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Started By
Message
Home warranties? Worth it . . . if so, which one
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:19 am
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:19 am
Thoughts from those that may have/have had a home warranty. Are home warranties worth the cost?
Which companies give the most bang for the buck without a bunch of run-around?
AHS
Home Choice
Etc
Which companies give the most bang for the buck without a bunch of run-around?
AHS
Home Choice
Etc
6
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:22 am to ForLSU56
I had the seller include a warranty with the home purchase because the AC units were old.
Sure enough, month later a unit broke for half the house.
While it took a while to process and get the parts (maybe 10 days), the whole thing cost me $160 to get fixed what probably would have been a grand.
Of course, if I didn't have two units it would have been miserable because it was June or July when it happened. Think it may have been Republic.
Sure enough, month later a unit broke for half the house.
While it took a while to process and get the parts (maybe 10 days), the whole thing cost me $160 to get fixed what probably would have been a grand.
Of course, if I didn't have two units it would have been miserable because it was June or July when it happened. Think it may have been Republic.
This post was edited on 3/10/15 at 9:24 am
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:24 am to Teddy Ruxpin
Never heard of choice.
2-10
Old republic home protection
2-10
Old republic home protection
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:28 am to ForLSU56
I had AHS and have bought/sold two houses. Both times I had the seller cover the warranty, both times I've needed it.
It'd be in your best interest to purchase one after the fact only if you plan on spending more than $600 in a given year on essential home repairs that would be covered.
It'd be in your best interest to purchase one after the fact only if you plan on spending more than $600 in a given year on essential home repairs that would be covered.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:28 am to ForLSU56
quote:
Home warranties? Worth it
I loved that one was included in the house that I purchased. It covered me for 1 year and IIRC it cost the seller about $500 (think it was Republic). I never had to use it but it was good piece of mind.
However, I would never purchase one myself. Take that $40-50 per month and put it in a separate account. Hopefully it will be several years before you have to access it.
The home warranty companies will pull any stunts possible to keep from paying, or to make sure they pay as little as possible. In the long run it is almost never worth it.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:39 am to mglsu21
quote:
Take that $40-50 per month and put it in a separate account.
This.
You still have to pay the service call or co=pay for the servicer to come out.
The warranty pays the part and repair.
The bad thing is authorization.
If the job cannot be completed in one day.( most electric control failures, motor failures, etc..) then you have to wait for approval from the warranty for repair.
Like with AHS I have $220 pre approved, that is great and covers MOST easy repairs. But lets say that control board on your 610 Sub Zero goes out.
You call for warranty repair.
It's 3/10/15. Warranty repair puts you in system, creates invoice and dispatches. You pick Sears as first choice (always a bad move) they have a three week wait. It's March 31st before you get a tech in your house.
You need a $500 repair, so the tech hass to get authorization from AHS. This can take two weeks.
So in the middle of April the tech comes back and fixes your unit, only to find out that the board wasn't the only thing that was bad, the fan is bad too and that will be another week. By this point you have bought another fridge to keep in the garage, because who can go a month without a fridge?
Now if you didn't have a warranty you call a tech.
Independants will always put fridge calls as a priority. You pay your $90 service call, tech quotes you at $500 for the repair, get's it next day aired and installs it a day later.
It costs more, but you get it done.
Now this is an extreme example, but one I have seen more than a couple of times.
The warranty service does not want to pay too much. Hell we are also instructed to find faults that YOU caused so they don't have to pay.
It's really crazy.
I hate it because our customers hated us when we took two weeks to complete a job, but they don't get that we cannot do anything until it's approved. They do not rubber stamp all jobs.
With a warranty your repair time will always be longer than it would if you just called a COD job.
I stopped doing all warranty work because I didn't like not having the direct options being left up to the customer. I didn't like being "the bad guy".
I'm not saying they don't have some merit, it's just you WILL be put on the back burner, YOU will wait for parts.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:48 am to Napoleon
quote:
I'm not saying they don't have some merit, it's just you WILL be put on the back burner, YOU will wait for parts.
maybe for appliances, but those i know with them had the opposite experience with plumbing issues. plumber was out next day, fixed part quickly. warranty company is their biggest client, so they take care of the problems quickly.
side note: if you have a sub zero, you probably aren't super worried about a home warranty
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:50 am to ForLSU56
When we brought our house we made the seller include American Home Shield. It was a life safer, because we had a few issues within that first year.
We have renewed it ever since with no problems.
Even if it might be something I could do, i'd rather pay the $75 and let a technician deal with it and have someone to hold accountable for it.
We have renewed it ever since with no problems.
