My home warranty company is gonna go broke...

[Spiky Bugger]

We bought this house about 2.5 years ago. We have paid for a lot of improvements, but...boy!...have we had some help along the way.

First, there was the stove. It was a state of the art GE Americana electric stove, two ovens, a rotisserie, a vent fan and a griddle attachment. One oven died. No replacement parts available. They had to pay me for a double-oven stove which I don't need and a vent fan. $1223+ I bought a low end gas stove and a new microwave. And put $400 in the bank. (Oh...and I just sold that stove to a collector for $300...lol)

Then the pool pump leaked. It, too, was very old. We replaced it with a variable speed pump, to save energy. I think it ran about $1000, including installation. Warranty paid us $530, SoCalEdison gave us a $250 rebate. So that item was only about $220 out of pocket.

Then the AC. Also very old. They paid us $3000 and my step-brother billed us $2000. (I split the profit with him and paid him $2500.)

Then the furnace stopped heating. And the attic ductwork was thrashed. Warranty folks said they wouldn't pay for ductwork because it was secondary to the new furnace...but THEN...the furnace started working again. So I submitted a claim for the ductwork as a stand alone. That cost $3000, I think, and the warranty people paid $1000.

Then, the furnace went out again. Step-brother replaced that, and miscellaneous little stuff, for $3800. Warranty people paid $1372. (Local AC company bid it at closer $5800.)

Moving right along, the aging fridge. Icemaker went south. They replaced it. But now the water dispenser is not dispensing water. Repair guy says water is freezing inside the door and he can't fix it. No access to the guts of the door.

Our policy says they will cover "...all parts and components that affect tbe operation of one kitchen refrigerator, icemaker/water dispenser, provided parts are available. In cases where parts are not available, [warranty company]'s obligation is limited to cash in lieu of repair based on the cost of replacement parts."

Do you suppose that means they have to find a replacement refrigerator door, price it, and send me another check? I wonder how the calculate the "cost of replacement parts" when said parts are not available.

Either way...we have paid about $1600 for the policy, plus $420 in basic service charges...$2020.
They have paid us $6125.

But no water dispenser...yet.

 

[JackieOnLine]

But no water dispenser...yet.

I hate to see you roughing it like this, and at your age.

 

[Munchkin]

Wow!!!! You have better insurance than I ever did!

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Wow!!!! You have better insurance than I ever did!

Yes! I grumbled about the policy when the sellers included it...but we have already renewed it twice!

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I hate to see you roughing it like this, and at your age.

LOL. You are so "thoughty." I 'preciate it.

 

[southernlady]

When we sold our house this past spring, we asked our realtor about a home warranty policy and she told us not to bother. BUT OTOH, all the kitchen appliances had been replaced in the four years we lived there, replaced the washer/dryer, added TWO freezers, and replaced 95% of the plumbing.

 

[DianaCox]

Wow - all we got out of our home warranty (first year just expired) was a new Samsung washer and dryer (purchased just ahead of the Trump Tariff on South Korean washers) for which the home warranty company paid us $770 for our circa 2003 washer and dryer that came with the house (and which conveniently went south within a week of each other) - but then again, this is what happened:

* Got our old deceased washer and dying electric dryer condemned by the home warranty company for a $770 buyout.
* Went to Lowe’s to look at their Black Friday deals and bought new Samsung washer and gas dryer ($400 off each, minus $100 extra for gas, and paying extra for installation and fittings, and removal of old units), and got a $50 price match for dryer to the Home Depot price.
* Saw a Samsung fridge to replace the old but still functional fridge that was too small for the space it was in, for $1000, which was $1200 off - I guess it wasn’t a popular model because it doesn’t have an in-door ice or water dispenser, which I didn’t want anyway, because the water is not good here, so we use bottled or R/O water for drinking and cooking, and plastic ice cubes for chilling drinks, and anyway the dispenser takes up room in the door.
* There’s a Lowe’s rebate for buying 3 appliances of $100.

Total: $2500 - $770 - $100 = $1630.

But of course, I didn't give the home warranty company the opportunity to condemn the old fridge, which was working fine, but we had just replaced the garage fridge with a 2015 model bought off of someone in the community (we sold the old one for $125, and they carted it away) - it probably would have taken a LONG time for it to die, and it was ugly, too small and missing some pieces inside, so I'm OK with it.

I re-upped the home warranty but removed the washer/dryer/fridge riders, which saved about $150 on renewal.

I'm wondering if our A/C is going to last the summer - we're going to be away for much of it in our RV though.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

When we sold our house this past spring, we asked our realtor about a home warranty policy and she told us not to bother. BUT OTOH, all the kitchen appliances had been replaced in the four years we lived there, replaced the washer/dryer, added TWO freezers, and replaced 95% of the plumbing.

Your buyer can buy their own. There's a short--30-60 days--waiting time, but then it's all covered.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Wow - all we got out of our home warranty (first year just expired) was a new Samsung washer and dryer (purchased just ahead of the Trump Tariff on South Korean washers) for which the home warranty company paid us $770 for our circa 2003 washer and dryer that came with the house (and which conveniently went south within a week of each other) - but then again, this is what happened:

* Got our old deceased washer and dying electric dryer condemned by the home warranty company for a $770 buyout.
* Went to Lowe’s to look at their Black Friday deals and bought new Samsung washer and gas dryer ($400 off each, minus $100 extra for gas, and paying extra for installation and fittings, and removal of old units), and got a $50 price match for dryer to the Home Depot price.
* Saw a Samsung fridge to replace the old but still functional fridge that was too small for the space it was in, for $1000, which was $1200 off - I guess it wasn’t a popular model because it doesn’t have an in-door ice or water dispenser, which I didn’t want anyway, because the water is not good here, so we use bottled or R/O water for drinking and cooking, and plastic ice cubes for chilling drinks, and anyway the dispenser takes up room in the door.
* There’s a Lowe’s rebate for buying 3 appliances of $100.

Total: $2500 - $770 - $100 = $1630.

But of course, I didn't give the home warranty company the opportunity to condemn the old fridge, which was working fine, but we had just replaced the garage fridge with a 2015 model bought off of someone in the community (we sold the old one for $125, and they carted it away) - it probably would have taken a LONG time for it to die, and it was ugly, too small and missing some pieces inside, so I'm OK with it.

I re-upped the home warranty but removed the washer/dryer/fridge riders, which saved about $150 on renewal.

I'm wondering if our A/C is going to last the summer - we're going to be away for much of it in our RV though.

Washer,dryer and fridge for $1600? Not bad.

By the way, we had R/O in NV and somewhere in the small print of something we used to make coffee (either Cuisinart's Coffee on Demand or the Keurig) there was a disclaimer re the R/O...we THINK it was the Keurig...that expained that they built the thing for "normal" levels of stuff in the water and R/O systems screwed with that, ergo, it might not last as long.

 

[DianaCox]

Huh - I'd better look at my Breville - I would NOT be happy to have something go wrong with my $300 coffee grinder/brewer because my water was TOO clean.

Even with that, I've had to descale 3 times since we started using the R/O water. The machine tells me when I need to do it.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Also, I talked to the warranty company. They said that, yes, they are obliged to repair or replace the water dispenser.

If they need to replace the door, it IS available. I found it online!