Service Plans and Warranties

So, let's talk about service plans and warranties. It seems like you don't have to buy much more than a CD at Best Buy these days in order to get some poor minimum wage kid to hit you up for buying a warranty on whatever you're purchasing. Essentially, this kind of "service plan" boils down to little more than insurance. You're gambling that something will go wrong to the tune of enough cash to cover your initial outlay, and even return a little.

I almost never take these offers. First, they're overpriced - like I'm going to pay 20% of the cost of the item I just purchased to gamble that it won't break. That's a tax on people who are bad at math. Not going to happen. Secondly, they're overpriced. And thirdly, they're overpriced.

There are only a few exceptions to my (unofficial) rule... One is with a serious piece of hardware that has replaceable parts. A couple years ago I purchased a DLP television (which contains a nifty high-tech light bulb that burns out once a year and costs $250 to replace) from Circuit City. They were selling a three-year plan for like $200 to cover anything that goes wrong plus replace (I think) 3 bulbs. No brainer. The bulbs alone would cost $750, so it's worth it to spend the $200. That's the kind of calculation that needs be done when considering the purchase of a warranty / service plan like this.

Your computer is just like my DLP TV... Highly-complex, very expensive machine with replaceable components. So it's worth it to get the service plan. Not just because something might go wrong, but if you are purchasing from a solid dealer like Dell, they'll come to your house and fix it the next day. I typically recommend one of their basic 3-4 year support plans,

because computers don't have much more than a 4 year lifespan. Plans like these from a company like Dell make it completely unnecessary to suck up to the nerdy computer genius neighbor kid, because all your needs will be taken care of. Other vendors have similar plans, but Dell has almost never let me down with their service.

Introduction
Overview

The Parts of the Modern PC:
Processors | Hard Drives | Memory | Other Hardware | Software

Smart Buyers Will Also Consider:
Manufacturer (Where to Buy) | Service Plans and Warranties | Prices (What to Pay)

Conclusion:
The Final Word

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