We all look at prices, discounts, free delivery and haul away (really free or mail-in rebate too), payment options, etc., but be sure to compare the service plan as part of your purchasing decision if you plan on getting one. Because of my recent experience with the Calypso as well as all the electronics on the new machines we are looking at, we figured we should get something. I know the question about getting one comes up from time to time, so I thought I'd post oue experience. Here's what we've seen:

Sears had a sale that offered a lower price on the machine we were looking at, and because the sign on the color floor model was displaying the white price and the salesman told us that was the price for color, we also got credited the difference and didn't have to pay for the color (they are less this weekend, so it's about the same deal anyway). We thought we had a pretty sweet deal, and Sears gives you 90 days to return if you are not happy. I nearly fell over when he said the service plan on the pair was $658. It does cover an annual check up, but that price easily pays for 4 calls (5 yrs minus the first year to get there) without parts or problems. Didn't get to read the fine print, but I have seen other policies where they annual checks are also required to keep the contract inforce, so they could be a trap if you aren't aware or forget (is the Sears plan is like that it could be the most expensive and least likely to cover your repairs). Their no lemon policy requires 4 repairs in a 12 month period, and you would have A&E service. I had good luck with one call and a nightmare with another -- which one would you get next time?

I remembered the night before our scheduled delivery that we bought the Whirlpool version of the Calypso from Best Buy instead of the Kenmore because the prices for the machine were the same but the service plan at Best Buy was less. I looked it up and found that if Best Buy didn't price match, we would get about the same deal, but if they did price match and we got their service plan, we would save about $400. DH said keep it -- they would probably compare bottom line and we wanted to get the machine sooner since we'd been without since May. Evening comes and no call from Sears. I call to get my delivery time -- they've moved it to Sunday without contacting me! We cancelled.

Best Buy has a 5 year plan for $199 -- saving $459 over Sear's price. Sears was willing to discount the service plan 10% like the washer and dryer, but we still save over $400 with BB. No preventative calls, but less chance of getting hung up on forgetting to make a call for a machine that is working well. It includes surge protection and doesn't use A&E service. Their lemon policy is 4 service calls, but they give you only 30 days to make a return. We got the same delivery date and saved over $400.

I didn't get the details at Home Depot (DH didn't want to buy from the sales person there and the prices were higher) or Lowe's (model availability).

Whirlpool has a plan you can purchase directly from them -- they send out an offer once your warranty or other service plan expires (what we had on the Calypso). The cost is more than Best Buy's 5 year plan (I think we paid $300-400 and the new offer that came recently would have been around $600), covers up to 3 years and is the most restrictive of all. They require 4 service calls for the same part before they replace the machine, use A&E service (who installed 3 wrong parts on my machine and spent enough doing it that they won't repair my machine now), and if they can't or won't fix your machine, you do not get a replacement. The plan says they will send you a credit towards the purchase of a new Whirlpool product and the credit is tied to a percentage of the replacement value. The older the machine, the more you pay for the contract and the less you will receive. In addition, they don't send you a credit as stated, they send you a letter to send back with your new model and serial number after you go out of pocket and then wait weeks or longer for a check. There are other variances between the terms and conditions and the practices they have in place, but that's another story.

Just know what you are getting if you buy a service plan and include that in your bottom line. Make it an educated choice -- at least the best you can based on what they will tell you up front (you often don't see the terms and condition until much later). And if you aren't getting something with a lot of moving parts or a lot of expensive electronic parts, maybe you don't need the headache at all.