I know there is a lot of scepticism out there with regards to extended warranties, and I was one of those who thought it was a waste of money. I never bothered with an extended warranty with my very first GPS which was a Navman ICN 510 bought from Dick Smiths (Australia) back in November 2004 for $988!!!!! Can you believe I paid this much?
However, my conscience got the better of me when I purchased my second GPS, a TomTom GO730, as Navman were no longer supporting the ICN 510 for map updates.
Within the first 12 months, the battery on my GO730 was only lasting about half an hour; so back to TomTom it went. Much to my disappointment, I was given a refurbished GO730 as a replacement as some circuit had gone in the device.
Thankfully I had taken out a three year extended warranty valued at $79.00 AUD as the screen on this 'refurbished' GO730 went during a recent road trip. Two weeks after submitted it to the authorised repairer, I was told that to replace the screen is going to cost $350.00 and that the warranty company had authorised the repairer to go ahead with the repair. I had priced new units equivalent to the GO730, and they were cheaper. I phoned the extended warranty company up requesting an explanation as to why this decision was made. The customer service person came around to my thinking and organised a replacement.
I now have a brand new GO750 and although it was nowhere near the cost of my initial GO730, I can now start again. The remaining two years on my warranty now gets cancels due to the exchange. I have taken a further extension out on my GO750, just in case.
Some may argue that these extended warranties are not worth the money. However, in my case my GO750 has only cost me $79.00 AUD.
As a final note, having my new GO750 with all the wonderful POI's available on this web site makes it a great unit.
Extended warranties not required but can save hassle
By Australian consumer law, if a goods purchased fails inside a "reasonable period" of expected life, the seller is required to repair or replace the goods, regadless of the warrant period.
The only flaw in this is that if the seller doesn't agree, the issue must be taken to the Fair Trading Commission and a decision sought. So yes, extended warranties are not realy selling you anything you don't already have by law, but they can reduce hassle.
Re: Extended warranties not required but can save hassle
I wonder if extended warranty covers the poor battery performance seems to be the case with the TomToms. I'd take it out straight away if that's the case but I very much doubt it
Extended Warranty worth it, at least for me
