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Thread: Home Warranty

  1. #1
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    Default Home Warranty

    School me on Home Warranties. We have been in our house for 6 years, and the house is 11 years old. What are the downsides? We go by a strict budget in our house, but I could build in the $50 a month on auto draft and never realize it's gone. What am I missing? Who is the best? Who do I need to stay away from? What's the catch?

  2. #2
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    I use 2-10. Seems like it's always there when I need it. Typically they will offer you a discount if you if you buy multiple years. As opposed to renewing it annually

  3. #3
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    We had one when we bought our house (one came with it). I did not like it because you had no idea who was coming. I had AC issues shortly after I moved in, and had 3 different companies come out for three issues. They were all terrible. I did not renew the contract when it was due.

  4. #4
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    With 2-10 you can use the contractor of your choice. Provided that they will do the service at the predetermined warranty rate. Or you could pay the difference.

  5. #5
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    As far as the AC goes, most only pay a small portion for refrigerant. If you have an older system like mine that uses R22, which is being phased out, that shit is higher than bird pussy. We needed a new evap coil, which the home warrantee paid for. However they only cover refrigerant up to 10 per lbd. We needed like 8 lbs and the shit cost nearly 100 lbd.

  6. #6
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    I do have an R22 unit, well 2 of them. I'm more worried about one or both of the units going out completely and having to replace them at $5k a piece.

  7. #7
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    Just something to consider when shopping around. Ask what they cover on refrigerant.

  8. #8
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    I used mine on a HVAC claim last week. Its nice when you need it

  9. #9
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    When we had the HVAC system installed on the house, we got a 10 year warranty through the folks who did the install. Had a couple small issues, but nothing major. Glad we got the warranty.

  10. #10
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    I'm not a warranty kind of guy. Put that $50/month in a separate "Emergency Fund Account". Be disciplined and only use it on an emergency like an appliance or the AC going out. If nothing happens you still have the money.


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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny Reb View Post
    I'm not a warranty kind of guy. Put that $50/month in a separate "Emergency Fund Account". Be disciplined and only use it on an emergency like an appliance or the AC going out. If nothing happens you still have the money.


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    I follow the same thought process, and I have a strong enough emergency nest egg to cover anything that comes up, but I'm also good enough with math to know that it would take 16 years at $50 a month to equal the $10k it would cost to replace both HVAC units. I anticipate them going out in the next 5 years or less. This would make the Home Warranty a worthy investment. This is just factoring in the HVAC and not all of the other appliances and hot water heater, etc. My concern is..... where's the catch? Seems to be a no brained. I've never really thought about it before today, and it just seems to good to be true.

  12. #12
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    If you have a strong enough emergency nest egg, then why would you consider the home warranty? A home warranty, or any warranty, is not an investment. Think about it for a second. Do you think you can honestly pay $500 for a home warranty and then get a $10k AC unit if yours goes out? If that was the case there would not be any Home Warranty companies still in business. They are in business to make money.


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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny Reb View Post
    If you have a strong enough emergency nest egg, then why would you consider the home warranty? A home warranty, or any warranty, is not an investment. Think about it for a second. Do you think you can honestly pay $500 for a home warranty and then get a $10k AC unit if yours goes out? If that was the case there would not be any Home Warranty companies still in business. They are in business to make money.


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    What Johnny said. If you think that home warranty company is gonna eat 10k on 2 new systems you'd better think again. They're gonna find the cheapest vendor and the cheapest equipment, do the math and tell what they'll cover and it usually ain't what it'll take to address the issue. And while you bicker back and forth with em, you'll be without A/C for that much longer. It's a headache.

    The house we moved in to last summer came with one. We realized a stove eye was not working during the pre-inspection, so they agreed to fix along with some other issues. But they didn't. We got so frustrated with them and their shenanigans prior to closing we said we'll take the house as is and just fix em ourselves. Luckily the warranty company covered most of the stove issue.

    Then we had our dishwasher literally catch on fire. Once again, a $100 deductible out of my pocket for a tech to come on site to tell me what I already knew... "yup, it's burned slap up." They said they'd only cover what it would cost for a "like model". They have the final say on the matter, and said they were only writing us a check for $300, which would barely cover a bare bones, base model dishwasher that's loud and not very energy efficient. Luckily a long time ago had Bosch issued a safety recall for the whole fire hazard thingy on the unit, but we had no idea into after the for. So Bosch comped us $400 towards a new Bosch unit if we buy directly from them. So after deductible, plus $300 the warrant company said they'd cover, plus the $400 break from Bosch we still ended up paying $125 for a new unit and it was a nice one. Which ain't bad, but when you crunch the numbers on what the warranty cost, I'm pretty sure any savings were negligible. Plus my time is very valuable to me, so there's that.

    Then our pool pump burned up a month or so ago and I couldn't find a vendor to work on it because the warranty company wouldn't commit to paying them any sooner than 60-90 days. So I ended up buying the motor and installing it myself and then sought reimbursement from the warranty company. Pool was down for 2 weeks getting green as hell while we went back and forth with them. Major pain in the ass.

    The headache of finding a vendor to do the work, then fighting with them over what they'll cover and what they won't, just put some damn money away and go buy a new appliance when it burns up. It's just easier that way.

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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny Reb View Post
    If you have a strong enough emergency nest egg, then why would you consider the home warranty? A home warranty, or any warranty, is not an investment. Think about it for a second. Do you think you can honestly pay $500 for a home warranty and then get a $10k AC unit if yours goes out? If that was the case there would not be any Home Warranty companies still in business. They are in business to make money.


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    yes, yes you can. I have received a new unit from American Homeshield. It cost me the $125 per my home warranty

  15. #15
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    Read and understand the coverage exceptions in the warranty. They are, in my opinion, significant.

  16. #16
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    They will not replace the AC units. They will keep repairing what is broken. Otherwise I liked the warranty I had.
    RIP Kelsey "Bigdawg" Cromer
    12-26-98 12-1-13

    If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.

    Missing you my great friend.


  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by ecu1984 View Post
    yes, yes you can. I have received a new unit from American Homeshield. It cost me the $125 per my home warranty
    I have kept American home shield on my house in Columbia for 7 years now and it has saved me money over that time.


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  18. #18
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    all I know is that insurance is not for the insured.
    Ugh. Stupid people piss me off.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2thDoc View Post
    all I know is that insurance is not for the insured.
    Exactly.


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  20. #20
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    OK. I can't help but write more.
    The providers do an excellent job excluding coverage for the most common causes. Read the fine print and you will find things like "refrigerator is covered but not icemaker," Plumbing is covered but not leaks associated with frozen pipes, invasive roots, or fixtures."

    The only time it makes sense to me is when there is a buyer who knows nothing about home repair. That person wants a single number to call every time. They don't have a plumber, electrician, HVAC person they trust. They just have a magnet on their fridge from the home warranty company that they call whenever something breaks.

    There are people who have "won" using the home warranties. It is a gamble, though.

    Lastly, I will say this. If everyone was getting their money's worth, then the companies would be out of business. They have to pay for all of the overhead of running the company. That has to get paid before anything gets shelled out for your home repairs. If you don't want to pay for all of that overhead, then save your money and put it away for a rainy day.

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