pokokarin Loc: California

When purchasing a new Canon product..it comes with a one year warranty. What do you think about purchasing the extended 2-3 year warranty? Thank you.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

All extended warrantees from any product is a gamble, your betting you will use it the company is betting you wont. With regard to cars, the dealer makes more money on the extended warrantee than the car. The decision is totally up to you. If you are rough on your gear it may be worth it. I am careful with my stuff so I didn't by the exter insurance. Again it's up to you.

tlittlefieid Loc: Manchester, NH

Consumer Reports says to never by an extended warranty...

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

I don't. Ever!
I do ask though, how much the extended warranty would cost if I were to buy it. When I get home I promptly transfer that amount to a savings account. I've never had anything fail or break within the extended warranty period, but when my desktop packed it in some years ago, and well after even the extended warranty would have run out, I simply paid for a new desktop computer from that account - with still a good amount left over for the next item that needs to be replaced.
For new items, like the OM-D E-M1 when I still had a perfectly good E-5, or a heavy-duty tripod when the old one had not broken, I use my "bottle-money" and save separately if I need to.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've never needed a photographic warranty in over forty years of shooting. I've never bought an extended warranty for anything. Of course, if the camera fails a few months after the warranty expires, then you'll want the extended warranty. Do you have any good fortune tellers in your area? :D

Before I retired, I was faced with a choice of beneficiary plans, but which one was the best? The representative said, "Oh, that's easy. Just tell me when you're going to die, and I'll tell you what plan you should select."

pokokarin Loc: California

Great responses and I thank you very much.

fantom Loc: Colorado

Yours is a good, logical and very reasonable explanation but I think statistics show that generall they are not worth the money paid for them, especially for electronic based products.

henryp Loc: New York, NY

There are two types of "extended warranties." The first merely makes the coverage of the original manufacturer's warranty last longer but does not add any additional coverage or protection. IMO these are not usually worth the money and as others have noted, many credit cards to essentially the same thing.

The other type, often called "drop and spill protection," expands the coverage to include (as the name implies) drops and spills and other accidents usually attributed to clumsiness, gravity and so on. Whether this would be useful for you is an individual consideration.

Here's the difference. If the lens's rear mount becomes detached from the lens a week after you buy it because it was incorrectly attached at the factory that's usually covered by the manufacturer's warranty. If it detaches because you accidentally slammed it into a wall, the manufacturer's warranty is of no use to you but a "drop and spill protection" plan probably would be very useful.