BeverlyBrongersma.com

I don’t know how many times when offered the additional warrantly plan offered by a store I thought…. I don’t need this. But, I’m a sucker for safety.

And I’ve needed it 9 out of 10 times. You want to know why? Because nothing is made like it used to be. I mean really… why bust your butt on quality when the consumer will purchase it regardless. And in the name of America they will buy it again as soon as a better one comes out.

My XBOX 360 got the red ring of death 3 times. Or should I say 3 out of the four XBOX 360’s that were replaced with the extended service plan offered by Best Buy.

My 52″ DLP TV busted a bulb in a little over a year.

Smartphone stopped working properly.

And most recently my HP Pavilion laptop of less than a year blew the harddrive.  Exactly one year to the day of my initial purchase the damn thing died on me. What are the chances that it would happen the day the one year manufacturer warranty expired. Seriously?!

It was under “repair” for two weeks with HP. But, Best Buy issued me a new one. Or should I say a newer one. Eveything was better than my initial laptop. 2GB of Ram is now 4GB. 160 GB drive is now 320GB. 32 bit OS is now 64 bit…. you get the picture.

There are certain items I would say are pointless to buy the extended plan such as a DVD player. Anything where the cost of the plan is more than half of the purchase price… As a rule, I don’t buy the plan. Most of these items have a 30 day guarantee by the store or some form of a manufacturer’s guarantee. This should be sufficient.

What is your experience in this area? Any suggestions? Any particular retailers better than others? I happen to prefer Best Buy…