We did a case study in business school; extended warranties are a huge cash cow for corporations. Especially in electronics, where the gadget is pretty much guaranteed to be obsolete by the time you need the warranty, ever since then I refuse to throw my money away on them! But back in the day I did get talked into purchasing one for not only my portable walkman but my boom box as well.... Did I ever use them? ....SMH

 

I never add extended warranties on inexpensive items but when I can have more peace of mind for a small fraction of the cost of the item and for far less than a major repair bill I will usually just add the warranty. I have had many circumstances where I have used the extended warranties so I guess I am not one of the lucky ones that buys stuff that never breaks. Just within the past 3 months I have used my G ext. warranty to the tune of $525 and I still have several years to go so I'm certain it will be utilized. I do calculate the cost of the warranties and refuse to be ripped off by the ones where they try to charge you 25-30% of the cost of the item, usually if the warranty is 10% or less I add it (but only on larger purchases or something that might get dropped and broken like an ipod touch or a laptop). Over-all I have saved more on repairs than what I have spent on ext. warranties over the years so as long as I stay in the black I'll keep the same logic.

Jason