Just the Tip:
Turn down the extended warranty, or protection plan, at checkout, unless a breakdown you couldn’t afford is likely. Stores keep at least half of every dollar spent on these plans, so on average, less than half of what buyers pay comes back as repairs. Put the plan’s price into your savings instead, and it stays yours when nothing breaks.
That’s a much bigger cut than the store makes on the product itself, which is why salespeople push the plan so hard. According to Consumer Reports, two-thirds of in-store electronics shoppers and nearly three-quarters of appliance buyers say a salesperson has pitched them one.
Timing works against you, too. Most products’ failure rates follow what engineers call a bathtub curve. Failures cluster in the first few months, while the manufacturer’s warranty still covers them, and climb again only once parts wear out. A plan spends most of its term in the long, flat stretch in between, when breakdowns are least likely.
A Warranty Week survey of 1,719 appliance plans sold by 32 online retailers, published in March 2026, found the average plan cost 14% of the appliance’s price. At the far end, one retailer offered a $210 five-year plan on a $140 microwave.
So insure yourself, unless a breakdown you couldn’t afford is likely. Each time you decline a plan, move its price into a savings account set aside for repairs. Buy a $1,500 refrigerator, a $900 washer, and a $700 dishwasher over a few years, decline the plan on each at that 14% average, and the account holds $434. Consumer Reports found that when appliances do break, the typical repair cost only $26 more than the plan, so a fund like that covers a breakdown with money left over.
Check your card before you pay for any coverage. Many credit cards extend the manufacturer’s warranty on purchases made with the card, at no extra charge. Chase’s Sapphire cards, for one, add a year to eligible warranties of three years or less. Theft and damage fall under a separate benefit, purchase protection.
Buy a plan only when two things are true. You couldn’t pay for a replacement out of savings, and owner reviews show the model often needs expensive repairs. For everything else, the answer at the register is no, and each no makes the next repair easier to pay for.
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