, see this article:
  http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/millions-…

  • 

    sm007h on 20/02/2013 - 17:43

    That article is badly written and confuses a few things. The main point it confuses is your statutory rights - manufacturers must be able to repair your product, even after the warranty period (I believe its around 7 years from the date of your purchase), however, they can and do charge you for this. So by buying extended warranties, you get your products repaired for free instead.

    The problem with buying third party extended warranties is manufacturers are not obligated to provide spare parts to these warranty companies so you won't get service in a timely manner. For some products, mainly TVs (since I have experience in this field), if the product does not fail within six months, there is a huge chance it wont fail within the next 5 years. This is how extended warranty company works - they are basically insuring your product.

    My main question here, though, is whether extending warranty by the manufacturer is worthwhile, and what is the perceived value by Ozbargainers.

    • 

      Ayanami on 21/02/2013 - 10:59

      I think you might be confused with the new laws that came into effect under the Australian Consumer Law in 2011. It's contained in a suite of legislation enacted at a federal and state level e.g. Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).

      I believe you're referring to section 58, which requires that reasonable facilities for repair are available for a reasonable period of time after purchase.

      I don't know that it's been tested, but it's generally considered that the guarantee as to acceptable quality (section 54) can obligate a manufacturer/retailer to repair/replace a product if it fails beyond the warranty period. For example, if a fridge only has a 12 month warranty, and it fails after 13 months, I'd argue that the customer is entitled to repair. Fridges are supposed to last longer than a year; no one would buy a fridge if it didn't. After 5 years, perhaps a different story.

      That said, an extended warranty may provide other benefits, such as priority repair. For example, under an extended warranty, you might be entitled to next day repair. Under the statutory warranty, the repair/replacement need only be provided within a 'reasonable time'. This might be more than a week or two depending on all the circumstances.

      • 

        sm007h on 21/02/2013 - 19:05

        I understand the grey area for the period shortly after the warranty period offered, but can you tell me whether the new legislation explicitly says the manufacturer must repair free of charge for defects that occur after the warranty period? Say, 1 year warranty product fails at 1.5 years or even 2 years?

        The use of the word "reasonable" is very grey and I would posit that if someone was offering 1 year warranty on a product, then 1.5 years is not within the reasonable period.

      • 

        tonyjzx on 21/02/2013 - 21:00

        the laws are a load of crap

        although people here love to spout how you dont need to buy extended warratnty, the reality is that companies wills till reject you at 1yr 1day even if you call fair trading

        the reality is fair trading decisions arent enforceable by law

        at best a company will cover your warranty if you are a pain the ass but they can very well reject a decision and its up to you to get legal advise

      • 

        Geewhizz on 22/02/2013 - 08:05

        Exactly! You can jump up and down 'til you're blue in the face asserting your supposed rights once warranty has expired, and they can still tell you 'tough luck.'

        There are circumstances where you could push the issue, but generally it's much easier knowing that you can walk in knowing that you're not going to be pushing ** up hill to get a repair or replacement.

      • 

        Ayanami on 24/02/2013 - 19:03

        I don't believe that the legislation does not say that it must repair defects which occur outside of the warranty period expressly offered by the manufacturer. As I understand it, it's only the reference to 'acceptable quality' which may give rise to an obligation to repair outside of the warranty period offered by the manufacturer.

        As you've identified, I think that the length of the warranty period offered would probably be relevant to determination whether a good is of 'acceptable quality'. The definition of 'acceptable quality' is as follows:

        (2) Goods are of acceptable quality if they are as:

        (a) fit for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly supplied; and
        (b) acceptable in appearance and finish; and
        (c) free from defects; and
        (d) safe; and
        e) durable;

        as a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with the state and condition of the goods (including any hidden defects of the goods), would regard as acceptable having regard to the matters in subsection (3).

        (3) The matters for the purposes of subsection (2) are:

        (a) the nature of the goods; and
        (b) the price of the goods (if relevant); and
        (c) any statements made about the goods on any packaging or label on the goods; and
        (d) any representation made about the goods by the supplier or manufacturer of the goods; and
        (e) any other relevant circumstances relating to the supply of the goods.

        Going to back to example, if I bought a bar fridge for $200 and it came with a 12 month warranty, I think if the compressor fails after 13 months, it's probably not repairable by the manufacturer. It's a relatively minor purchase and it was only warranted to be free from defects for a year.

        However, if I bought a $2,000 fridge/freeze that came with a 12 month warranty and the compressor fails at 13 month, I'd say that would not be of acceptable quality. It's a significant home purchase and should last more than 12 months, even if the express warranty was only 12 months.

        Of course, it's all a matter of opinion at this stage. If the manufacturer/retailer and customer can't agree, then the customer would have to go to Court and see what the Court says.

      • 

        tonyjzx on 25/02/2013 - 10:07

        going back to laptops

        it also comes down to the nature of the failure

        eg. if a charger or hdd failed, i'd cop it and just buy a new charger etc.

        however if a screen or board failed and its a big cost to replace i'd call them up, log a job, talk to a supervisor and then call fair trading to log a case

        if its a known issue (eg. the old Nvidia gpu fail) then you'd have more ammo for your case

• 

  ozb-442 on 22/02/2013 - 12:49

  I have mixed views on extended warranty. Being an OzB'er, i rarely get extended warranty (possibly never)

  $50 for 2 years extended warranty on a laptop. First you have to take into consideration if it will be worth it, will you still want the laptop in 3 years time, and there's a good chance that the laptop won't even break.

  When shopping for lots of things, especially computer parts I look for good Manufacture warranty at the beginning. Why by something of shit quality with a 1yr warranty and buy and extended warranty, when you could buy a good quality product for $20 more with 3 years manufacture warranty?

  Short answer: no. I sold my 3 year old laptop that broke for $120, for parts.

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  tooblue on 22/02/2013 - 15:07

  It depends on to many variables: How much you paid for the product initially? What's the depreciation rate? Is it a fashion or endurable product? Are you heavy or light user? And personal preferences, etc.

  For instance I'd be willing to pay for the extended warranty for a flat panel TV set but probably not for a laptop/tablet.