Warranty-By-Net

[Cap'n Preshoot]

Whoever says you can get a better deal over the internet, well maybe and maybe not. Warranty-By-Net is another of the one-stop-shops for a warranty on everything from autos to vacuum cleaners, but does not offer a replacement lamp for your DLP TV.

The cost of their warranty for a $3600 (retail) DLP television is $396 for a 4 year warranty and includes:

Covers all parts and labor for an addt'l 4 years beyond the factory warranty
No deductible
Over 12,000 service centers nationwide
Repair or replacement is guaranteed
Fully insured program
24 Hour, 365-Day Operation Center

DLP Lamp replacement is not covered ***
They do not offer annual cleaning & adjustment
I did not see surge or lightning protection in their list of coverages. of course that type of damage can often be hard to prove unless you're foolish enough to volunteer that information.

*** - DLP Lamp coverage is available separately, in a separate contract which covers only the lamp.

[lcaillo]

No mater which warranty company you choose, or which manufacturer you choose, one should always find out who the local service provider will be. The quality of the service that you receive will depend both on the paying entity (extended warranty company or manufacturer) AND the local provider of the service.

[Cap'n Preshoot]

As the time draws near to make a decision which extended warranty plan will be best for my new Mitsubishi WD-65732, I've plowed through many of them and have systematically eliminated most of them for one reason or another.

Several were eliminated just because they were too expensive. Example, Tweeter @ $599 + tax.
Several others were eliminated because they were the in-store warranty w/limited service options. Example, move somewhere like Liberal, KS or Douglas, AZ and you're in trouble.

Still others were eliminated because they only offered a 3 year plan (plus the manufacturer's 1st year).

A couple of them offered 1 or in one case even 2 replacement DLP lamps as inducement or BAIT. Too bad they either didn't offer a 4 year plan (4 + Mfr = 5 yr total) or had a suspicious looking weasel clause that read as though it let them out of the last 11 months coverage if you had a claim on the lamp.

One of the in-store warranties had to be purchased at the same time as the TV. This same store lied to me, saying that if I wanted an extended warranty that I had to buy their plan.

Several had to be purchased within the first 90 days of ownership

One in particular, WarrantyByNet, which is only sold over the Internet, can be purchased anytime as long as you still have at least 90 days remaining on the original manufacturer's warranty.

Mack & WarrantyByNet appeared to be the only BBB members and are competetively priced but Mack only offers 3 years (3 + 1).

That leaves WarrantyByNet http://www.warrantybynet.com/EA_Main...vision.asp?m=5 as the heir-apparent to my extended warranty business. No final decision yet, but they're at the head of the pack right now.

*** EDIT 11/26/06 - I discovered later on that the WarrantyByNet plan is actually the exact same RepairMaster plan available elsewhere for considerably less money, so it pays to shop around.

None of the extended warranty options that offered a lamp replacement appealed to me. Frankly, the lamp is only $2~300 and therefore not something that I'm worried about having to come out of pocket for. I'm wanting the equivalent of "major medical" and "catastrophic loss" protection backed by a major company with a good claims record and large service organization behind them. If a lamp is included, fine, but it was never a consideration during the selection process. To me, fixating on the lamp offer, as many unwittingly do, is a little like stepping over dollars to pick up dimes.

[lcaillo]

Who is behind this company? Any history? Do they have local servicers? Do they pay quickly and without hassles?

[Cap'n Preshoot]

I'm still waiting to find out who the underwriter is. So far no response to a request for a copy of the contract.
Locally there are 4 ASCs and I've actually heard of one of them. I spoke to the manager at one of the shops, mentioned WBN was one of a couple I was still considering. He said he gets paid quickly, typically 30 days. He didn't know how soon customers get their money in the event of a replacement claim. They have a negotiated labor rate and parts at cost + a small handling charge. He said he's not getting rich off of WBN but gets a good amount of residual business after the warranty ends.

[Cap'n Preshoot]

Okay, finally some information, including a copy of the contract. I called them today and learned that the reason my emails weren't replied to was that I did not include my telephone number. Hmmm...

