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Buy a warranty if you can even though the thought of paying more money for one can be painful
2020 has seen the launch of the Oculus Quest 2, PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series S/X consoles. Many of you will face the question, “Should I get a warranty on this thing?” My answer is yes! If you can afford it.
Let’s face it, most of us don’t want to pay for a warranty, and for good reason. These products are already expensive. We are talking about $400-$500 devices at the minimum. Any games or accessories on top of that will shoot that price up not only to the roof but right through it.
There are many reasons people will tell you not to get an extended warranty, and they aren’t false. All of these products, if bought new, will have a built-in 1 year manufactures warranty so if the console itself fails on you, you should be good for those 12 months.
Warranties are largely a profit play for business, the chances of someone cashing in on a warranty are low and whatever service the warranty giver has to provide is worth the costs of selling them easily.
There also isn’t a huge chance something will go wrong with your console, especially after the first several months. Now we have certainly seen our fair share of issues in the past but in the big scheme of things, they are rare.
So with all of these fine reasons not to get a warranty, why am I still sitting here telling you you should? Simple, because the right kind of warranty is more like an insurance policy and it can save you hundreds of dollars as they have for me on several occasions.
Not all warranties are created equal, get the right warranty for your PlayStation, Xbox, or Oculus Quest
Yes, I think getting a warranty is worth it but you need to make sure you get the right kind of warranty. The general magic term you want to see on your warranty is coverage for “ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE“. Remember that, ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE.
Accidental damage warranties have saved my hide on multiple occasions in the past. Why are they so special? Because a good accidental damage warranty can be used for almost reason.
So many things could happen to your new console, maybe you drop it, maybe there is a product fault like the infamous “Red ring of death” that doesn’t show up until after your 1-year warranty goes away. Perhaps it’s a minor issue like, after 18 months of use, your machine just starts to run a little too loud and hot, and you want to replace it.
The right kind of accidental damage warranty will swoop in and save the day in these scenarios and you will be grateful you paid the extra cash to have it.
Best Buy’s Geek Squad accidental damage warranty is my favorite
I don’t have a lot of experience with many others but Best Buy’s current Geek Squad accidental coverage warranty (make sure it has accidental damage coverage) is my favorite. Let me tell you why with a real-life story that happened to me just this week.
I bought my Oculus Quest in the summer of 2019 from Best Buy and bought the accidental damage warranty. A month ago I was playing with my Quest and I noticed my controller had a crack in it. On top of that my headset has been running more slowly than normal, nothing I can’t deal with but yea, there were some issues.
The Oculus Quest 2 gets announced and is around the corner, it’s looking pretty good but I just bought this Quest last year and I can’t justify spending another $400 on another one.
I look into my warranty and see that it covers nearly everything, I take it into Best Buy, tell them my issue and they instantly take it back. They tell me that the old Quest isn’t around anymore and they can give me my money back in the form of store credit or put me down for a new one, just like that.
Because I bought this warranty I was able to upgrade to a new model at no additional cost because they had the same monetary value. That is crazy. I can’t think of a time I have ever been able to upgrade a console for free (minutes my $80 warranty fee) because my old was slightly damaged.
Even if I was just able to get a new Quest 1, I would have been happy, a brand new fresh product with none of the wear and tear.
A good warranty is instant assurance and very convenient
I love these kinds of warranties for two primary reasons, there are nearly no questions asked and you generally get a replacement right away. Sometimes you even get the option to get your money back through store credit or a gift card.
Many lesser warranties will want to ship your console off to get fixed or the store you bought your warranty from may try to fix it themselves. There is still a good value to be had there but I much prefer just being able to instantly swap my product out or get a credit return and get something else. Waiting around for days or weeks just to get a repair that may fail again isn’t nearly as attractive to me.
How do you know if the warranty you are getting is a good one?
So the important lesson here is seeing how good the warranty you are being offered is. The most important thing you should do is do some research. Read what each warranty offers. Even if you see the magic words of “Accidental Damage” there could still be some big caveats as to what that warranty considers coverable.
Also, do your research on the internet, look at people’s experiences on Reddit or youtube, and see what they say. Try to find recent examples as stores change their policies often. Best Buys was not so great about a decade back and I stopped getting their warranties until I found out about the change.
From my experience, Best Buy’s Geek Squad Accidental Damage warranties are amazing. They have let me make exchanges for smaller issues and at times you can even get store credit valued for the original purchase price or upgrade to a newer version of a product, it doesn’t get much better than that.
I have also heard good things about Gamestop‘s return policy but have no experience. Sounds similar to Best Buy in that you get to walk out with a new console but it also seems a bit like your mileage may vary depending on the store manager. I’d call into your local store ask for more details.
There also seems to be a lot of positive sentiment surrounding the Microsoft Complete Coverage Plan when it comes to Xbox consoles. I know from experience at the brick and motor Microsoft stores this plan was gold, I have taken back consoles and gotten a new replacement.
Now that the stores are gone I am guessing you do have to send the console off and play the waiting game but at $50 bucks for 2-3 years which includes any accessories like your controller that come with the console, it’s a pretty solid bargain.
Don’t hesitate to get the right kind of Warranty if you can afford it and want the peace of mind
Even with all of this, you don’t have to buy a warranty. Many of them are not that good and chances are, nothing crazy will happen to your brand new console. Sometimes you simply can’t afford it and I get that. Note though that in some cases you can buy a warranty about 30-45 days after you purchase your new console.
If you are interested just make certain you know exactly what the warranty covers and please, at the very least, make sure it offers coverage for accidental damage and or replacement.
Who knows, maybe in two years when that PlayStation 5 of yours is running a little ragged and a fresh new model is out, you may be able to upgrade your old and busted to something fresh and new and for merely a fraction of the original cost; doesn’t get much better than that.
Do you buy warranties for your gaming devices and electronics? Share why or why not and let’s get a discussion going below!
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