Extended Warranty or not?

**spiderhole** · 2007 October 9th, 14:02

Going to pick up the HV20 today at BB. Their 4yr ext warranty is $129. I can also get a 4yr MACK warranty for around $75, but not a fan of the idea of sending the unit in to their NJ facility should it ever need repairs (not to mention covering the shipping costs).

I could also put it on my Platinum card for double the manuf. warranty and just live with that. Does anyone know if Canon offers ext warranties direct like Sony does?

Any advice welcome!

Thanks,
M

**spiderhole** · 2007 October 9th, 14:07

Sorry for the double post. when i orig sumbitted it asked for my login, then said there was an error and I had to wait 30 secs to post. Didn't see an option to delete it.

===========================

Going to pick up the HV20 today at BB. Their 4yr ext warranty is $129. I can also get a 4yr MACK warranty for around $75, but not a fan of the idea of sending the unit in to their NJ facility should it ever need repairs (not to mention covering the shipping costs).

I could also put it on my Platinum card for double the manuf. warranty and just live with that. Does anyone know if Canon offers ext warranties direct like Sony does?

Any advice welcome!

Thanks,
M

**tcindie** · 2007 October 9th, 16:18

I don't know if Canon offers them directly or not, I'd assume no as I've never heard anything about it.

I will say this much though, I'd recommend against the best buy warranty. They'll end up shipping it off somewhere to be fixed as well, and the only reason they offer them at all is because their markup is (supposedly) very low, so it's the only way they make any kind of (noteable) profit on the sale.

I have heard great things about Mack though, I'm considering getting one of their warranties myself.

**Krane** · 2007 October 15th, 00:56

Originally Posted by spiderhole

Going to pick up the HV20 today at BB. Their 4yr ext warranty is $129. I can also get a 4yr MACK warranty for around $75, but not a fan of the idea of sending the unit in to their NJ facility should it ever need repairs (not to mention covering the shipping costs).

I could also put it on my Platinum card for double the manuf. warranty and just live with that. Does anyone know if Canon offers ext warranties direct like Sony does?

Any advice welcome!

Thanks,
M

I'm glad you mentioned that, I've never knew manufacturers offered extended warranties. I guess they discovered there's a big market in it, seeing they get 100% of the profit!

According to Consumer Reports extended warranties are not recommend. They believe that if problems appear they usually do so within the regular warranty period. Further, if someting does break, it's usually less to repair it than the cost of the extended warranty itself(which usually come with exclusions).

BTW, the Fed Ex shipping cost for my camera which needed repair--it just stopped working?--was under $12 (incl. $1,000 insurance)

**Lunchbox** · 2007 October 15th, 01:38

Check with your credit card company. I paid with Amex which automatically extended 1 year warranty after the original manufacturer warranty expired.

**Homer** · 2007 October 15th, 10:46

Ahh....I would like a little more input on this topic too. I am off to buy my cam but am still stuck on the idea of the warranty. On my last cam I purchased the Mack warranty but since then I've read some negative things about them. I never had to use the warranty though.

I am toying with the idea of getting the Circuit City Advantage Plus warranty ( I think that's the name.) It covers accidental damage for two years and costs about $270. A lot of cash but I don't want to drop this thing and then be SOL to the tune of $900 or so.

I called Canon a few months ago to see if they offered the extended coverage like Sony does but they do not. I read some horror stories about how much the mfrs charge to fix things so I just don't know what to do.

**Krane** · 2007 October 15th, 20:20

Originally Posted by Homer

Ahh....I would like a little more input on this topic too. I am off to buy my cam but am still stuck on the idea of the warranty. On my last cam I purchased the Mack warranty but since then I've read some negative things about them. I never had to use the warranty though.

I am toying with the idea of getting the Circuit City Advantage Plus warranty ( I think that's the name.) It covers accidental damage for two years and costs about $270. A lot of cash but I don't want to drop this thing and then be SOL to the tune of $900 or so.

I called Canon a few months ago to see if they offered the extended coverage like Sony does but they do not. I read some horror stories about how much the mfrs charge to fix things so I just don't know what to do.

Humm, $270., that's one third the cost of the camera? That hardly seems like a bargin to me. But who knows, one drop and it could well be worth it. If it were me, I'd be highly suspecious and take every precaution to be sure to read the fine print--you'd be surprised how easily these things can be misinterpreted. Just make sure you know what you're paying for.

Also, you might want to check any consumer reviews to see if the company backing the coverage is reputable and willing to honor what you paid for. Many even specify that they have no affiliation to the company you bought it from. If they should happen to disappear, you're in trouble

**autopete** · 2007 October 29th, 02:21

I got the BB extended 4 yr, one cleaning per year included and damage ins included, warrenty price is based on camcorder price, $119 warrenty at $843.
in the store...

**autopete** · 2007 October 29th, 02:22

factory warrenty won't usually include accidental damage. ie tripod fell over....

**melvonnar** · 2007 November 13th, 10:22

Call your credit card company---many will extend the warrenty for up to a year if purchased on their card.

