Extended warranty?

[henryrabbit]

Have any of you ever purchased the extended warranty through your camera store? The one I am considering covers 5 years for basically any kind of damage, even through my own negligence. it also allows me to bring the camera in for cleaning any time I want to. And if the camera is broken beyond repair, it will replace it. Does it sound too good to be true? My husband used to work for Best Buy, and their warranties were basically a scam that the store forced them to try to sell to customers. I am a little leery of them, but this one seems worth it. Has anyone had any experience?

[walterick]

Hi Amanda!

There is a variety to the worthiness of these extended warrantees. I used to sell them when I worked for Ritz, and theirs were pretty decent. I never heard of anyone having a problem redeeming them either.

First of all, read all the fine print. Everything should be straightforward, but you never know.

Second, you have to decide for yourself if the cost is worth it. If you take lots of pictures, or have an honest proclivity for dropping stuff, then the extended warranty might be worth it for you. If you're the kind of photographer who sees herself upgrading her cameras every few years anyway, then the cost of this warranty might not be worth it.

Overall, my opinion is they are worth it, but you must make that decision on your own.

Good luck!
Rick

[freygr]

I have to agree with walterick, the Extended Warranty on my sons MP3 play has been used on each player so far. On my old C-80 printer it was replaced twice before the warranty expired.

If you are gentle with the camera and have had good luck with your equipment you may not need or if you going to upgrade the camera in a year it my not make any sense.

If the extended warranty does cover operator negligence, then it just my be a good purchase if it's greater than thrity percent or greater of the cost of the camera it's not a good thing.

[OldSchool]

Another thing to consider is a rider on your home/apartment insurance. For me, I think I pay $25/yr, and it covers $2500 of camera gear. I travel a bunch, go on boats, etc. I'm covered if my gear is stolen, dropped in the water, etc.

Before I did this, I did get a store extended warranty for my P&S from Ritz. I wanted it because I took this little guy on mt bike rides. I crash a lot. I never had to use the warranty though :^), and the camera is still ticking 5 years later.

Cheers,
Tim

[OBie]

I have 3 kids at home (OK, 2 have left for college) and they tend to find my things and break them. I always get the extended warranty - the peace of mind is worth it. I get them for my lenses, as well (the expensive ones, anyway).

[henryrabbit]

The warranty they're selling is $550 for $750 worth of camera and lens. That covers 5 years, complete repair and/or replacement for any reason(other than fire or loss). They fix it their in the store, so I don't have to be without it for any extended time like I would if I had to send it back to the manufacturer. My husband is completely against it, but I think it might be worth it. I have had my Powershot P&S for 2 years now, and it hasn't ever been broken. I tend to think that because this camera is more expensive, I should protect it more. But shouldn't a more expensive camera be more durable as well? Have any of you ever broken your DSLR?

[Old Timer]

For my money $550 sounds like to much. I would much rather take that money and sink into more equipment. I'll take my chance once the manufactures warranty runs out. I have had Nikon repair two cameras that were out of warranty in the last couple of years. Both were done as good faith repairs at no cost to me. They even paid return shipping. I did buy and extended warranty on a $1500 camera but it was only about $100, it does not cover everything the one you are thinking about though.

[freygr]

The warranty they're selling is $550 for $750 worth of camera and lens. That covers 5 years, complete repair and/or replacement for any reason(other than fire or loss). They fix it their in the store, so I don't have to be without it for any extended time like I would if I had to send it back to the manufacturer. My husband is completely against it, but I think it might be worth it. I have had my Powershot P&S for 2 years now, and it hasn't ever been broken. I tend to think that because this camera is more expensive, I should protect it more. But shouldn't a more expensive camera be more durable as well? Have any of you ever broken your DSLR?

Way to much money. The extended warranty on that printer was $50 to $70 on a $250 printer, and like I said before it was replaced three times! For the price of that warranty you can buy a second body! And I have to agree with your husband - as with Nikon the service charges average about $250 last time I checked.(over a year ago in 2003).