Extended Warranty

[nytransplant]

Now that I've been in my Sonoma home for almost 1 year I am getting letters about extended service plans.  Has anyone bought the plans with Kitchen Aid or is there another company to use?  Thanks.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

What's the cost of KitchenAid's warranty?

Home warranties cost around $500 per year and cover almost everything in the home.

We've had our KitchenAid fridge for 6.5 years and no problems (wood knock).

 

[ps99472]

I buy insurance for myself, family, car, and house...  if anything else breaks the bank, I probably shouldn't have bought it in the first place...

 

[jvna]

Home warranties cost around $500 per year and cover almost everything in the home.

We pay $549/yr for an American Home Shield warranty, which covers pretty much everything in the house (including all appliances).  Only thing it really does not cover is sprinkler system.  $60 service fee, but if you have more than a one or two service calls a year, it pays for itself.  They send all licensed repair people as well.  It is almost worth it not having to search for a reputable repair person yourself. Great deal, in my opinion.

http://www.ahs.com/homeowners/

Do you think the warranty is good to have, even if the house is brand new or almost new?

 

[usctrojancpa]

Home warranties cost around $500 per year and cover almost everything in the home.

We pay $549/yr for an American Home Shield warranty, which covers pretty much everything in the house (including all appliances).  Only thing it really does not cover is sprinkler system.  $60 service fee, but if you have more than a one or two service calls a year, it pays for itself.  They send all licensed repair people as well.  It is almost worth it not having to search for a reputable repair person yourself. Great deal, in my opinion.

http://www.ahs.com/homeowners/

Do you think the warranty is good to have, even if the house is brand new or almost new?

It's more peace of mind than anything else.  For an older homes it's definately worth having, less so for a new home.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

For a new home... I would probably hold off until something major broke.

After 5-10 years... I might look into a home warranty because usually that's when stuff starts to happen (but this also depends on your own handyman-ocity).

On a pre-owned home, I would definitely get a warranty because I have no idea what issues the previous owner could have covered up. We had to replace our water heater the 1st year we moved into our pre-owned home... and the home warranty covered most of it (there was a disposal fee we had to pay for the old water heater but it was way less than buying and installing a new one ourselves).

 

[nytransplant]

Thanks for the input.  My main reason for getting it, is many items are specific for the space and I don't want to have to find replacements.  Without service plans you get ripped off with repair costs.

Right now the kitchen aid people want about $500 for a microwave oven/oven combo, send oven and cooktop for three years.  They say it includes all repairs (parts and labor) and replacement if they can't fix it.  I just have to find if it is transferable (if the house is sold).

 

[daedalus]

Anyone ever read the fine print on these home warranties?  There are a lot of fancy-worded exclusions.  Exceptions for "electrolysis", for example, means that no damage related to corrosion or rust is covered.  There is no way these companies could be profitable selling $500 policies if they had to make good on even 1 service call a year.

 

[Liar Loan]

These companies make plenty of money because most home warranties expire without any claims.  As a general rule, ALL warranties of any kind are a bad deal.  If they were a good deal, the companies offering them wouldn't make any money.  Avoid getting suckered into car warranties, electronics warranties, home warranties, or any other kind of warranty.  Your peace of mind is not worth what they are charging.

There is a reason these warranty companies are soliciting new home buyers for business.  As the owner of a new home, you are very profitable for them, with a very low likelihood of them having to pay out more than the cost of the warranty.

 

[LAtoOC]

I have to say, my mom is the exception to the rule. She has an old kitchen that for whatever reason she refuses to update such that there are only 2 models of Oven made that will fit. She buys the extended warranty (and cooks almost every day) and last time the company (GE i think?) finally gave up and gave her $500 to just get a new Oven so they could get out of the warranty.

So it may make sense to not buy a warranty for new/standard-size items, but if you have a special order item (custom fridge/oven/etc) it may be worthwhile.