My practice is to never purchase extended warranties.

I do my due diligence on the product BEFORE I buy - if I don’t think it’s going to be a good product I don’t buy it in the first place.

Since it is still under warranty, get it fixed now. If you like the service you receive, then consider buying the extended warranty. If the service is bad, then you could plan on setting aside money for repairs in your annual budget. In my area, a service call from a good independent technician runs $150 to walk in the door.

I think your initial instinct to forego maintenance contracts is correct. If you buy one appliance in your lifetime that you have to have repaired then you're still ahead by not buying them. Do some more research to see if there is some general problem with this appliance. There may be a design flaw that causes frequent failures. If not, you just lost on your roll of the dice this time and got a lemon. Or, best case scenario, you get it fixed once and then it works for another ten years. If there is a design flaw or it's a lemon, get rid of it and move on. I probably don't have to tell you not to throw good money after bad.

I started to tell you what a bargain-go for it. Then I reread your post and saw that it was $65 per year. That is too much. I find that most washers make sounds of all sorts-even my MIL's Miele, so I would not be unduly concerned. The way you treat it and the fact it is only getting light use, your machine should last for 5 years without you spending a cent on it. It is maddening dealing with supply and labor shortages; but I don't think having that extended warranty would put you ahead of the line. Save your bucks.

I almost always get extended warranties for expensive appliances. I wouldnt do it for coffee makers and toasters. In my experience, things dont go wrong on a couple of years, its always around year 5 and its good to know youre covered. Just one service call probably pays for the EW. Heavy use items like dishwashers and refrigerators, Washers and dryers with all of their electronics are for sure are expensive to repair so you have to take that into account.

The one time (2004) I bought an extended warranty for major appliances (a washer/dryer pair), they refused to do anything about a squealing noise on the dryer because it still was runnable. No repair until it goes non-functional or dead ... which did not happen during the covered time period. The noise eased after several months. A problem (not related to the squeal) occurred at 10 years (five years after the warranty ended), which I DIYed the repair. The washer still has had no repairs.

"But given the Covid situation with back-orders on parts, and labor issues, I'm wondering if it would be valuable to have at this point."

Having an extended warranty or service contract won't protect the consumer from supply chain or parts shortage problems. It is just a type of insurance policy, like auto or homeowners insurance.

First make sure you are not using too much or the wrong detergent because if the service guy comes and that is the issue the extended warranty will not cover it anyway. I find most issues with front loaders is way too much detergent I use a tablespoon of detergent in a load and some Oxyclean that is it . MY Bosch is 15 yrs old not one servicecall and I do 1-3 loads a day lots of big loads of bedding too.

Extended warranty protection against COVID supply chain issues would be if it has a stated provision for replacement of the appliance vs. requirement to repair. My expectation on such a provision is the value of the item for replacement is prorated or reduced for age against its purchase price, the policy holder may be required to pay the difference on the new machine, and the policy holder must accept the offered brand/model which would be determined by the supply issues and probably wouldn't be the same model and possibly not the same brand as the original.

I had an issue with a kitchenaid dishwasher covered under an extended warrantee. They had to fix the issue within a certain time frame or else buy it back. It needed a part that was delived to a different address, i was moving and they couldnt fix it on time. It was the most expensive dishwasher they made abt $2000, I bought it for about $600 because they gave me a discount because the one it replaced had a fire in the control panel in the middle of the night. They bought it back for about $1,300. It worked out for me.

We never used to buy extended warranties. However, the quality of appliances these days does make you think more about it. Yes, the warranties can be iffy, but better than nothing in some cases. Our last washer lasted 4 years, so we did purchase the warranty for the new one.

FWIW, check with your credit card company since ours extended the warranty for another 24 months at no charge. You just need to use the card to make the purchase, or at least a portion of it.

I never buy extended warranty because I don't insure myself against financial risks that I can afford - it makes no sense.

The odds of needing a repair during the initial years of ownership are very slim. In the unlikely event I needed a service call, I can afford to pay for the service call - I don't need to pay $65 to insure myself against a possible payment of $150 or so. And over the course of five years, it is actually $300 - and so what is the point?

My *new* refrigerator has been installed for 3.5 years and is still working perfectly - no need for a service call. So what is the point? Even if I needed a service call in the next year I would have essentially paid for the service call in terms of premiums paid.

How does that make sense?

Maintenance contracts are a huge profit center for stores as well as auto dealers. That is why they push them.