Question On Protection Plan

[jvstrat]

I've only had Direct TV with tivo for three months and I love it. I had opted on sign up to get the protection plan for $7.99 per month. I'm wondering if it's worth it, or should I cancel? I'm just curious about how many of you have the plan and if you guys think the equipment is pretty reliable. I just figured it's costing me $95.00 a year and if nothing goes wrong for 4 years then I've shelled out almost $400.00 for nothing. I'm interested in hearing your opinions. Thanks.

 

[slacker9876]

Generally speaking extended warranties and protection plans are not a good value. these monies usually end up in the bottom line as pure profit. I do not have the plan. and when family asks I do not recommend it to them either.

I do have a Monster Power phase II power-cleaner though, so even if my equipment was damaged it is covered by them by default. Plus this is only for power related failures too. All I am saying here is good, clean power, extends the life of most electronics.

 

[minorthr]

I have it. For tivos it was worth a lot more when they were $200 a piece. I think its worth depends on your situation. Some people may be on a budget and having to pay $80 to replace the receiver is not an option so the $7.99 is worth it to them. On my account I have 2 Tivos and 2 hd receivers so the $7.99 I pay, to me far out ways the $299+ it would cost to replace the HD receivers. I would highly recommend it if you have the HD Tivo as it cost $1000 to replace. Also don't forget it also covers the dish and multi switch as well.

 

[slacker9876]

I have it. For tivos it was worth a lot more when they were $200 a piece. I think its worth depends on your situation. Some people may be on a budget and having to pay $80 to replace the receiver is not an option so the $7.99 is worth it to them. On my account I have 2 Tivos and 2 hd receivers so the $7.99 I pay, to me far out ways the $299+ it would cost to replace the HD receivers. I would highly recommend it if you have the HD Tivo as it cost $1000 to replace. Also don't forget it also covers the dish and multi switch as well.

The HD Tivo is the one receiver I would also want protection on, just not DirecTV's plan. You figure a 4 year useful life from this box, it would cost $383.52 over that period. Most retailers like CC and BB would offer a 5-year plan for $199. The other good place to get this protection is from your VISA, like my platinum card offers triple Mfg Warranty. I have never had to collect on this but I doubt it would be as easy as purchasing a contract from CC or BB. Now if you do buy this from D*, CC or BB ... and don't use it, damn that sucks.

The only protection plan I have ever purchased was for my Samsung HCL552W TV. I was given a $700.00 on the TV provided I purchased this plan. So far SoundTrack has been out to service my TV 6 times, 4 of which were under the service plan, and I have yet another call scheduled. If they don't fix it this time, I'll b getting a new RPTV at no charge!

In summary, the only real good reason to buy ANY extra protection services if if you feel you cannot afford to replace the equipment if it is permanently damaged after the factory warranty expires. This is because the cost of such a plan is usually a minimum of 10% of the value of the device. That is why the warranty companies make money ... the retailer sells 50 of product "X", 5 people purchase the plan, 1 unit gets replaced. You can see how this works.