Anyway, the news is that the Warranty-By-Net warranty is administered by Warrantech. They're also "claiming" over 12,000 service locations. When you purchase the warranty you will receive a Repair Master warranty and Warrantech will be the administrator. Repair Master is underwritten by Butler Financial Services, LLC of Boca Raton, FL.

The contract language looks pretty standard and compares favorably or equally to other's I've reviewed, except the LAMP IS NOT COVERED. However, as I've said previously, a $250 lamp doesn't concern me. The reason for considering an extended warranty is for protection against the major cost repairs. Pickup & delivery along with any reasonably complex repair is likely to approach if not exceed $1000.

When considering Warranty-By-Net you can obtain a 10% discount either by phone and simply asking for the discount or you can have them send you a quote via email - then don't respond for a week or so and you'll receive a follow-up email from them offering the discount

For the Mitsubishi WD 65732 the extended warranty is $396.00 less the 10% discount for a final price of $356.40. This is a total 5 year plan (Mfr year + 4 years extended).

NOTE WELL:

Every one of the several extended warranty plans I've checked out all have a cumulative limit of liability. The amount of your protection is the original retail price of your TV not including tax. Therefore, if you have a $3000 TV and at some point while the extended warranty is in place you have a $1000 claim, then the remaining coverage is only $2000. Once they've paid out claims totalling your original purchase price, ($3000 in this example) the warranty coverage ends. In other words, with all of them you might want to be a little careful about submitting frivilous claims. The claims add up with the net result of reducing the amount of available coverage if your set ever becomes unrepairable (total loss).
The "retail price" of your TV is determined from your original sales receipt, so if you got it wholesale, you may have less EW coverage than you think.

[lcaillo]

Repair Master is OK. The very few EW that we sell are these. We have dealt with them for many years with no problems, but since we almost never sell warranties we have never done many claims. They do require you to register the warranty and then they send you a card with a number that you need to keep and use or they will not honor the warranty. Silly hoops to jump through, but they do pay and are realtively easy to deal with IME.

The 12000 number is silly. The latest stats from yellow page ads put the number of shops in the US at about 8000. The probably count every shop that they have ever done business with over many years plus all of the currently open shops.

The important thing is to know who the localservicers are and be sure that you have someone who is experienced on your product. In a market like Houston there are likely several. Check with them and see if they work with Warrantech on Repair Master warranties.

[Cap'n Preshoot]

The gal I spoke to on the phone was very pleasant and said there's 6 shops locally (within 25 miles or less of my home) and total of 10 within 50 miles (greater Houston metro area). Not to worry, too big to carry-in so I won't be driving anywhere with it. I really hope the money is wasted and I won't need it. I only bought the EW because I'm retiring soon and we'll be on a fixed income. An unexpected repair would be tough to work into the budget without taking money out of savings.

Curious here, what does your shop charge for service pickup & re-delivery of a typical widescreen tv (say within 20 miles of the shop) and about what does the average repair cost the consumer?

[lcaillo]

We charge $60 to $80 for pickup and delivery in an area about that size, priced by zip code. We are trying to do more of the big screen sets in the field as the average size is getting larger but it depends on the problem. Some things can be done efficiently in the field and some need more sophisticated troubleshooting and time.

Repair cost varies greatly, depending on the product and the problem. Prices vary with location as well. We have pretty low COL here and prices are generally lower than the national average by a bit. In your set, and lots of newer products, there is much less component level repair to do, co more of it will be at the board level or swapping a light engine. These can be costly in terms of parts. The good news is that the better brands like Mitsubishi have been very reliable. You are less likely to need service than with your CRT based unit, but when you do the cost may be higher.

[Cap'n Preshoot]

Well, BZZZZZZZT!!!!

Well dummy me, I have just come to realize that Warranty-By-Net is merely a retailer and you can in fact purchase the entire Repair Master line for a great deal less money by doing a Google search on the specific product you want, i.e., RMT55000 for the 5 year plan I was looking at for half of what WBN was getting for it. I found the same warranty for as little as $187.39 from Page Computers (dot com)

Repair Master also offers a separate lamp warranty (also available from Page Computers) and others for as little as $69.28 for 3 yrs. (3+1=4 yr total)

Pays to shop around.