Is warranty worth it?

[Coitis1]

i bought a $100 cd payer from best buy. for $40 they offer a 4 year warranty. i was told that after about 1-2 years, depending on the model, the cd player will need a laser alignment and that it would cost about $60 to send it in to the manufacturer and have i corrected. i'm still wondering if i should buy this. i can still go back and get the warranty 10 days after purchase. have u guys got warranties on ur cd players? is it a good idea to go for it? thanks

[dXsquared]

i have had my cd player for a few years and i didnt need a laser alignment... maybe cuz my HU was 300 bucks not 100... i dunno... just get a 140 dollar headunit if you have ther cash... A cheap HU is like a slow engine

Travis

[89AccordNate]

A laser alignment? What the hell!! I Had my cd player in my car for years and it never had anything like that. Thats bullshit.

Read in your owners manual and see if it says anything like that. Thats a quest to get more $$ out of you.

Nate.

[Coitis1]

he said that thats what causes the skipping, and ironically enough a girl called up there and had that problem with a HU she's had for 2 years while i was up there.

[87DXHatch]

Nate's right... there's no "laser alignment"... pure bull $hit. You really don't need the warranty that much... unless you're planning on taking it in and out repeatedly for some reason.

Unless you're using the headunits internal amp, the sound quality out of just about ANY headunit is exactly the same. So the only reason to buy a more expensive one over a cheap one is for features, skip protection, and reliability.

[87DXHatch]

Skipping is caused by a number of things:

1) the Headunit might not be securely installed, and it bangs around causing it to skip.

2) the headunit is a low-quality one that doesn't have very good skip protection

3) dust can get into the CD player, causing poor performance... I think that's what he meant by "laser alignment"... they probably send it in to be cleaned.

[shepherd79]

if you are paying $100 for a HU than warranty is not worth to get it.
if you gonna get something in $300 and up range than it is worth getting some kind extra warranty.

[89AccordNate]

Warranty against theft or breakage is all I would get...laser alignment only? Yeah right..your wasting your cash.

Nate.

[87accordlxi]

i hate going to best buy because all they do is push those damn service plans. all it is is money going right in their pocket. my lastes experience:

i bought a pair of sony floorstanding home speakers.

salesguy: do you want to purchase the service plan for $40?
me: no thanks
salesguy: why not?
me: because im not stupid and i wont blow my speakers (getting irritated)
salesguy: but in 4 years, you can just blow them on purpose and then bring them back in and you'll get a brand new pair
me: (pissed :mad: ) i said NO THANKS. and i have more respect for my stereo equipment than to do something like that

i havent purchased any more big-ticket items from besy buy since

[XPAIN]

I got my 1000W amp. fron Best Buy. and i have the warranty ,
i paid $489 for that amp... if i blow my amp, i get a new amp...

so... i can beat to max power... whitout think about my amp...

also i have the stereo , Sirilus antena, and speakers whit the warranty

[Mike's89AccordLX]

I got a warrenty with mine and like 3 months after buying it the deck got fried and I got a new one for free.

[Bobs89LXi]

All CD players eventually will require laser alignment. It is a mechanical device. Things get "sloppy" with age and especially with vibration. However, unless you are driving on potholes everyday, there is no way the alignment will drift enough to require re-alignment within 1 to 2 years. I would not get an extended warranty, since most top name manufacturers have decent ones. If it were me, I wouldn't worry about it on a $100 head unit. It would be cheaper to replace it than to fix it.

[catalin]

Well here's my two cents...

If you're going to purchase any kind of product, be it electronics or clothing, or whatever. You want that item to perform properly and to last you a decent amount of time.... at least I know I do. If I purchase an electronic item and the damn thing blows up a couple of days after the manufacturers warranty expires I would be really pissed off. A service plan protects you against this, think of it as a piece of mind insurance... type thingie. :)

It's a great idea to purchase the service plan if you're going to keep your product for a while. Also if you sell that item in the time that the plan is valid, it will fetch you a better price. If it gets stolen out of your car, it's almost always transferrable to the new item.
Also something you should think about, is... This CD player that you bought is not going to be something that you put on a shelf in your home. Meaning it will be exposed to the elements in the car, it's going to experience humidity, condensation, and vibrations. The chances are high that it will malfunction sooner or later. That service plan will eventually come in handy one day...

Should you buy it for a $100 deck?? Sure if it's 10% or maybe 15% of the price, but I wouldn't if it's as much as 40%. That's a little too high to justify it.

[Cobraman15]

i got my stuff from best buy if the hu starts skipping just say its broken and call in the warranty and get a new model when it breaks i have the warranty incase my stereo gets jacked. unfortunately it only covers my speakers and my hu not my sub and amp

[AccordEpicenter]

For a $100 player it aint worth it. If you had say a $600-1000 deck than maybe. If it breaks buy a new one or send it to me, im a repair tech. What brand of player did you get? Ive worked on almost every major brand and so far the most reliable and most worth the money decks seem to be Pioneer and Alpine.

[86hatchbackLXi]

best buy always tries to sell that crap, imo its not worth it

[importracerkid]

If It ever breaks throw the damn thing thru best buys, FRIGGIN window and run like hell, Its only worth it on speakers anyway, thats just my personal opnion though :)

[AZmike]

I work at Best Buy (technican, not sales) and am very familiar with the service plans. It costs the store less than $7 dollars each. That other $33 is pure profit (which is why they push them so hard). They make as much profit off a $40 service plan as a $200 television. You're statistically much better off taking your chances and either paying for a repair or replacing the broken component. ...and that guy that said you get new speakers if you break them is lying. Most speakers are repaired rather than replaced (not that he would know that, since most of the sales people are morons).

[AccordEpicenter]

I remember best buy used to be able to exchange speakers if you blew them up... do they still do that?

[AZmike]

The manuafacturer of each product decides whether the store will replace it (exchange) or repair it. Shelf systems and car stereo speakers are usually replaced. The home theater stuff is usually repaired.

[Coitis1]

lol, i was suprised to see this thread still up. i didn't get the warranty, matter of a fact, i went back the next week and exchanged that cd player for a 6 disc cd changer b/c it finally went on sale. i'm actually glad i did that for many reasons. one of them being that just 2 weeks ago i saw the same cd player in the best buy ad for $70, instead of the $95 that i originally paid.

[catalin]

Originally posted by Coitis1
lol, i was suprised to see this thread still up. i didn't get the warranty, matter of a fact, i went back the next week and exchanged that cd player for a 6 disc cd changer b/c it finally went on sale. i'm actually glad i did that for many reasons. one of them being that just 2 weeks ago i saw the same cd player in the best buy ad for $70, instead of the $95 that i originally paid.

Doesn't Best buy offer price protection for 30days after the sale of the product?? I'm pretty sure that if you find the same product elsewhere or even at Best Buy, at a lower price then they will refund you the difference.