That's why I'm asking. No way I am going to buy the warranty for everything because then I'm basically self-warrantied -- the combined price of the warranties is more than the value of some of these appliances. But if I cherry pick the two or three most likely to need repairs, or with the most expensive repairs, I'm playing the odds.

I would be totally shocked if the coffee maker can grind beans and pump hard water at high pressure for five years without needing a repair. That warranty seems like a no-brainer. But not sure if anything else is worth it. Induction cooktop seems like a strong candidate, especially with as much tech as Thermador puts into the Freedom cooktop. Or are inductions fairly solid state?

I forgot to mention the fridge, freezer or beverage center but I don't think those are strong candidates for extended warranty? IIRC I already got an extra year or two of warranty by having an authorized installer put them in.

Induction cooktops are entirely solid state (in its usual meaning). That does not mean the power FETs used to drive the coils will have infinite lifetime, or that the capacitors will never age out, or that the touch control assembly will be immune to failures. In my view, due to complexity and levels of stress on the power components, a warranty that significantly extends the warranty period, at a cost that is not over 20% of the new price, will reduce the potential loss over the period of ownership.

That noted, clearly if the insurance company providing the warranty knows exactly what the failure probability distributions are of the components of being warranted, and the cost of repairs given various failures, the warranty will always cost more than your expected cost if you are average in failures. This is also true of house insurance. You are protecting yourself from owning a unit with a non-average early failure. You may also be protecting yourself from a possibly expensive adjunct cost if candidate replacement units do not easily fit into the cutout space.

USCPsycho, you don't have your kitchen done yet? Dude, what happened? Seems like forever ago when we were helping out with the backsplash stone. :)

I tend to consider extended warranties for appliances that are electronics-heavy. For that reason I opted for it with the Thermador refrigerator since it's a huge splurge for me and I expect something to break down within 5 years.

I opted to not buy the extended warranty for my Bosch induction cooktop when purchased 6-7 years ago. Nary a problem. I think you're ok with the Thermador since they're essentially the same appliance.

Skip it on the dishwasher, especially if you're looking at Thermador, since they're Bosch.

zmith - The kitchen is finally done. There were some issues with the island hood prep that really slowed things down. In the last couple of weeks I had the final pieces installed - the cooktop, the island hood and the under-counter beverage center. Those were the only missing pieces when the backsplash went in. We're still patching the ceiling around the hood so I have the ugly protective film on it, which is why I haven't posted final reveal photos. Although, I haven't picked a paint color for the walls (obviously) or the table that will go in the kitchen, chairs or stools. So maybe I should wait for all that before posting the final reveal photos.

I have extended warranties for my Miele fridge, freezer and dishwasher, and I'm glad that I do. I have had my fridge replaced (outside of initial warranty period) and I have had repairs to my freezer and dishwasher which by far exceeded the cost of the warranty. My combi and regular oven (Gaggenau) had 2 year warranties, and they have been good.

If the extended warranty had not been through Miele, I would not have bothered, particularly since my 14 yr old Miele DW gave me no problems at all, but I was nervous about the cost of the fridge and freezer.

Good luck with your decision.

In some cases buying from Costco with their Visa may work if they have a product you want. 4 year warranty without added cost.

Costco also carries Square Trade. I'm not sure if they have an upper limit on what they will cover, and how long.

You also get extended warranty coverage by purchasing with an Amex.

Some thoughts on warranties:

1) warranty through retailer is only valid while the retailer is in business - so be cautious with small regional chains or individual ma and pa stores

2) complexity of the product: fancier models with more bells and whistles have more to potentially go wrong

3) how new the model is; it’s hard to catch everything in the lab and during short field tests prior to launch

4) proven technology vs new technology; new anything always brings risk

5) more moving parts = more potential failures

6) water varies dramatically in the US; huge differences in mineral content, even within a given region, that can cause product issues; having soft water can help certain products last longer

7) what service parts you can actually buy; big difference in cost between a pump seal and the whole pump assembly if the manufacturer is unwilling to sell certain components

8) brand positioning; higher end stuff typically isn’t trying to get every nickel and dime out of the design vs a product which must compete at the entry level of the market

9) hot and wet appliances always have more risks as electronic controls tend to not like either; steam anything certainly adds risk

10) distance from a resource to fix your stuff; some of the assessment costs just to identify the problem are crazy expensive if you live in the boondocks

11) what complaints are prevalent, and the cost to repair

That said, microwaves, electric ranges, electric dryers, and fan hoods are poor places to invest in extended warranties because of the simplicity of the machine. DIY guys, outside of the microwave, can usually fix these pretty easily on their own and microwaves are inexpensive enough to just toss them if they fail.