Pinch_Me,
You and I are at so much the same place with our remodels! Yes. You should. I never used to get extended warranties, but with electronic stuff, you never know. It's just over $70 per year or the 5 year one. That's less than one service call just to look at it. That's my thought anyway. I'm not going to get one for my bluestar as it's simple. I did for ka dishwasher and will for electrolux wall ovens.
Lisa

I knew I had read similar advice somewhere on here and for the reason you say. As if the darn things aren't expensive enough, I have to add a few hundred more to the total! BUT a service call would not be fun. And with my luck, nothing bad will happen if I buy one so it will be good insurance. I really don't want to committ yet......the remodel bills are just getting started! I hadn't planned on the induction, my appliances are only a couple years old. That's what happens when you hang out here. I didn't know what an induction was until i saw it here. If only I could look into my crystal ball to know what deals Sears will have after the first of the year. AND if there will ever be a white one.

I just bought a berghoff induction portable 1600 watts - the highest I've ever seen for a plug in from overstock for 139. i'm gonna try it, too, lol. i'll use it during the remodel. then maybe I'll wish I'd chosen induction, lol. no, i LOVE my griddle.
Lisa

pinch_me - service calls aren't fun whether they're covered by an extended warranty or not :-). It's only $70 a year and if you need a service call every year then you're ahead. But, it's $379 and if you only need one service call during those five years, then you're probably not ahead. Personally, I'd take the money that you could have spent on extended warranties for all your appliances and put it into a fund for repairs - most likely you'll come out ahead. If you'll really feel more secure buying an extended warranty, find out who it's from - often it's not the manufacturer or the dealer. If it's from a 3rd party, you're stuck having them do the service and if they go out of business you're out of luck.

I wonder what a typical service call is for an induction... That's the only warranty I would have. I've never bought them before. If the company has so little faith in their product that they want you to buy a warranty, then I don't have any faith in their product either. If one service call would be more than $379, then maybe I should buy one. I "assumed" Kenmore would be serviced by the Sears repair guy?? or do they call the local appliance repair person and have them do it? If that is the case, I'm SOL. I haven't found anyone not on this forum who even knows what induction is. The guy at Best Buy said they don't make them. When I told him BB sells Samsung for less than $1700, he said he'd see if there was anything on the computer. Well, never mind. I know where I can get one. The sales people don't even know what they are or if their store carries them! I talked to a woman at one Sears who knew a lot; I talked to two other sales people at another Sears who had no idea and thought I wanted convection. I still haven't seen a Samsung in person. I didn't care for the burner placement on the GE or the Kenmore freestanding. I WANT the built in Kenmore for a THOUSAND dollars more than the next cheapest of any brand. What's wrong with this picture? Added to the fact that I don't even need to replace my 2 year old stove.

If the company has so little faith in their product that they want you to buy a warranty, then I don't have any faith in their product either.

Service contracts tend to be a huge margin item for the stores. They generally sell the services of an outside vendor -- not extend the manufacturer's warranty. Salesmen often get "spiffs" (cash kickbacks) from selling them.

I "assumed" Kenmore would be serviced by the Sears repair guy?? or do they call the local appliance repair person and have them do it?

You'll have to read the fine print -- sometimes it is only a specific servicer, and you have absolutely no choice. From what I've anecdotally heard about Sears service, that might not be so bad...

Neither of these things makes these kinds of contracts "bad" -- Just know what you are buying and make a reasonable decision based on your needs related to quality and timing of service, as well as your present and future cash flow.

Personally, I seldom think they are worthwhile. However, with an electronics-rich product that is relatively new, it might be a better-than-normal bet to place.

as sjeff said, it's not usually the manufacturer pushing the extended warranty it's the salesman (although I did get mailings from KA offering to extend the manufacturer's warranty on some of my appliances.) Who makes the Kenmore induction cooktop you're interested in? Kenmore isn't a manufacturer - it's just a rebranding. I'd find out the manufacturer and contact them to see who they have servicing them in your area.

"Kenmore isn't a manufacturer - it's just a rebranding. I'd find out the manufacturer and contact them to see who they have servicing them in your area."

This isn't true in the strictest sense. While Kenmore (Sears) doesn't make them in their own factories, they do contract to have them made for them. Sometimes, the model and its exact set of features are exclusive to Sears. In all cases I am familiar with, Sears acts as the manufacturer in all warranty and recall matters. A lot of "manufacturers" contract out the actual manufacture of their products.

In other words, the "real" manufacturer does not warranty the Kenmore product -- Sears does.

Real manufacturer's extended warranties (inlcuding, I believe, Sears/Kenmore) are actual extensions of the warranty. Third party service contracts are almost always insurance policies with lots of up front end costs that the insurers can't recover. That means that in order to break even, let alone make a profit, they have to pay out far less on average than the cost of policy.

