"Swingman" wrote in message

That said, we always purchase extended warranties on appliances put in new
homes because it is often past the manufacturer's warranty when the house
is
sold and the appliance put into use. I am beginning to think, that with
all
the shoddy goods out there, an extended warranty ain't such a bad idea in
some cases.

Using your mention of appliances, I frequently buy an extended warranty,
especially something has electronic circuitry ~ and what doesn't these days?
Some 30 years ago an appliance came with 3, 5, 10 and sometimes longer
warranty. These days, most come with a one year warranty. Recently, I've
been pricing an electric, broiler/convection smooth top, energy smart range
for my kitchen. $2000+ CA for it. It only comes with a one year warranty and
due to the fact that it's composed in large part of electronic circuitry,
all it takes is for one tiny component to fry and put the entire appliance
out of service.

Analogue based products lasted for years. Case in point, the electric stove
I've used for the past 17 years and the same one my mother used for 30 years
before I got my hands on it. Before they used to repair products, now they
just pop in an entirely new module. Not worth the labour to repair most
stuff these days, if it they could be repaired at all. This great electronic
information age we're in, it can be very convenient, but we're certainly
paying through the nose for that convenience.