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Nixxta · 10-01-2007, 08:07 PM

Hey everyone,
I just ordered my new Curve (also my first blackberry,) and I wanted to know if it was worth getting that monthly equipment protection plan added to my account. What is the general warranty that comes with the device? Do you only get refurbished units in return for a damaged device under this plan? I need some advice!

Thanks

John Clark · 10-01-2007, 08:09 PM

One year warranty. If you need a warranty replacement it's a refurb unless they don't have any refurbs. The insurance still has a large deductible in addition to the monthly fee.

LunkHead · 10-01-2007, 08:13 PM

T-Mo has a one year warranty replacement and they are fast!!! It will be a refirb as JC stated above but it's a like new device.....

Having said that, the one year warranty will NOT cover loss or theft....

I have never had insurance and think it's a rip-off, but that's just me...

Nixxta · 10-01-2007, 08:26 PM

That's what I thought.. Refurb and deductible? No thanks. I don't get extended warranties on anything, and I've been fine so far, knock on wood!! I mean, after a year or so I may want a new one anyway... C'mon 3G! Hey, a guy can wish.

vinmontRD · 10-01-2007, 08:33 PM

In 15 years of extensive cell phone use, I've never had my primary cell phone die prematurely. Of course it does happen, but a part of your decision has to be based on your own knowledge of the way you care for your phone. Even with the best of care, it's always possible to have an accident, but I've only dropped cell phones 4 times in 15 years: two of the times, they were in closed leather cases, one time the phone dropped onto a carpeted floor -- net of all of this is no damage. The 4th time, I was running to catch a train, tripped and both I and my blackberry went flying into the street: I was face down, but the blackberry wound up on its back. I was scratched up and bruised, and the blackberry has only a minor scratch on the back (front was fine).

It's a gamble - like any insurance policy. Had I been paying insurance all this time (I don't even know if it existed 15 years ago!), I would have paid out something like $900 in premiums by now. If I were still paying, and had made a claim, I would have had to add in deductible in the vicinity of $110. This means that my cost would have been about $1,000 by now, to cover a phone that would likely cost about $300 or $400 to purchase new. I'm glad that I never paid for insurance.

In general, I think of it as about a 2 or 3 year breakeven (very roughly, depending on phone, cost, etc). If you can go 2 years or so without exercising the policy, then I think you're doing better by NOT getting it. Also: if you exercise your upgrade option with your carrier every 2 years (or 1 year like some of us!), then you'll have a new phone anyway every 2 year (or sooner).

In my opinion, unless you're accident or loss prone, you'll probably - on average - do better by not getting the policy. As a matter of fact, the companies that provide insurance (e.g., Assurion), make that get as the basis of their business: they know that, on average, they take in more in premiums than they pay out in claims. That's why insurance companies generally make SO much money.

In the end, it comes down to you. If you'd rather pay out $6 or $7 a month, essentially indefinitely, so you don't risk the chance of having to shell out for a lost or destroyed phone, then it makes sense. But when I do the math for myself, knowing how rarely one of my phones is endangered, I can see that I save quite a bit of money over the years by not using insurance.

LunkHead · 10-01-2007, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nixxta

That's what I thought.. Refurb and deductible? No thanks. I don't get extended warranties on anything, and I've been fine so far, knock on wood!! I mean, after a year or so I may want a new one anyway... C'mon 3G! Hey, a guy can wish.

If you have insurance (that you pay extra monthly for and a deductible when it's used) then the replacement would be a NEW device...

The one year warranty is FREE and that is when you get the refirb.... But this free warranty will not cover theft or loss....

Nixxta · 10-01-2007, 08:42 PM

Thanks for the info, guys!

lxblackout2o3xl · 10-01-2007, 09:58 PM

And its a 110 deductable, not $150.
Or $100, its either 100 or 110.

LunkHead · 10-01-2007, 10:04 PM

Still a rip-off...

vinmontRD · 10-01-2007, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LunkHead

Still a rip-off...

Took me about 200 words to say what you said in four!

ChiSilverSupra · 10-01-2007, 10:08 PM

^^still good to have. If "anything" happens^^

sonny21 · 10-02-2007, 12:25 AM

The main advantage of the $5.99 insurance would be that they would send you the replacement device first rather then you having to send back to tmobile. Also if after one year which the warranty expires, you can file a cliam which would be $110 to get a replacement device through asurion which is the insurance company.

sgtcasey · 10-02-2007, 02:10 AM

inkwell · 10-02-2007, 08:14 AM

Cheaper to go through State Farm for insurance, but still not worth it. Save that money on your own, pay yourself $6 a month.

JSanders · 10-02-2007, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inkwell

Save that money on your own, pay yourself $6 a month.

^^Smart man. Put $6/month in a savings account each month for that purpose = Self insured.

sonny21 · 10-02-2007, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgtcasey

A warranty exchange through T-Mobile, so long as you have a post-paid account meaning you get a bill in the mail every month, doesn't require you to send the device back before receiving the replacement, only after.

Dave

Will that's not how it works for sidekick's, but I guess pda's are different since I don't deal with pda.

LunkHead · 10-02-2007, 12:24 PM

That's how it is with BlackBerry's... They send you out a refirb then when you get it, you mail the bad one back...

secrecyguy · 10-02-2007, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lxblackout2o3xl

And its a 110 deductable, not $150.
Or $100, its either 100 or 110.

It's $110.

But that's only if you accidentally destroyed it, for example, the phone was tossed in the swimming pool. Or you lost it.

Otherwise, there's no deductible.

secrecyguy · 10-02-2007, 12:35 PM

I have insurance on my phone but I am thinking that maybe I really don't need it considering the deductible is quite high. I have T-mobile.

I used to sell cell phones long time ago and I always hear sad stories about how they lost their phone or how they accidentally their phone.

I always recommend getting insurance.

Depending on which carrier you have, some offer very low deductible so it's worth getting it.

But just keep this in mind, if you decided to go without insurance and you just got the phone, if you lost it or destroy it, you may not be able to upgrade to a new phone because you just got the other phone.

That means, you have to spend couple of hundreds of dollars to get a new phone.

vinmontRD · 10-02-2007, 12:42 PM

That's one of the reasons I keep my old "cell phone museum". If I were to destroy or lose my primary phone, I could fall back to one of my older ones. Wouldn't be the same of course, but it wouldn't cost a penny. Then, whenever I felt sufficiently flush, I could pick up a new one -- or just wait for my next subsidized upgrade.

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Insurance: Should I?