Does an extended warranty on my generator make sense?

[dennis thompson]

I just got an offer to extend the warranty on my whole house generator.
The generator is two years old and has another three years on the original warranty.
Obviously the generator doesn’t run very much.
$380 for 3 years and $580 for 5 years to extend the warranty.

Do you think it’s worth it?
Thanks

[Jim Becker]

If you do the normal annual maintenance, it's "unlikely" you'll have issues. That said, the Generac at our "old" property had a ten year extended warranty that was part of a promotion. Since it's an expensive thing, that was a "nice" thing to have. If I can manage to get gas in from the street here at the new place, I'll definitely be installing a whole house generator again. Whether I'll pay for extending the warranty or not I'd have to think about for a bit.

[Jerome Stanek]

I just got an offer to extend the warranty on my whole house generator.
The generator is two years old and has another three years on the original warranty.
Obviously the generator doesn’t run very much.
$380 for 3 years and $580 for 5 years to extend the warranty.

Do you think it’s worth it?
Thanks


Is that 3 years beyond the original some extended warranties start the day you purchase them so the 3 year warranty would end the same time your original one ends

[Dave Mills]

Personally I don't buy extended warranties on anything, unless I have some serious reason to believe it's likely to fail. In the case of my generator the answer would be no.

[Tom M King]

I figure that we come out ahead, in the long run, by not buying extended warranties on anything.

[Jim Matthews]

I had a LNG powered generator that was very expensive. It ran beautifully until the local line pressure dropped.

The warranty was of no use, there.

****

These are (generally) simple one cylinder motors with a generator attached. Change the oil using a manufacturer's certified tech to satisfy warranty conditions.

The likelihood of failure falls to near zero after the first 90 days, if you keep the vents clear and change the oil.

[Bob Riefer]

Years ago in (I think) Consumer Reports I read an article about extended warranties. Their advice was generally to skip them (and "protection plans") if you can be disciplined enough to have savings set aside (or available credit) in the event that a repair is ever needed.

[Mike Null]

Having spent my career in the appliance business I can tell you that extended warranty sales are the most profitable part of the business. Reason—-they’re rarely used compared to appliance unit sales. The same is true for cars.

I don’t buy them for anything!!!

[Michael Weber]

I always suspected that an extended warranty claim, unless it was a total replacement, would result in the provider supplying the least amount of and cheapest source of parts and the minimum labor effort needed. IDK that as an absolute fact as I have never purchased an extended warranty. I almost got up and left a car dealership when presented with a very aggressive effort to sell me one by the deal closer after I had agreed to purchase but not signed anything.

[Patrick Grady]

Depends. I generally decline extended warranties. However, I think house generators are finicky cats requiring special care. I am presently reviving two older generators for a neighbor -20KW Generac and 12KW Briggs- and have come to understand that they are fragile and complicated and expensive in disciplines that cross high voltage electrics, finicky electronics, and less than robust gas motors (especially in the the case of Generacs) all in the same package which is why it is difficult to find reliable expertise. Scan over some of the cases in the Generac forum and you can sympathize with some of the home owners facing hair-pulling nightmares. The forum cases also demonstrate that repair contractor (sometimes plumbing supply outfits where generator service represents minor income) expertise is spotty across the country. If you are comfortable with HVAC upkeep then maybe skip the extra warranties. But if you are among the 85% plug and play homeowners, then look into the extra warranty protection.

[Bill Dufour]

If you read this forum you probably do the required oil changes and battery checks. So I would say no

[Bruce Wrenn]

If you read this forum you probably do the required oil changes and battery checks. So I would say no


Main thing is to KEEP RECORDS. Dates,and receipts for oil and filters (photo copies as the originals will fade away quickly,) showing that you did in fact change the oil and filter on schedule. Once I had a fairly expensive lifetime part that I bought from Advance Auto. At that time they said we keep records, so you don't need to keep receipts. However, every three years, they automatically purged their system. Part fails, take it in for replacement. Took it to store where purchased. They look it up and say, that I never bought anything in their store. Remember this part is a brand only Advance sells. Come home, get copy of receipt for parts for another vehicle, then go back to store. Again, they tell me system shows I have never bought any parts from them, especially at that store. Pull out copy of receipts for parts, purchased at that store, and show it to them, proving their system to be wrong. After a short conversation with manager, had my replacement part and was on my way. That's why to this day, I don't shop at Advance unless there is no other option.

