Home Warranty plans

[jimmy40]

Anyone have one? Experiences good or bad?

 

[WoodysGirl]

I had American Home Shield for the longest. I just recently cancelled them.

Pros:. They can offset some of the larger repair costs you can have with owning a home. I had my electrical panel replaced for little to nothing. I've had my A/C unit repaired more times than I could count. The work is guaranteed and the repair is under warranty.

Cons: It takes forever to actually get serviced. If you have an emergent situation like a major leak, don't expect instant help. Their policy is such that you allow 24 hours to get serviced. Damn the fact that your ceiling maybe caving in (That's happened). The cost of the service call has risen so much that it's cheaper to call a handyman. I paid $60 for a $5 part on my washing machine to be replaced. Service calls are now $75 on top of the monthly fee you pay.

 

[CashMan]

Are you talking about, when you purchase a home?

 

[Idgit]

I had one for years, but, honestly, my recent experience has been awful. You call to report the issue, and then don't get calls back to schedule appointments. I end up spending more time yelling at the warranty companies than I would just finding a contractor to fix the problem. I've stopped even trying to use them now.

 

[WoodysGirl]

I had one for years, but, honestly, my recent experience has been awful. You call to report the issue, and then don't get calls back to schedule appointments. I end up spending more time yelling at the warranty companies than I would just finding a contractor to fix the problem. I've stopped even trying to use them now.

I've had mixed experiences, but what it came down to for me is that even tho my handyman can be shady from a time perspective, he will still get to me faster than an AHS service person and I wouldn't have to drop an arm and a leg just for him to do it.

 

[Idgit]

I've had mixed experiences, but what it came down to for me is that even tho my handyman can be shady from a time perspective, he will still get to me faster than an AHS service person and I wouldn't have to drop an arm and a leg just for him to do it.

My wife was freaked out by a pair of HVAC guys they sent to our house. And she's not one to normally get freaked out, but she said one of them really skeaved her. From that point on, I just use Yelp and make sure I get the best referred service. I end up paying a bit more, but it's rare enough I have to do it, and it's worth it for the quality of work and the peace of mind.

 

[WoodysGirl]

My wife was freaked out by a pair of HVAC guys they sent to our house. And she's not one to normally get freaked out, but she said one of them really skeaved her. From that point on, I just use Yelp and make sure I get the best referred service. I end up paying a bit more, but it's rare enough I have to do it, and it's worth it for the quality of work and the peace of mind.

Oh wow.. Yeah, I've never had that experience, thankfully. My handyman can do most things and I know the quality of work since he's done a lot of remodeling in my house. But if I need someone certified, I'll ask someone for a referral.

 

[Idgit]

Oh wow.. Yeah, I've never had that experience, thankfully. My handyman can do most things and I know the quality of work since he's done a lot of remodeling in my house. But if I need someone certified, I'll ask someone for a referral.

Face tattoos, a gold tooth, but she said it was just the way he was looking at her. She called me to come home, but they'd already left by the time I'd gotten there. It was just a couple of washing machine repair guys. I never occurred to me to be home for it. I usually make sure I handle all that stuff.

Anyway, it put me off not vetting my own home repair companies.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

I have AHS, but this thread reminded me i need to cancel them.

 

[CashMan]

Face tattoos, a gold tooth, but she said it was just the way he was looking at her. She called me to come home, but they'd already left by the time I'd gotten there. It was just a couple of washing machine repair guys. I never occurred to me to be home for it. I usually make sure I handle all that stuff.

Anyway, it put me off not vetting my own home repair companies.

I don't know about you or any man, but I do not allow my wife to be alone when contractors(unless we know them personally) or someone she does not know at the house.

 

[Idgit]

I don't know about you or any man, but I do not allow my wife to be alone when contractors(unless we know them personally) or someone she does not know at the house.

Yah, I normally just take of that stuff anyway. Can't remember why we changed it up that time, but never again.

 

[Jammer]

I've had AHS for years. For the most part, I've been happy with them. As WG said, the service times can be long and I chalk that up to the warranty company contracting out for the cheapest price. When it's been an emergency I've been able to get quick service. I just have to request it. I'm probably wasting money now but my appliances are getting up there in age so right now I'm probably breaking even. It gives my wife piece of mind for when I'm on travel and something breaks she can get it fixed.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I was in retail for a number of years...





Don't ever buy an extended warranty for anything.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

I was in retail for a number of years...





Don't ever buy an extended warranty for anything.

I was in retail for almost a decade....always buy them. Its cheaper than replacing the item out of pocket. Cant tell you how many tv's and cell phones Ive gotten now. My rule is "Can I afford to replace this out of pocket at any time?" If yes, I dont buy it, if no, I buy it. Esp the cheap ones on portable devices "Here's a $500 phone and if you break it into a thousand pieces for $50, we'll replace it"...done deal!

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I was in retail for almost a decade....always buy them. Its cheaper than replacing the item out of pocket. Cant tell you how many tv's and cell phones Ive gotten now. My rule is "Can I afford to replace this out of pocket at any time?" If yes, I dont buy it, if no, I buy it. Esp the cheap ones on portable devices "Here's a $500 phone and if you break it into a thousand pieces for $50, we'll replace it"...done deal!

LOL!

It's like this... most electronic products are going to fail within the manufacturers warranty period– if they're a shoddy product.

And I didn't just work on the sales floor... I saw the net profit warranties brought in– and it's substantial.

Extended warranties are never a "break-even" for a retailer– they're a big moneymaker.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

LOL!

It's like this... most electronic products are going to fail within the manufacturers warranty period– if they're a shoddy product.

And I didn't just work on the sales floor... I saw the net profit warranties brought in– and it's substantial.

Extended warranties are never a "break-even" for a retailer– they're a big moneymaker.

Who cares if they make money on it? I'm well aware of what they make on it since I also wasnt just on the sales floor. If they make money, and you save money, thats win-win.

Plus, no manufacturers warranty covers half of what they do these days.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Who cares if they make money on it? I'm well aware of what they make on it since I also wasnt just on the sales floor. If they make money, and you save money, thats win-win.

Plus, no manufacturers warranty covers half of what they do these days.

It's profitable because most consumers never, ever use them– so there's no payout.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

My wife works in real estate and they usually negotiate it in for the first year because you just don't 100% know what you are getting into when you buy anything less than a new house. Afterwards, she says they are a mixed bag and it really depends on the customer service of the people you deal with locally. Non-assertive people should probably opt out.

As an aside, I just bought a new Jeep Wrangler and found out that Jeep now offers lifetime bumper to bumper warranties. I was seriously tempted to take them up on it because I normally keep my vehicles for 10+ years, but my wallet won out.

 

[Rockport]

STAY AWAY FROM AMERICAN HOME SHIELD!! They replace your original parts with the cheapest parts available and use the cheapest labor. One incident I went without AC for 27 days in the middle of Texas summer because they said my broken AC was hit by lightening when we hadn't had rain or a storm in 2 months. It took me filing a complaint to BBB before they caved in and covered it. But because they used the cheapest Chinese parts available I had issues with the AC constantly. Every year after that it would break down and it usually would take them a week to fix it. After 4 condensers and 3 circuit boards plus other break downs I finally had to replace the unit.

 

[iceberg]

It's profitable because most consumers never, ever use them– so there's no payout.

for me it depends. on a $300-$500 purchase where the warranty is 10% or more - no. not worth it.

for a $2k television yes. i'll fork over the $200 - $300 for the warranty.