I'm looking at buying a riding mower at Lowes and their 3 yr. protection plan looks pretty appealing (cost approx. $375) as far as what it covers. Has anyone had any experience with using this service plan on a mower purchased from Lowes.
Lowes 3 yr. protection plan on riding mower
- Thread starter Electromotive
- Start date
1. I always take risk and don't do extended warranties.
2. Make sure you know who Lowes is going to do the work.
3. I have had some warranty issues in the first year of service and none after that, so I do self-insure. All other repairs were after year 4. First yr warranty comes with the tractor.
2. Make sure you know who Lowes is going to do the work.
3. I have had some warranty issues in the first year of service and none after that, so I do self-insure. All other repairs were after year 4. First yr warranty comes with the tractor.
When I remember looking into one for a log splitter it seemed to be okay. I think you might get 1 year manufacturers warranty but then extended through protection plan for 2 extra years. I could see if you put a decent amount of hours on a machine or bought something with questionable quality.
Generally speaking you are unlikely to encounter $375 in needed repairs for a riding mower in five to ten years. These warranties cover unexpected repairs and not routine maintanence or wear items. You may do better to invest that $375 into an ETF of or even a CD and pull it out if and when you need it. It is unlikely that you will need it.
In the interests of full disclosure I worked as a manger at Lowe's between retirement and full retirement if you know what I mean. The way these things work is that your machine will be sent out to a regional OPE repair specialist for service. This was a once a week thing in my area. If your timing was perfect you could have your machine back in six days. If you were unfortunate it would take thirteen days. I believe that contract comps you $50 if your machine is gone for more than a week.
I agree. Major problems will either show themselves under the manufacturer's warranty or wait for more than five years. You are better off establishing a realtionship with a local dealer who will take care of both you and your equipment and get it back to you in 2-3 days maximum. I have all of my OPE repaired by the local John Deere dealer when needed. Repaired - not serviced. Some examples include
- Replacement of the wiring harness on JD140 lawn tractor under warranty
- Replacement of carbureator and sealing gas tank leaks on 40 year old Troy-Bilt tiller
- Re allignment of drive pulleys on Billy Goat leaf vacuum
My wife was in the insurance biz a while back. Extended warranties are a money grab.
