I just had a client get one of the "Best Buy" extended warranties for his new MacBook pro. Problem is that I told him to get the Apple Care warranty and a Best Buy employee convinced him that their 2 year warranty was better than Apple's 3 year plan. And... It costs the same! I had to call back after getting the news. (Bad attitude sailor boiling up in me).

Note: If you were pressured into getting an extended warranty, go back to the shop where you bought it and talk to the on-duty manager. If you don't get the resolution you want, fill out a Consumer Complaint form with the State.

Here are my guidelines for extended warranties:

1. Not all extended warranties are evil. The poor schmuck that offers it to you is forced by his employer to push them.
2. If it is a 3rd party warranty, run away!
3. If it is a manufacturers warranty, consider it.

As a general rule, if it is a mobile device and the manufacturer offers an extended warranty, I get it. I have had to take 2 MacBooks that had issues and so far, minus extended warranty cost, I have saved over $2,500.00!
If it is a desktop I don't bother. Most problems are with the operating system (Microsoft) or buggy software. If warranty service has to be called in, they often nuke the hard drive. I can do this myself and keep client data in place.
Extended manufacturer warranty on servers and network electronics. Heck YES! If something goes bump-in-the-night, you want someone in the trenches with you.

So far I have yet to see a 3rd party extended warranty service be of value to ANY of my clients. If you are tempted, get a copy of the contract, go to your favorite coffee shop and read it. That is if you can get a hold of the contract and not just the application form.

Tags: Extended Warranty, Profit Margin, No Teeth, Long Wait, Expensive,