Even if it might be something I could do, i'd rather pay the $75 and let a technician deal with it and have someone to hold accountable for it.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:55 am to bigpetedatiga
Bought a house with an Old Republic warranty. Didn't use it first year, but in the second, inside AC unit went out. While he was up there, noticed the hot water tank was leaking. Had both replaced by the next weekend.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 9:59 am to Napoleon
quote:
Napoleon
quote:
This. You still have to pay the service call or co=pay for the servicer to come out. The warranty pays the part and repair. The bad thing is authorization. If the job cannot be completed in one day.( most electric control failures, motor failures, etc..) then you have to wait for approval from the warranty for repair. Like with AHS I have $220 pre approved, that is great and covers MOST easy repairs. But lets say that control board on your 610 Sub Zero goes out. You call for warranty repair. It's 3/10/15. Warranty repair puts you in system, creates invoice and dispatches. You pick Sears as first choice (always a bad move) they have a three week wait. It's March 31st before you get a tech in your house. You need a $500 repair, so the tech hass to get authorization from AHS. This can take two weeks. So in the middle of April the tech comes back and fixes your unit, only to find out that the board wasn't the only thing that was bad, the fan is bad too and that will be another week. By this point you have bought another fridge to keep in the garage, because who can go a month without a fridge? Now if you didn't have a warranty you call a tech. Independants will always put fridge calls as a priority. You pay your $90 service call, tech quotes you at $500 for the repair, get's it next day aired and installs it a day later. It costs more, but you get it done. Now this is an extreme example, but one I have seen more than a couple of times. The warranty service does not want to pay too much. Hell we are also instructed to find faults that YOU caused so they don't have to pay. It's really crazy. I hate it because our customers hated us when we took two weeks to complete a job, but they don't get that we cannot do anything until it's approved. They do not rubber stamp all jobs. With a warranty your repair time will always be longer than it would if you just called a COD job. I stopped doing all warranty work because I didn't like not having the direct options being left up to the customer. I didn't like being "the bad guy". I'm not saying they don't have some merit, it's just you WILL be put on the back burner, YOU will wait for parts.
So here's my question to you: Let's say I offered to pay up front what you would bill back to the warranty company in exchange for an immediate repair, and then you just reimbursed me once it went through in exchange for a process and turn time that involved less friction.
How would dat work?
Posted on 3/10/15 at 10:08 am to lsujro
quote:
f you have a sub zero, you probably aren't super worried about a home warranty
Actually not true at all. In home warranty you see much more of those than you do otherwise. Most people bought houses with them, they didn't go out and plop $7-12+k on a fridge.
I have a sub zero.
But yes, the plumbing stuff gets automatic authorization, but how often does plumbing fail. I was focusing on the highest fail items, which tend to be HVAc/ Appliances and electrical. Electrical also gets a pretty huge pre authorization. But major sewage repairs can still need pre-auth that can take time.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 10:16 am to GFunk
quote:
So here's my question to you: Let's say I offered to pay up front what you would bill back to the warranty company in exchange for an immediate repair, and then you just reimbursed me once it went through in exchange for a process and turn time that involved less friction.
How would dat work?
With an independent? Yes, with Sears, Mr. Appliance, etc.. No.
I based this example using A&E which is Sears' repair wing. They get the bulk of these calls. Most people don't want it, because you make a lot less than collect jobs. Personally, what I do/did much of the time, was send the info to Marcone or Servall have the part ordered and sent the parts bill to the warranty company and then just didn't make profit on the part and just up charged the labor billed to AHS, but that gave me wiggle room.
Could also order the part next day air and just tell the company it was a 'first call complete' and they give a higher pre-auth for that as well(even though it's a lie, it helps the claimee and yourself out a lot)
There are times when it is worth it, but pay attention to what it covers, especially with plumbing and electrical.
I was just using a worst case scenario, using Sears as an example.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 10:47 am to ForLSU56
I had an AHS warranty purchased by the seller for me when I bought this house. I used it once to have my Wolf oven repaired... the guy that came out to do the repair was nice enough, but it took him like 3 or 4 weeks to get the part then another week or two to come out and install it. So it basically took about 6 weeks to get the oven fixed. I tried using it again when the compressor went out on one of my AC units. The original company they assigned it to was a week out. Additionally, they told me it would take at least another week to get authorization and parts for the repair. LOL at two weeks in Baton Rouge during the summer without AC to part of my house. I called the company I use for AC maintenance and had it fixed the same day.
I chatted with my AC tech about AHS and I thought he had a pretty good outlook on it. He said that a lot of the techs they use are the cheapest and crappiest around... in fact, most of them wouldn't be in business if it weren't for the warranty company b/c no one in their right mind would use them. This fit with my experiences so I opted no to renew my warranty when it expired. I'd rather pay for the repairs myself and hire a competent technician to do the work.
I chatted with my AC tech about AHS and I thought he had a pretty good outlook on it. He said that a lot of the techs they use are the cheapest and crappiest around... in fact, most of them wouldn't be in business if it weren't for the warranty company b/c no one in their right mind would use them. This fit with my experiences so I opted no to renew my warranty when it expired. I'd rather pay for the repairs myself and hire a competent technician to do the work.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 11:03 am to Mr Mom
quote:
He said that a lot of the techs they use are the cheapest and crappiest around... in fact, most of them wouldn't be in business if it weren't for the warranty company b/c no one in their right mind would use them
this is has been my experience with AHS, and I've had to pay a lot more than the $50/mo. to repair their screw ups, and the above is almost a direct quote from some of the other techs that have come out to do proper repairs, I know of other people that have AHS and love them, my experience with them has been very negative
Posted on 3/10/15 at 11:03 am to ForLSU56
Good to have on a house you're buying, or include on a house you're selling but after that not worth it IMO.
My favorite AHS story is when the bracket for my washing machine broke when I was out of town. They called me and said they don't even make that part for my washing machine, but they could come up with something. Then, after asking my MIL who was there at the time they drilled the dishwasher tub to my cabinet.
That was there fix.
My favorite AHS story is when the bracket for my washing machine broke when I was out of town. They called me and said they don't even make that part for my washing machine, but they could come up with something. Then, after asking my MIL who was there at the time they drilled the dishwasher tub to my cabinet.
That was there fix.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 11:05 am to mglsu21
I paid for a 1 year warranty for the people that purchased our last home. I think it's a good idea and provides peace of mind for people buying, especially if you are selling an older home with little to no recent upgrades.
Posted on 3/10/15 at 1:29 pm to LSUfan4444
Thanks all for the input and info
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