Coooleeey Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Who has one? We have one for free for the first year as part of purchasing the house through Homesure (HMS). Our washer broke (finally, the thing is literally from the late 50's), and I called in for service. Its a BS automated system that generates a claim # and gives you the number of a local service company to come out. So I call them and have to pay them up to $100 of the deductible just to come out and look at the thing. After they look they will report whether its worth it to fix or buy a new one. This whole experience so far hasn't been too much work but I'm not happy with not being able to talk to a person. Our warranty expires July 31st and I'm thinking of changing to a different company. My mortgage company just sent me an offer for American Home Shield (AMS), same coverage for $39 a month and a $55 deductible. They will automatically add the monthly cost of the warranty onto my mortgage payment which makes it a lot easier. Who does everyone use? Is it worth it in the long run? I have a newer stove, dishwasher, disposal, but an old washer/dryer, 15 yr old AC system. Age doesn't matter as long as the appliances are working when you enroll. Honestly, as a young individual I can't say I have the money laying around to fix my AC unit if it takes a solid dump...as in needs to be completely replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I bought a house last year, and the way the ones I looked at worked is they paid you essentially the "book value" for the appliance if it broke. Not the cost to buy a new one. So for example, you might bet $5.00 for your washer. We decieded not to get one because of that. If that isn't how yours works let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coooleeey Posted May 31, 2007 Author Share Posted May 31, 2007 No that isn't how ours works. A service company sends a tech, he sends the warranty company a quote for the repair work and they decide whether to get it fixed or replace the unit. Everything I have read said they repair or replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Not worth it IMO to buy one, but absolutely required of the seller if Im buying a home. The big thing is the AC. Appliances are almost all throw away items anymore (why pay 150 bucks to fix a machine you can replace new for 400?). But the AC can get pricey. I pay an annual service contract with an AC company and have a partial pay if the whole thing goes kaput. Maybe that would be a better option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raub Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 We had a warranty with American Home Shield on our last house. Only experience I had with it was when our hot water heater burst. The customer service was pretty decent. This happened on a Friday night and we had a new water heater the next day. Think we had to pay like $80 out of pocket. I was satisfied. :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coooleeey Posted May 31, 2007 Author Share Posted May 31, 2007 I pay an annual service contract with an AC company and have a partial pay if the whole thing goes kaput. Maybe that would be a better option. How much does something like that run you, if you don't mind me asking? This might work best since we would like to have our system serviced every year. I have solar water, natural gas heat, nat gas dryer, and those things seem to be a little more to fix/replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coooleeey Posted May 31, 2007 Author Share Posted May 31, 2007 We had a warranty with American Home Shield on our last house. Only experience I had with it was when our hot water heater burst. The customer service was pretty decent. This happened on a Friday night and we had a new water heater the next day. Think we had to pay like $80 out of pocket. I was satisfied. :2cents: That is awesome. Thats pretty much what I'm looking to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 How much does something like that run you, if you don't mind me asking? This might work best since we would like to have our system serviced every year.I have solar water, natural gas heat, nat gas dryer, and those things seem to be a little more to fix/replace. Not for sure, but I think it's around 300 bucs a year. It does NOT cover maintenance, only annual service and total failure. IE, last summer I had a corroded connection in the compressor and had to pay for it's repair. But if the entire compressor or air handler goes, I have some coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 It is all about piece of mind. I use the 2-10 warranty pay $315 a year or so and it covers almost anything so if you feel you will have to do over $500 of repairs a year it is worth it. Like someone mentioned the great thing about this warranty is if they can't fix lets say the appliance they replace it for free In our rental home we had the plumbing from the main bathroom backup over the kitchen and put a nice hole in the ceiling, we just paid our $85 dollar fee for the tech to come out and it was done. Had we not had the warranty that could have run a lot more then just $500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMK9973 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I had AHS in Annapolis. AC died on the hottest day of the year. Customer service was slow, same thing as what you went through, took 2 days for the guy to come out and determine we needed a new one, 5 days to get a new one, 2 more days to get it installed. HOWEVER - It would have cost me $1200, instead it cost me $100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 How much does something like that run you, if you don't mind me asking? This might work best since we would like to have our system serviced every year.I have solar water, natural gas heat, nat gas dryer, and those things seem to be a little more to fix/replace. Where I live, we paid $90 for the year for BGE to service our Gas Furnace. If it breaks, they replace it for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. S Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 i think we have AHS as well, a 55$ deductible is all we usually have to pay. They replaced the dishwasher in our old house. It was