Extended warranty for tivo?

[Jedi4141]

My 40 hour tivo died in Jan. (under 2 years old) so I bought an 80 hour series 2 with extended warranty from Best Buy (4 year, $30) I was unaware that most problems are hard drive related which i believe mine was. I am now going to buy a DT 80 hour and plan to upgrade it later or when the HD goes. Is buying the warranty worth it or should I save it towards the purchase of a new HD when I need it? Amazon has a great deal on the DT if I dont go to best buy and get the ext. warranty. THanks.

[bpurcell]

My personal feeling is that extended warranties on most electronic devices, appliances, and automobiles are a waste of money. First, the rate of failure within the warranty is VERY low. Second, the extended warranty is a big money maker for the stores that offer them, like Best Buy and Sears. The reason they are money makers is because so few items end up using the warranty.

I subscribe to Consumer Reports, and they have long been an advocate of not getting the extended warranty on ANY product. The only exception is the PC laptop (tends to break easily because of mobility). They haven't mentioned Tivo's in particular, but I would put them in the same range as a dvd player or a PC desktop, and they strongly suggest not getting an extended warranty for those products.

Plus remember, the Tivo costs only 99 dollars after rebate, not exactly a high end electronic price. If the warrantee costs 30 dollars, you're hedging your bets that you MIGHT one day save 69 dollars in the next four years.

[mr.unnatural]

You'd be better off getting the service contract with DTV for $7.99 per month. The policy covers all receivers on your account, not just the one unit. I've already had a standard DTivo and an HDTivo replaced under the plan so it's already paid for itself, IMHO. I believe you're locked into the plan for a minimum of 12 months and it doesn't go into effect until 30 days after you sign up. You can cancel the plan anytime after the 12 months are up. I believe that you're automatically covered under the new leasing plan, but only for those items that are leased and not owned. One of the plans also covers the dish, LNBs, multiswitches, and all wiring but I can't remember which one it is.

[funtoupgrade]

Who said anything about DirecTV? Original poster has standalone units and is looking at the new dual tuner model. There are several factors to consider. Are you comfortable reprogramming the hard drive? You cannot just buy a new drive and stick it in? If the answer is no, then the $30 extended warranty is well worth it. Another factor is the new DT is a new model which most likely will work fine for 4 years but there is no track record like on the older series twos. The final factor would be if you had either a lifetime gift certificate or grandfathered series one which would be applied to the new DT. If that were the case then the extended warranty would again be well worth the cost.

[Jedi4141]

I thank you for your input. I guess i wasnt thinking of the price of units as they are today. I spent just over $200 for the first one and was upset it didnt make two years. Amazon seems to be the way to go with free shipping and no sales tax. By the way, ebay has sellers with new programmed hard drives being sold as upgrades so programming myself would not be an issue. Thanks again.

[mr.unnatural]

Who said anything about DirecTV?
The OP mentioned DT which I misread as DTV. He never mentioned that he had a standalone Tivo which led me to believe he MAY have had a DTV model.