[Joe Chritz]

The math is that all extended warranties are bad buys. They have to make money or they couldn't make money selling them.

Joe

[Ole Anderson]

I generally don't buy extended warranties, just like Vegas, the house always wins in the long run. That being said I have a good friend that buys low mileage cars and always gets the extended warranty. He has made out every time. So when we bought a new 2020 Cherokee with the intent to keep it a long time we got the extended warranty. We will see how it goes. I would be happy to not have to use it.

[Bill Dufour]

I do not think Chevy won with the vega.
Bill D

[Charlie Velasquez]

The math is that all extended warranties are bad buys. They have to make money or they couldn't make money selling them.

Joe


Not necessarily. The companies run the numbers. They know what it takes to make a profit. But as Bill mentioned in his quip about Vegas, that profit is "in the long run".
But just like in Vegas, knowledge can skew the odds more in your favor.

If youdo something that affects the variables differently than what the companies have inputted, then the odds of use would change. If you know this, than you could make a decision as to whether an add on makes sense.

We purchased a new Sonata for my wife. Now, when I get a new vehicle I tend to baby it for a while. I will park in a more distant spot at the shopping center to better isolate it. My wife, on the other hand thinks the best thing about a compact is it can squeeze between cars other models could not. She tends to pick up her cappuccino and drink while she drives.
We purchased the extended care program. They detail her car on a regular basis, touch up door dings, and such. In winter I tend to scrape off any ice on the windshield completely, she kinda scrapes it off, then uses the wipers to try to get the rest. They replaced the wipers 2 months after we bought it.
Just replacing her lost key paid for the program that year.
She thinks if the speed limit in town is 35mph, then you should go that fast till you HAVE to stop. If I see the light turn yellow 200' ahead, I'll start slowing down, she would speed up if not at the speed limit, then brake hard.

The point is the company makes generic assumptions, but you have specific knowledge. The extended care program would not have made sense for a vehicle driven primarily by me; but one driven by my wife, it looked a lot more attractive.

[Jerome Stanek]

The only time I bought an extended was my first Laptop. It was over $2500 back in 1995 and I was taking it out of town when I was working. That paid for itself as Best Buy would reimburse you if they could not fix it I ended up with a new laptop every couple of years that didn't cost me anymore as the laptops kept coming down in price.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Even a blind squirrel.....

I used to shun extended an warranty.

Then - we bought an LG refrigerator from Lowes.

We were told that we could buy a water filter for 50% off - if we bought the warranty. The catch was, we had to say yes or no to the warranty right then and there.
I walked over and looked at the price of the filter - $75. so we said ok to the warranty.

Our factory warranty ran out and a month later, we lost the compressor. They replaced it last November & the new one quit in January. They replaced it a 2nd time & yep - it quit again in March - right after the shut down. Three months later we still had no refrigerator & the warranty company refunded our entire purchase price since nobody could get parts to fix it.

This was not a low end or top of the line - it was a mid level - but - not some cheap Roper or something.

We thanked our lucky stars we had been duped into taking the extended warranty..oops -forgot -I found filters online for about $11 which is why I said "duped".

[Scott Clausen]

I always decline extended warranties with one exception. I bought a Volvo from Carmax and had to take it in for some ECP valve that kept clogging. On the second replacement Volvo said the engine was sludged and no more warranty service. Carmax paid for the engine to be torn down and cleaned. They gave me a check to take over when I picked it up. It was close to $2000 if I remember it right. So being that far ahead I have never bought another one.

[Ron Selzer]

I as a rule don't buy extended warranties, however my ex-wife preferred them so on her cars we bought one each time. Paid off on a 2003 PT Cruiser over $7500 for replacing wire harness behind dash, 27 days in the shop. The other cars never came close to breaking even. In the long run we probably boke even, however the money was spread out over 17 yrs instead of that one big hit. Buy on computers and it paid on one laptop, not needed on the rest so down money in the long run.
Ron

[Tom Bender]

We need them less now. We can fix almost anything with you tube to help.