an ordeal coordinating it all, but as opposed to 400$, it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I'm of the mind that one should never insure anything that can be paid for out of pocket in the worst case scenario. Mathematically, the insurance company is making money on the deal, so obviously on average a customer will pay in more than the company pays out. In the case of health insurance, I have it because while it's technically a bad bet, if I did need expensive surgery, I wouldn't be able to afford it. Likewise car and homeowner's insurance. That's it for me, though. If my air conditioner were to break, I could afford to replace it. I self-insure. If a person can't afford it, a policy might make sense. I never buy extended warranties for this reason. There's a reason companies push them so hard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coooleeey Posted May 31, 2007 Author Share Posted May 31, 2007 I understand mathematically they are making money but that only makes sense, how else would they stay in business. I should also point out that the A1 Service, who they referred me to, wanted to come up same day or next day but I am not available until Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 It is absolutely worth it for the first year of home ownership, especially if you are buying an older home. Once you have lived in the house and know what works and what doesn't, and have repaired what doesn't, then it is no longer a cost effective purchase. Then they are just milking you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 It is absolutely worth it for the first year of home ownership, especially if you are buying an older home.Once you have lived in the house and know what works and what doesn't, and have repaired what doesn't, then it is no longer a cost effective purchase. Then they are just milking you. Precicely why that should be an absolute for anyone buying a home. Make the seller provide it. If they refuse, I'd start to wonder what was wrong with things not disclosed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I understand mathematically they are making money but that only makes sense, how else would they stay in business. Well, see, that's the thing. From a purely economic standpoint, that means that the expected value of the insurance is going to be less than the amount one pays in. Will enough things go wrong to make the policy valuable? It's a gamble, and one the homeowner loses more often than wins, or the insurance company would go out of business. I don't see many insurance agencies going out of business. Of course, for some, there is value to the peace of mind having such a policy can bring. If these people attach enough value that peace of mind, then buying such a policy makes sense. Or, as I noted, the other time insurance makes sense is when one cannot easily (or at all) pay the price incurred if something goes wrong (like heart surgery, or accidentally running over a pedestrian, or having the house burn down). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coooleeey Posted May 31, 2007 Author Share Posted May 31, 2007 Well I'm looking at older appliances including my solar system so spending $468 a year for a year or two may be worth it in the long run. Everything worked fine for a while. My dryer stopped igniting for a while but I was able to tinker with that, and now the washer. I plan on making my final decision after I have a washer again. Hopefully they just replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Well, see, that's the thing. From a purely economic standpoint, that means that the expected value of the insurance is going to be less than the amount one pays in. Will enough things go wrong to make the policy valuable? It's a gamble, and one the homeowner loses more often than wins, or the insurance company would go out of business. I don't see many insurance agencies going out of business. Of course, for some, there is value to the peace of mind having such a policy can bring. If these people attach enough value that peace of mind, then buying such a policy makes sense. Or, as I noted, the other time insurance makes sense is when one cannot easily (or at all) pay the price incurred if something goes wrong (like heart surgery, or accidentally running over a pedestrian, or having the house burn down). Or it makes sense when you lack sufficient information to make a reasoned judgment (ie when you first move in to a new house) and stops making sense after you have that information (you have used all the appliances for a while and they all work). The profit for the insurance company in this scenario is in the later years. I suspect they may even take a financial hit in the first year of coverage, on average. They sure did for me. I got a new water heater, new garbage disposal and a moderate plumbing overhaul that first year I had mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coooleeey Posted June 3, 2007 Author Share Posted June 3, 2007 I haven't decided on extending my warranty but things went well yesterday with HMS, my current warranty company. The service people said it isn't worth fixing the washing machine since its over 40 years old. Hopefully by the end of this week I have a new unit at the house. WORD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief skin Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 HAD HOMESHIELD they sucked for us, even the guy they contracted to send out to me says this is not covered and I said those whats new those pricks at homeshield don't cover squat, he said yeah I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoc4454 Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Coooleeey, I was a home inspector for over 15 years, did over 4000 inspections, and Kilmer 17 and Perdicto have really nailed it. Home warrentys are great when you get your house, but after the first year aren't cost effective. Contact any local HVAC firm and they'll be happy to give you a service warrenty. At over $300.00 per year you can replace almost every appliance in your house in 3 to 4 years. The Insurance companies have figured this out - and they seldom lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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