Extended warranty question

[dotman]

I bought my xha1 at bhphoto and neglected to purchase the mack extended warranty. I think you have to buy it at the time of purchase to be valid, is that true? And if so, is another reliable warranty worth buying? And if I'm mistaken, can I still buy the Mack waranty? I'd like any thoughts about the above and extended waranties in general. Thanks.

[Huy Vu]

I believe you have to purchase the warranty within 30 days of buying the camera. Personally, I don't think extended warranty is a good investment because they do not insure you against accidental damages to the camera (which is what most people will be wanting them for), only against manufacturing defects. So dropping the camera isn't covered.

If the company should decide that the damage to the camera is your fault, your warranty is worthless, and there is no objective way for them to determine this, they basically look at the camera and says yes or no and there's nothing you can do about it.

Case in point: my A1 has a poorly installed firewire port that causes the connection to snap when I put the firewire in. It was still under the original Canon warranty so I brought it in only to have the Canon tech told me that the damage was my fault and therefore not covered under warranty repair. The cost was $260 to fix. I fumed and raged but in the end there was nothing to do but pay for the repair.
You should look at having your camera insured through an insurance company. I'm not sure what the policy is but it's a better investment in my opinion. I've also heard some horror stories about the Mack warranties too (and you'll find them if you do a search) ranging from long turn around time to poor customer services.

[squiggle]

I bought my xha1 from B&H a few weeks ago and didn't know about their extended warranty. While I was placing another order a couple of days ago, a salesman convinced me to buy the warranty by saying that ANY accidental damage will be covered. I'll carefully review the information when the document arrives.