Ge Extended Warranty

New appliances have some new surprises for consumers: Plain Dealing

When it comes to manufacturers' warranties, they don't make 'em like they used to.

Kate Kalas of Parma paid close to $900 for a Whirlpool washer in fall 2008. Earlier this year, when the machine developed a bearing problem that would cost an estimated $600 to repair, the company told her she was on her own: The manufacturer's warranty expired after a year.

"One-year parts and labor has become standard," said Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, Consumer Reports' deputy home editor. A few manufacturers of high-end appliances still offer longer warranties, and some manufacturers will offer a longer warranty on an expensive part, like a refrigerator compressor, but those are exceptions to the rule, Lehrman said.

The lean warranties come at a bad time for consumers, especially those who are living on tighter budgets. Appliances tend to have more electronic gadgetry, meaning repairs can be pricey. To get the length of warranty coverage consumers used to receive when buying a well-known brand, consumers are encouraged to buy an extended service plan from the manufacturer or seller, which can add hundreds of dollars to the purchase price.

Jeanette Burnett, who outfitted the kitchen of her home in Burton with GE appliances, said she was vexed to find when a control panel broke for the second time that her 4-year-old GE oven only came with a one-year warranty.

"I have called so many times and always get a lady who just says I should buy the (extended) warranty," said Burnett.

Although GE offered Burnett a replacement part and Whirlpool made the expensive repairs for Kalas at nominal cost after Plain Dealing called on their behalf, both manufacturers made it clear the adjustments were a courtesy.

A Whirlpool spokeswoman noted, "If the customer had an active Whirlpool service plan, it would cover functional failures and this failure would have been paid for completely."

But extended service plans, which can be sold by manufacturers, retailers or third-party providers, are a gamble -- a good bet if you need an expensive repair that's covered, a losing one if your pricey repair slides through one of the loopholes.

Bumper to Bumper Auto Warranty Costs More, Offers More

If you’re in the market for a new car, you might have heard that your dream car has a bumper to bumper auto warranty . It’s one of those catch phrases that have become so common that we do not even stop to consider them anymore. What exactly is covered by a bumper to bumper warranty, and what other warranty options exist? Is bumper to bumper the best choice in every situation?

For the most part, yes, it’s the best choice. A bumper to bumper coverage plan for an extended warranty is going to cover you, no matter what problems may arise. This means that any failure of a part, due to a fault in production or installation will be covered, and the repairs or replacement costs won’t come out of your pocket. Unfortunately, what will come out of your pocket are the higher costs of a bumper to bumper extended warranty. These policies tend to cost more than plans that cover less of your car .

This may easily be significant piece of this particular subject. One of those cheaper plans is the powertrain – only version of an extended warranty. This plan would only cover faults and mechanical breakdowns in the power train of your vehicle – mainly, the engine and the transmission. Some people will purchase this plan because they feel that the most expensive repairs on a vehicle will be these parts, and any other failure will be cheaper to repair by itself than to pay the extra fees for more coverage in the extended warranty. This is often correct, but there are other parts of the vehicle that can fail, and lead to very costly repairs. Should that worst-case scenario play itself out, you would be on the hook for the extra costs.

In California is an extended auto warranty extended one day for each day the car is in service? I purchased an extended warranty when I purchased my minivan in 2001. It expired a week ago and I brought it in to be serviced today for another problem and the technician said he found 2 additional problems that will cost 1,000 to repair (motor mount and shocks). My car has been in service for a total of more than a week since I purchased it in 2001. Under California law, are extended warranties automatically extended by the number of days that a car is in service (overnight)? Thank you for any insight you can provide.

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