Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123
In my opinion, home warranties are a waste of money. There is a huge profit margin for the warranty company. Also, you give up control of who does the repairs, how fast they are done, and the decision about whether or not something needs to be repaired or replaced. Often, it makes more sense to replace something instead of repairing it, but, with a warranty, you don't have that choice. And, you will never get a first rate contractor because good, reliable contractors do not need to share their income with a warranty company. Suppose your HVAC system fails on a weekend in July, and the warranty company will not send someone to your house for several days? If you are paying out of pocket, you can usually get it fixed the same day. And, do you really want someone to repair an 18 year old HVAC system when it makes more sense to replace it? These are some of the reasons that I think it is better to pay for your repairs out of pocket. You will get better and faster service and will save money in the long run.
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While I agree with you in general and would not buy a policy myself, I had a wealthy friend a decade ago who paid a sizable fee every year to an HVAC and plumbing company in New Jersey that promised priority response and repair. They showed up for an inspection and furnace cleaning every year, but that wasn’t worth the money. Then a flood came, her power went out, the battery back-up in her sump pump failed, and she got a foot of water in her basement. At a time when lots of people would have needed help, three or for truckloads of repair people showed up at her house within the hour, and they replaced the entire heater and lots of other stuff with no extra charge. Not quite the same thing, but it was nice to have priority service. The next week she had them install a whole-house Generac generator.