Extended Warranties and Dusting

[Mark Woodward]

We all know that “extended warranties” are a suckers bet. The company 
offering the warranty has done the actuarial analysis and calculated the 
probability of failure, cost of replacement/repair, the likelihood 
people will claim after a period of time, and etc. In short, an 
“extended warranty” is by definition probably not your best investment 
unless you are particularly abusive to your belongings or fairly unlucky.

Now the flip side. I had an nVidia PCIe display card in my computer. I 
say “had” I do still have it, but it has ceased to behave like a display 
card and has started, in essence, to function as nothing more than a 
paperweight. I should have known that if the fan on the card got loaded 
with dust, and ceased to rotate, that the card would then, in turn, 
cease to display. Permanently.

So, I found myself heading out to Microcenter last night to buy a 
replacement. I'm not a gamer and don't care about speed. All I do care 
about is that I can run dual monitors. It needs two outputs that can be 
displayed as one surface. I found the nearest equivalent. After instant 
rebate and a mail-in rebate, the end cost is $39.99. So, $40 dollars.

At the register, I was asked if I wanted the extended warranty. Of 
course I said no. It was $19.99 for two years. Basically half the 
end-price of the card. The previous card, now a paperweight, was just 
over two years old. I would not have been able to get it replaced and 
even if I did, they would have the option of “replace” or “repair” which 
means they could send it back to the factory and make me wait. Even if I 
could have gotten a full replacement, for free, with no problems, 
Microcenter does not carry the card anymore. Again, I would have to wait 
for a replacement.

So, if I pay $19.99 for the extended warranty, I'd probably never use it 
because if the card failed, I'd need a replacement sooner than I could 
realistically get one. Even if I could, at most, it appears I would have 
saved about $20 by paying $19.99 two years ago. Granted inflation is 
pretty stable, but I'm pretty sure that 2008 $19.99 is worth more today 
in 2010. It hardly seems worth the trouble.

Then there's the question of dusting. Is it even worth dusting? 
“Dustoff” or similar hydrocarbon sprays are bad for the environment. If 
you had raw compressed air, that would be better. Maybe a vacuum? The 
next question is how often would you need to dust and what is the total 
combined time? How much is your time worth?

I don't know. Maybe I'll vacuum out the dust in this card next year. If 
I remember. If I even have the computer next year. I could be due for an 
upgrade......