# Extended Warranty or no?



## AdamNJ (Aug 22, 2013)

Hi All,

I've been lurking in the shadows here for about a month, checking in for updates on series 5. I ordered a Roamio Pro on the release date and I am new to Tivo. I can't wait to (hopefully) no longer get aggravated while watching TV like currently happens with my Cablevision 8300HD box.

Anyway, what is the consensus on purchasing the Extended Warranty? Normally I don't buy them, but normally I also don't buy the 1st day something comes out. How reliable have past Tivos been? Do the first ones usually have hardware issues?

Edit: Oh and I did purchase it with Lifetime service if that affects your thinking.


----------



## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

I would definately get it since you got lifetime, 100% :up: from me. You have 30 days once you get it to decide.


----------



## HenryFarpolo (Dec 1, 2008)

I don't normally get extended warranty. Most electronics will fail early if there is an issue. However $29.99 for two years is a good price, so I went for it.


----------



## bmgoodman (Dec 20, 2000)

I rarely buy extended warranties, but with Tivos with Lifetime Service, I *usually* do. I'd say $40 for 3 years is acceptable for a $1000 device.


----------



## jfh3 (Apr 15, 2004)

I always get it if the box has lifetime, never if it doesn't.


----------



## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Why? Tivo will do out of warranty 'repairs'. Its an exchange just like in warranty service, they just charge you a flat fee. Usually about the cost of a refurb unit and they transfer the subscription to the 'repaired' unit. you do not loose the lifetime sub if the unit fails and is 'repaired' by TiVo. Weeknees can do the repairs too.

$40 to cover a $200 device for one repair is a bit much. The warranty ends on the first failure. Extended warranties are seldom a good deal for the consumer. This one is no exception.


----------



## jfh3 (Apr 15, 2004)

That's a change in policy then. TiVo did not used to transfer a LT sub on a non-warranty repair.


----------



## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I have had 2 out of warranty repairs. One on a Sony S1 and one on a Premiere. Both times I paid a flat fee for the 'repair' and they transferred the subscription to the new unit. They do not allow transfer to a newer or higher capacity unit, same model only. It was never a problem. You just pay for the repair and it seemed reasonable at the time vs buying a new unit.


----------



## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

AdamNJ said:


> Anyway, what is the consensus on purchasing the Extended Warranty? Normally I don't buy them, but normally I also don't buy the 1st day something comes out.


I don't normally buy at first either, but I'm pretty excited about the Roamio.

All TiVo's come with:

Limited Warranty
90 Days Free Labor | One Year Parts Exchange

If your TiVo fails under the 90 Days Free Labor warranty, it will cost you shipping in order to receive a replacement.

If your TiVo fails under the One Year Parts Exchange warranty, it costs you shipping PLUS a $49.99 fee in order to receive a replacement. :down:

If your TiVo fails _after_ the One Year Parts Exchange, IIRC it costs you shipping plus a $149.99 fee in order to receive a replacement.

If you have TiVo's extended 3-year warranty and your TiVo fails within the three years, you don't pay for shipping or any other charge in order to receive a replacement. You're just out the cost of the extended warranty ($29.99 or $39.99). You only get one replacement per extended warranty.

I just had a little TiVo mini fail at the four month mark (so outside of the 90 Days Free Labor warranty), so it would have cost me $60+ to have my $99 unit replaced... under their included one year warranty. 

Since the mini is a first-gen product, and I personally don't have a good track record with any manufacturers first-gen products, I did have the extended warranty (which cost me $39.99). Replacing my mini four months into their one year warranty consumed the extended warranty, so I was out the cost of the extended warranty ($39.99). If I hadn't have had it, it would have cost me $60+ to have had it replaced. So the extended warranty saved me ~$20 vs. the cost of having to pay the charges + shipping that TiVo normally charges for TiVo's that fail from day 91 - day 365.

I'm usually pretty meh about extended warranties, but if your TiVo fails after day 91, TiVo's created a cost structure that seems to quickly make repairs cost more than the price of their extended warranty.


----------



## Goober96 (Jun 28, 2005)

aristoBrat said:


> you don't pay for shipping .


This is incorrect according to TiVo's Extended Warranty Policy:
https://www.tivo.com/legal/extended-warranty-service-agreement (4th bullet under #2)


----------



## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

Goober96 said:


> This is incorrect according to TiVo's Extended Warranty Policy:
> https://www.tivo.com/legal/extended-warranty-service-agreement (4th bullet under #2)


Oh, how weird. When I used my extended warranty on my mini about two weeks they, TiVo covered the cost of shipping my dead mini back to them.


----------



## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

AdamNJ said:


> Normally I don't buy them, but normally I also don't buy the 1st day something comes out. How reliable have past Tivos been? Do the first ones usually have hardware issues?
> 
> Edit: Oh and I did purchase it with Lifetime service if that affects your thinking.


For a $1000 device (Pro with lifetime) I thought it was well worth $40 to protect it for 3 years. And I almost never buy extended warranties.


----------



## Want1394 (Oct 4, 2001)

aristoBrat said:


> I don't normally buy at first either, but I'm pretty excited about the Roamio.
> 
> All TiVo's come with:
> 
> ...


So, does your replacement unit have a warranty? For how long? Can you purchase another extended for the replacement unit? If you have another failure, this is the economics of the situation.


----------



## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

Want1394 said:


> So, does your replacement unit have a warranty? For how long? Can you purchase another extended for the replacement unit? If you have another failure, this is the economics of the situation.


I was told that I could purchase another extended for the replacement, but I don't know what the replacement shipped with.

When I look at my account on TiVo.com, it still shows that both of my minis have a 3-year extended warranty. 

I'll give them a call later today to see what's up.


----------



## AdamNJ (Aug 22, 2013)

Since there was the overwhelming recommendation to buy the warranty, i just went ahead and bought the 3 yr / $40 warranty.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

It's cheap insurance if you're getting lifetime.


----------

