When you buy a product in a store, a part of the sale is often to sell you an extended warranty. Usually, the idea is that the new television you buy is guaranteed for only a year unless you agree to pay another $40 or so for an extended warranty, and, in some states, that's the case. Such products are sold "as-is" or with whatever length of guarantee they might want to place on it, often one year, and you need to buy an extended warranty if you want to extend the period. In other states, including Maine, there is an implied warranty on products above the guarantee period that the manufacturer or store might place on them. There is an implication that a television set, for example, will last longer than a year, and the manufacturer is required to honor the implied warranty regardless of whether or not you have purchased the extended warranty. You can find a list of these states here. In an implied warranty state, like Maine, the store will still try to sell you an extended warranty, and employees won't necessarily even know about the implied warranty laws, but if your television quits working in a year and a half, the manufacturer still needs to repair or replace it. You might have to go to the manufacturer rather than the store, but you can get it taken care of. My wife bought a 50" television a year and a half ago, and it quit working a couple of weeks ago. The guarantee was only for a year and we don't buy extended warranties because, in most cases, they don't extend the period much beyond the implied warranty period, anyhow. Best Buy didn't know anything about the implied warranty laws in Maine so she went to the manufacturer, who arranged for us to bring the television back to Best Buy, who shipped it back to the manufacturer to see if it could be repaired. It couldn't so they sent a gift card equal to the price of a replacement television, which was more than she had paid for it, given that prices have risen. Meanwhile, she bought another 50" television, so I used the gift card to buy a 50" television to replace the 27" TV that I have had for several years now. It still works fine but I now have to get up and walk closer to the television (across the room) in order to read anything on it. Believe it or now, my eyes aren't as good as they used to be.
Some things we will buy the Extended Warranty on and other things, no. If it's an item that is pretty expensive, then, yes we will.
The whole year after getting a new dishwasher, for which I did not get an extended warranty, I got mail to permit me to buy and extended warranty every couple of months. If it goes down without the extension, I will vote with my feet instead of paying them to have someone repair it. I buy brand names with reliable histories, mine or aquaintences. But the times they are a changin' and washing dishes might have to go back in time
There is a good reason for selling an extended warranty. They make more profit on the warranty than when they sell the product. And if the warranty company goes out of business, the consumer is usually out of luck, unless he/she wants to bother with court. Personally, I've never bought an extended warranty for any product, including cars. The few times I needed repair, the company made it right anyway. Most reputable companies will. Examples: Last year, I purchased 8 rather expensive rechargeable batteries for high-powered flashlights & emergency lanterns. They were $25.00 each. They were defective; after using them for a few months, they wouldn't hold a charge for more than 3-4 days. I e-mailed the company & at first, they said, "Well, you didn't buy an extended warranty, so we can't help you." When I complained some more, they offered to sell me 8 more batteries at half price. I said that wasn't acceptable & I would be sure to warn others. They sent me 8 replacement batteries - and they paid for shipping, too. (The squeaky wheel gets the grease) A few years ago, I bought a Shark Vacuum. For some reason, it took more effort than I thought it should to push & pull it. I contacted Shark & they sent me a replacement that worked perfectly. They also paid the return shipping for the other vacuum. In 1991, I bought a new Honda Accord. At 48,000 miles, the clutch started leaking. The manufacturer's warranty expired at 36,000 miles. I complained about paying for a new clutch that was $750.00 with labor. The dealer wrote to Honda of N. America & they replaced the clutch at no charge. And they also didn't charge me for a loaner car (which I would have paid for). In 2002, I bought a new Toyota Camry. After 4 years, the drive belt needed to be replaced. It was worn due to time, not miles. At the time, my work was close to home, so the car only had 35,000 miles on it, but the warranty was 3 years OR 36,000 miles - typical for car warranties because some parts wear from exposure to heat & smog. Toyota paid for the $250.00 replacement. When choosing a product, price should never be the ONLY consideration. Companies that make better products care more about their reputation & they understand the importance of a happy customer.
I have never purchased an extended warranty in my life, and never needed one. Since the topic is "Implied" warranties, I'll say that I'm not familiar with those at all and find @Ken Anderson 's experience very interesting.
For those of you who don't click, the states with implied warranty laws are: Connecticut Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota Mississippi New Hampshire Vermont Washington West Virginia and The District of Columbia.