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From: ribl@mtx5b.UUCP (R Blechman)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Are service contracts worth getting?
Message-ID: <1406@mtx5b.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-May-85 21:54:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: mtx5b.1406
Posted: Thu May  9 21:54:25 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 10-May-85 23:40:47 EDT
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 23

As I am currently moving to a new home, I find that every appliance
dealer likes to suggest purchasing their service contracts.
(i.e. contracts that will extend the warranty of a given product).

For instance...  At Brick Church Appliance in New Jersey...
$199 - for a five year warranty for a washer/dryer pair.
$69 - for a ten year warranty for refrigerators (compressor only).

My questions to those with appliances and/or those who've purchased 
(or considered purchasing) service contracts:

1) What sort of mean time to repair do these items experience?
2) When they *do* break, is the cost more than the price of the contract?
3) When such things break, are the things that need repair usually easily
   repairable by oneself (one who has limited mechanical know-how)
4) Do these things usually expire before typical problems set in?
5) How agreeable are the dealers in honoring their own contracts?

Something tells me that in 90% of the cases they aren't worth it, but
I'd really like to hear some other opinions on some or all of these
questions...
thanks,
ron blechman