Appliance Breakdown Cover - a waste of money?

[Bugledog]

Apologies if this has been dealt with before, but do all you experienced Landlords have breakdown cover/insurance on the white goods you provide?

Is it really worth spending £70 for a 3 year cover on a new washing machine, and a similar amount on a fridge freezer, or are the appliance insurance policies an expensive waste of money?:confused:

Many thanks!

[mind the gap]

Apologies if this has been dealt with before, but do all you experienced Landlords have breakdown cover/insurance on the white goods you provide?

Is it really worth spending £70 for a 3 year cover on a new washing machine, and a similar amount on a fridge freezer, or are the appliance insurance policies an expensive waste of money?:confused:

Many thanks!

I think it is probably a waste of money since you are effectively paying £70 for two -or possibly only one - years' extra cover (the first year after purchase at least being covered by the manufacturer's warranty).

Plus, the insurers are very skilled at finding reasons not to pay out, or they restrict the things they will pay out on (usually the things which most often fail). If there is any suspicion that the fault may have been caused by the user, they may well not pay. Example : a hairgrip left in a pocket of an item of clothing in a washing machine got stuck in the drum. Insurer came and mended it, but charged LL as it was 'the user's fault'. More typically, some tenants do not keep the filters clean on washing machines/dishwashers then wonder why they block and break down.

Finally, some guarantees are invalidated if the appliance is in a rental property.

Consider buying decent quality appliances in the first place and instead of paying for insurance, putting the money aside to replace them when they die. In my experience fridges and freezers very rarely go wrong; washer-dryers are the worst, followed by washing machines and dishwashers.

[jeffrey]

Extended warranties are a rip-off. Do not buy.
Better:
1. Use credit card for appliance purchases. The card company is liable, within certain financial parameters, as well as the vendor.
2. Consider an all-appliances insurance policy, either alone or as an option on your contents policy.

[Bugledog]

Many thanks for your sage words of advice.

[GJMSurrey]

The year guarantees are simply something manufacturers offer. Statuatory rights cite that a product should be fit for purposes (and last a reasonable time).

What is reasonable: if you buy a £5 toaster then you would not expect a repair or refund after 3 years.

However, if you buy an expensive cooker/washing machine/insert item here then in theory - and by law - the manufacturer should fix/refund the item in year 2 or 3 even

Many do, when pushed, but it's a bit of a game.

Anyone else try this? (might be interesting to post to see if anybody does this)

[mind the gap]

IKEA appliances now come with a 5 or even 10 year guarantnee as standard and replaced a one-year guaranteed faulty dishwasher without question after 18 months.

[jta]

Interesting thread this. I bought a plasma tv about five years ago here in Spain, it went pop just after two years, out of guarantee of course. I went back to the shop that sold it to me and asked them to recommend a repairer, long story short, it had had it. When I went back to the shop, they investigated and found the manufacturer had gone bust. They eventually refunded the entire cost of the screen, the reason being there is some obscure law here that says spares for anything you buy must be available for five years at least. That was a nice surprise, For the sum I got back I got a top of the range Sony Brava LCD 42" screen, and a dishwasher, and a Sony DVD recorder player, and still collected 40 Euros at the till to take away.

:D

[mind the gap]

For the sum I got back I got a top of the range Sony Brava LCD 42" screen, and a dishwasher, and a Sony DVD recorder player, and still collected 40 Euros at the till to take away.



:rolleyes:And there was I thinking you were ascetically inclined.

You old materialist!

[semiproinvestorTim]

I'm generally a bit upset that you only get 2 years warranty as standard in the UK - you'd think that if they were confident of the quality of their workmanship they would expect it to last 5 or so years! (I'm just bitter because everything I buy breaks after 731 days...)

[westminster]

I would get an extended warranty if I bought a prone-to-failure appliance such as a washing machine from John Lewis, as their customer service is very good and they don't try to wriggle out of liability.