Buying a 7D - warranty advice

[stavroshamster]

Well, I've decided to go for a 7D instead of a 60D, and with Quidco cashback Jessops is the cheapest place to buy it at the moment I think (~£1120).

They also sell a 3 year warranty on their website for £129 which I was wondering whether to go for? (i.e. its effectively £65 per year as the first year is covered by Canon anyway)

Do you think it's worth the money or can I get cover elsewhere? Or don't you think I should bother?

[Funkstar]

What does it cover?

Is it accidental damage as well? If so, then I think that's a good deal. It's something I would be tempte with to be honest.

[kalniel]

How much is contents insurance with accidental damage + goods removed from the home for your house?

[stavroshamster]

It includes accidental damage, breakdown due to wear and tear and mechanical and electrical failure.

I have personal possessions cover already on things away from the home up to £2500 for individual items (covering loss or accidental damage), but think that adding contents accidental damage for in the home would add about £40 per year to my home insurance.

[Saracen]

I'm sceptical about extended warranties on most things, but I guess the fairest (and, I accept, most obvious) thing anyone can say is that you're paying, in part at least, for a peace of mind factor.

Typically, for most electronics (and DSLRs are largely but obviously not entirely, electronic) they either fail fairly quickly or not at all. So for most types of consumer electronics, I don't see extended warranties as good value. But as was said, it depends exactly what's covered, and what insurance cover you have. I seriously doubt (though I could be wrong) that it'll cover accidental damage, theft etc, so some external cover on home contents or dedicated insurance is probably a good idea. So I guess it comes down to assessing whether you think the change of a covered failure between month 12 and month 36 justifies the charge.

My view would be that it does not. But then, I have accidental cover on the home policy covering my camera gear, so some types of failure, perhaps like damaged shutters from a knock, would be covered anyway.

And, of course, even once the 12-month Canon warranty has expired, you still have Sale of Goods Act rights that would include the expectation of "reasonable" life from an expensive product. That eats into what cover you'd get from an extended warranty rendering it to some extent superfluous.

That's why I generally reject extended warranties as poor value for money. Having said that, I recently bought a slightly more expensive washing machine than I might have because of a full-feature (parts, labour and callout) 5-year manufacturer warranty that was being included free of charge. That I did think was worth having, but of course, a washing machine isn't a DSLR so it's of minimal use to you.

And, with a washing machine being largely mechanical, I regard them (based on experience) as FAR more susceptible to breakdown than a camera.

So, were it me, I'd reject that extended warranty as poor value. But I'd be aware I might be unlucky enough to end up with an expensive repair bill that might have been covered if I'd taken it. If you want the extra cover, and the peace of mind you get from being covered, and it's worth the £129, then buy it. But I wouldn't.

One more thing. A long time ago, in particularly hard times, I spent about three years with no domestic contents cover at all. It saved about £1000 in premiums which was £1000 I didn't have, so it wasn't exactly buy choice. And I didn't have anything I'd have claimed on. But I also know someone that spent years with no contents cover and was rather cocky about the savings ..... until his son left the chip pan on when he went out, and the resulting fire gutted the house and what wasn't burned to a crisp was either ruined by smoke or water from the fire brigade's hoses. His savings didn't look so bright then.

I lacked insurance out of Hobson's choice, but by 'eck, was I nervous about it or what! My peace of mind was virtually non-existent.

[Saracen]

Oh, and if you haven't already, read the fine print. Even if it covers accidental damage, it can sometimes be illuminating what the detailed exclusions are, and you sometimes have to think quite carefully about what it might mean, not just what it says. Insurance terminology can be slippery as hell.

[HSK]

I worked for Jessops (it was my last day today as it goes), the extended cover will cover you against any type of accident, you can have an accident one, two, three, or more times and they'll sort it out for you. It won't cover loss though.

It's usually worth getting, as just sending it away out of warranty cost 25 from jessops, for an estimate of costs. If you have cover, you don't pay a fee on that, and saves you any excess fee's on home insurance or bumping up your premium.

and also, you don't have to buy the cover when you purchase your camera, you can get it within one year - but the cover will start from date of purchase.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

I got my canon 400d a few years ago from currys and they have a rolling warranty contract that lasts forever and can be canceled any time.

You only pay £3 and it covers you from accidental damages and any mechanical fault. You just send it to currys and currys will send it to canon or u can send it directly to canon.

Why not try and get the 7d from currys?

[Funkstar]

7D from Jessops + Cover = Currys price

http://www.camerapricebuster.com/Can...D_Body_pc.html

And the Quidco from Jessops is higher than that for Currys

[finlay666]

7D from Jessops + Cover = Currys price

http://www.camerapricebuster.com/Can...D_Body_pc.html

And the Quidco from Jessops is higher than that for Currys

AND Jessops Quidco should track if you do a collection on the item from the store (I don't know about Currys but with Comet it has been a PITA to get them to validate and pay the cashback on my Sony A450)

[GoNz0]

the extended warranty + accidental often costs less then your insurance excess and wont cost more for the following 5 years after making a claim.

jessops, comet and curries (i assume currys use D&G like jessops and comet) have £0 excess and unlimited claims.

[williamsboldon]

i work for curry's and have the same service as josh1408 above on my Oly DSLR, im looking at getting a new cammy in the new year, probs on jessops 12 month interest free terms and, i'll definitely be taking the warranty, always worth it as i tend to wander into rivers for long exposures of waterfalls, rivers etc, drop it in the water and hey presto, new camera