The real manufacturer can come out ahead just by breaking even. Consumers whose products are repaired under an extended warranty are a much better advertisement than consumers whose products fail and requre an out of pocket service call. .

I never buy service contracts. I might buy an extended warranty on an electronic device, if the price was reasonable. Mostly I take my chances. In the end, not paying for insurance if you can self insure is almost always cheaper.

I seldom buy extended warranties but I bought a 5-year warranty on my induction because of the electronics associated with induction. $379 sounds high for 5 years. In comparison, for my Miele induction warranty I paid $249 (1 year regular warranty, 2nd year is covered if installed by Miele technician, +3 additional years). The warranty is with the retail store but I could have bought a warranty through Miele for about the same price. For $379, I'd be tempted to do as others say and keep the money in a reserve for any service calls in the future.

Consumer Reports says you don't need and extended warranty. Like Weissman said, just take the money you'd spend and stash it into a 'repair fund' and you'll come out way ahead.

Here's the Consumer Reports story on these wasteful warranties.

Here is a link that might be useful: Why you do not need an extended warranty.

OK ;-) No warranty! I can sure use that money somewhere else. This was a really great discussion.

I think it really depends on the circumstances. I just bought a Miele DW and paid $160 for an extended warranty. Service calls are expensive out here in the boondocks, and just one problem would be more than $160. IMHO, this warranty is a good investment in my situation. I'll never buy another refrigerator without an ext warranty either.

However, I did NOT pay $79 for an ext warranty on the $129 countertop microwave I just bought. How ridiculous was that offer???

pinch...my range hood is being installed on Wed, and DW on Friday. I decided to hold off on the induction range for now. I want a black one with a double oven. I really think if we wait a year or two there will be models with more colors/options available.

warmfridge - the $79 ext warranty on a $129 MW is ridiculous but I have a story that will beat that one...

I understand that appliance stores make a lot of money on warranties. We bought all new appliances for our renovation and when we ordered them, the salesman printed out the sales order that listed the appliances and the warranties (protection plans) for each of the appliances. He said we could decide during the installation if we wanted the warranties or not. Would you believe that someone had erroneously listed a warranty on the microwave trim kit? I think it was for $159. They must have glanced at the manufacturer and the price but didn't take the time to notice that it was a trim kit.

Needless to say, we made them aware of their blunder. Of the 7 appliances, we bought 2 warranties (induction and refrigerator).

warmfridge, Can't wait to hear about the hood. I baked turkey and then pressure cooked the bones ALL weekend. Even with my old hood going full blast the whole time, it stinks in here! (Got a good picture of my Golden with her chin on the 6 gal. bucket of turkey while I was getting freezer bags ready.) I would like to order the hood in December. It spreads the money out a little. That way the kitchen doesn't cost so much ;-)
I know that waiting on the induction is the smart thing to do. But I WANT it! Hopefully my new kitchen will satisfy me for a while and then summer will be here. I won't be back in the house until sometime in October. Maybe by then there will be more choices? Or if that slide in Kenmore would be on a super sale for $1999 like I missed the first time, I might do it anyway. I WISH I WAS DONE!!

Hmmm...popular opinion here says to disregard CR when it comes to picking appliances, as 'their testing is flawed/biased/suspect.' But we're to believe them when they say that extended warranties are pointless?

Had I bought an extended warranty for my 5 yr old Kenmore/WP gas range, I wouldn't have had to pay even once for the $430 cost to replace the circuit board...let alone twice in six months, which ended up happening in 2008.

And guess what? Last week I was on a marathon all-day baking session, and right in the middle of it, the oven thought it was on...but it wasn't. Everything read as "on", heated to 375 degrees - but the sweet potatoes were cooling down, still raw, on the baking sheet.

Luckily for my guests and the prime rib roast that was waiting to be cooked, I 'kicked' the oven to 425-degrees and it woke up again. Fortunately I had some time before putting the roast in, so I opened the door and ran my exhaust fan on high to cool everything down before having to crank it back up again for my dinner party.

Until I can afford a Bluestar or Lacanche, I will NEVER be without an extended warranty on any appliance that generates heat and steam.

jkom - good point in your first paragraph

CR does some things very well. Evaluating high-end appliances is not one of the positive jobs they do. Their conclusions about extended warranties are not the same thing as taste testing cereal or driving cars.

I'm one of the first ones to knock their appliance product testing and especially the poorly designed and flawed (but admittedly all they have) reliability ratings. But for basic consumer information, they do an excellent job.

Please don't throw the baby out with the dishwater. The product reliability ratings are quite different from basic financial information.