**gsusmurphy** · 2007 November 17th, 03:20

just curious how many people get the extended warranty and how many don't? how reliable is a camera? any advice? where i live if i bought it in the store it would be an extra 200$ to get the warranty for 4 years

**Worley** · 2007 November 17th, 04:17

My extended warranty (just one year) was free for purchasing with a credit card.

**CJDaniels** · 2007 November 17th, 13:20

Originally Posted by gsusmurphy

just curious how many people get the extended warranty and how many don't? how reliable is a camera? any advice? where i live if i bought it in the store it would be an extra 200$ to get the warranty for 4 years

if your local store seems like it will be in business in 4 years it sounds like a good deal. I don't buy them usually but my former boss bought mine and bought amazons extended warranty. I agree, with Platium cc purchase you get an extra year anyway. Might be the best cheapest way to go.

**mbwkrause** · 2007 November 17th, 13:26

4 years? That's more like two centuries in the digital age and I guarantee you you want a new camera within the next two years anyway. If not sooner...

**Krane** · 2007 November 17th, 22:36

Originally Posted by mbwkrause

4 years? That's more like two centuries in the digital age and I guarantee you you want a new camera within the next two years anyway. If not sooner...

In addition, if anything is going to go wrong with your camera it's usually going to happen within the manufacturers warranty period. In the majority of cases when something happens after that, the amount to fix it is usually below the amount of the extended warranty.

In any event, there's no guarantee the company that issued the extended warranty (usually not associated with the seller) will even be in business. In addition, there is usually an extentensive list of exclusions that apply with these warrantites--the fine print can be daunting--therefore, extended warranties are not recommended.

**mrsaxman99** · 2007 December 29th, 11:54

I just purchased an HV20 from CC a few days ago. I wanted to get an Accidental Warranty plan, but I thought that the $270 for 2 years accidental coverage WAS A BIT MUCH...

I guess it's so much because most people who get them "take advantage" of them and "accidentally" drop their camera down a flight of stairs at 1 year, 360 days, so that they can get a nice fresh one...but hot damn...$270 seems to be a lot.

Are there any third party insurers that I could get 1 or 2 years accidental warranty from for cheaper than that?

**Lunchbox** · 2007 December 29th, 12:01

I paid by Amex which automatically cover an additional year after the original manufacturer warranty expires.

**mrsaxman99** · 2007 December 29th, 12:18

but neither of those covers accidental damage, correct? As far as I know, they cover manufacturer defects.

**Lunchbox** · 2007 December 29th, 12:21

Amex covers accidental damage 3 months after purchase date. For the extended warranty repair, you just have to prove how much canon charge to repair, they will either reimburse you the repair or pay you the entire amount back to your account.

**mrsaxman99** · 2007 December 29th, 13:59

...and I guess since I have already purchased the video camera on my Visa...this Amex deal is a moot point for me...

**kjgienapp** · 2007 December 31st, 01:30

I work at Best Buy and I purchased the 4yr accidental service plan for $179.99. I'm not sure what CC is doing charging $270 for two years but that is just a rip off. I'm not trying to bash CC because I work at Best Buy but its just way too much. If you can get the protection from your credit card like amex just do it that way. Although, to be honest Best Buy will most likely just replace the camcorder if it needs to be brought in for service. We can almost never fix camcorders for cheaper than a new one. I swapped out a Sony HC5 earlier this week for a customer because it simply locked up.

Kevin

**deus1978** · 2008 January 3rd, 10:56

I wasn't sure where to post it, but it can kinda be seen as an "accessory", if not, please move it to the correct forum.

I typically view extended warranties as a waste of money and statics show that the most probable time for an item to have issues is within the first year (which is covered under the manufacturers warranty). I never buy them.

I wanted to ask this question on these forums, because you all are more in tune with all the problems that people have been seeing, because they post on here and ask for help. By looking at the number of problems that are reported on these forums, do you think an extended warranty is a good idea of this camcorder or is the quality top notch like it should be and consumers shouldn't have to worry about any extended protection? I don't have the camcorder in hand and won't until mid next week but I guess I have 30 days to decide if I want to buy the extended warranty or not.

Ebay has some for sell for $65 but the feedback is pretty mixed whether it is good or not.

Thanks!

**Jazz** · 2008 January 3rd, 11:52

I'm also curious about how everyone feels about this as well. I bought my HV20 last month from B&H and I did not get any extended warranty. I just looked at B&H's website and they are currently selling the HV20 for $679.95 with a $25 GC. They offer the 3 year Sage warranty for $95.99.

**Lunchbox** · 2008 January 3rd, 12:02

If you do a search on the forum you will see many people already asked about the extended warranty. Please join those threads. Thank you.

**mattias** · 2008 January 15th, 06:03

don't you guys have insurance companies over there? i pay $50 per year covering accidental damage for everything i own up to a total value of $10,000. i'm sure you must have something similar? it was an add-on to my apartment insurance.

/matt

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