Are Extended Warranties Worth It?
With standard warranties dwindling, you need to decide whether to pay for coverage you used to get for free. Our survey of 2000 readers reveals some surprising data about extended plans.
By Alan Stafford
Survey Results: Most Buyers Glad They Bought Extended Warranties
Of the people we surveyed who have purchased extended warranties, most are happy with them. The stores cited in the survey repaired devices at a comparable rate--38 percent on average. Best Buy was likelier to replace faulty devices with new ones.
| Company | If device replaced, received new/refurbished unit | Problem was resolved in less than 1 day | Average time to resolve a problem | Extremely satisified with extended warranty service | Glad to have purchased an extended warranty |
| Best Buy | 47%/3% | 22% | 13.4 days | 24% | 74% |
| Circuit City | 34%/15% | 22% | 10.4 days | 26% | 77% |
| Dell | 38%/9% | 10% | 6.4 days | 33% | 87% |
| Average1 | 43%/7% | 17% | 9.7 days | 31% | 71%
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| CHART NOTES: Green denotes best score; red denotes worst score. Source: Survey of 2031 PC World readers from January 17, 2006, to January 29, 2006. Footnote:
1 Averages include responses for all stores cited, not just the ones listed here. |
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