[NA] Do you use a home warranty?

[KFD]

I got rid of my home warranty after the first year of buying my house. They specialize in doing the absolute bare minimum in fixing (for example) your AC. If you live in a place where the bulk of your electrical expense is AC like in Texas, you're better off in my opinion with dumping the home warranty and putting the money towards upgrading your AC to a more efficient system. Home warranty companies don't care about your utility costs. They will put in the most inefficient stuff as long as it is cheap because they are not paying your utilities.

 

[Ted]

You know that your AC is now going to break within the next 3 days, right?

He's been having issues with it for a while now.

 

[scottfromboston]

Maybe these aren't available in Massachusetts... Never heard of such a thing.

Buy decent appliances form Costco and fix the simple stuff yourself, with good parts (and guidance from YouTube). Save up for impending AC failure (for which we get efficiency rebates at upgrade). You'll be ahead judging by your numbers....

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

You know that your AC is now going to break within the next 3 days, right?

The guy came out to fix it again yesterday and did a bunch of nothing.
I'm going to fix it my self. I just need to replace a damper motor. It is just 180 degrees in my attic. I don't want to mess with it.

 

[KFD]

I'd love to know what kind of deal the repair companies get with the home warranty places. Here is my guess: They get to keep the service charge ($50 or whatever it is) but otherwise ONLY get reimbursed for parts (cost only) and not for their time. That is the only reason I can think of why they do such a shirty job in general. They can't wait to get the hell out while doing the least amount of work. They are OBVIOUSLY not being compensated for any extra effort.

As you can see I'm a huge fan of home warranties.

 

[deonb]

The guy came out to fix it again yesterday and did a bunch of nothing.
I'm going to fix it my self. I just need to replace a damper motor. It is just 180 degrees in my attic. I don't want to mess with it.

Wow, you still have that issue with your damper motor?

Oh yeah, I have nothing good to say about any warranty or store insurance plans. Was more citing the old adage that things tend to break after the warranty runs out.

I rented one of those Kubota backhoes/excavators last year from Home Depot and managed to roll it (not my finest hour). I paid for one of those store insurance plans at the time of rental. Of course the policy didn't cover the damage (blown tire and some dents) and I had to pay for everything. Then I asked the guy in the store what exactly the policy would cover.

He could not think of a single thing. Well... he thought of lots of things:

"What if you get into a car accident?"
Oh, so this policy covers collision damage?
"Well, no".

"What if the hydraulic pump breaks?"
You're going to make me pay for wear and tear items if I don't have insurance?
"Well, no"

"What if you puncture a tire?"
You just made me pay out of pocket for doing exactly that!!!
"Oh true, that's not covered".

Between him and the manager they couldn't name a thing that was covered, or could ever name a case where they paid out anything under the policy for the thing.

 

[PaulS]

The guy came out to fix it again yesterday and did a bunch of nothing.
I'm going to fix it my self. I just need to replace a damper motor. It is just 180 degrees in my attic. I don't want to mess with it.

Figure out how to jam it open, then wait until it gets cooler to fix it.

Edit: Oh and sometimes installers put a short duct or a plate so you can open it and cool the attic a little while you are working. Sometimes not.