Extended Warranties For DLP TVs
Review Date 7-12-2004
By Jack Burden
Copyright © 2004 DLPTVReview.com
All Rights Reserved.
It is natural for anyone who's investing thousands of hard-earned dollars in a high-end rear-projection DLP television to wonder whether it might be worth it to spring for an extended warranty. And to those people, I say, "Absolutely."
Here's why:
Although DLP TVs have quite low defect rates, some things can eventually go wrong. Like your tuner could malfunction … or your remote might stop working … you name it, it
could go wrong.
Extended warranties are like insurance: You buy it hoping you'll never need it, then you use it realizing you did.
Extended warranties are essentially service contracts, which protect you against exorbitant after-warranty labor/repair costs (which can be upwards of $250 per hour) and pricey parts (which can be quite high, for example, if you have to replace a DLP display's optical engine).
It really is a no-brainer, but before you get an extended warranty:
- Make sure the warranty comes from a reputable company that has demonstrated some staying power. New warranty companies seem to spring-up overnight, some of them offering too-good-to-be-true pricing plans, others just making promises they can't possibly keep (or stay in business long enough to keep). Go with a well-known warranty company, like Philips or Warrantech, both of which have been in business for more than 20 years.
- Realize that extended warranties begin after the manufacturer's warranty has ended. You can generally buy warranties in 2-, 3-, or 5-year intervals, though these warranties only go into effect after the original warranty expires. So, if your DLP TV comes with a one-year warranty from the manufacturer, and you buy a 3-year extended warranty, your television is still only covered for 3 years from its purchase date.
Note: If the manufacturer warranty does not apply to your DLP TV (because you didn't buy it from an Authorized Dealer) or becomes voided (because of misuse or outright abuse), it will not be covered by an extended warranty, either.
