“For €59, you’re covered for 3 years, parts and labor.” Extended warranties are among the most profitable products retailers sell — which doesn’t mean they’re always useless to you. Here’s how to decide without getting ripped off, or missing out on genuine protection.
First: what you already get for free
Before doing any math, remember that in France you already benefit from the 2-year legal guarantee of conformity (free and automatic), often paired with a manufacturer’s commercial warranty. An extended warranty only adds value for the period beyond those protections.
The 4 questions to ask
1. How much does the extension cost compared with the product’s price? An extended warranty priced at 15% of the device’s cost is rarely worth it statistically. Beyond that, it’s almost always a bad deal.
2. What does it actually cover? Read the exclusions: accidental damage, liquid damage, wear and tear, battery, screen… are frequently left out. Also check the deductibles (the amount you still pay) and the reimbursement caps.
3. Is the device reliable and repairable? For a product known to be sturdy, the odds of a failure outside the legal guarantee are low. For a fragile product, or one that’s expensive to repair, the trade-off changes.
4. What happens if it breaks? Repair, replacement with a brand-new unit, or reimbursement at depreciated value (i.e., marked down)? The difference is huge.
When it can make sense
- Expensive, fragile devices that cost a lot to repair (high-end large appliances, some professional equipment).
- Genuine accidental-damage or liquid-damage cover on a portable device (useful only if it covers what the legal guarantee doesn’t).
- Brand-new replacement with no deductible and no depreciation.
When to say no
- The extension mostly overlaps the first 2 years already guaranteed by law.
- The price exceeds 15 to 20% of the product’s price.
- The exclusions drain the coverage of any real value.
- The device is cheap to replace.
An alternative people overlook
Rather than signing up on autopilot, many households come out ahead by self-insuring the small risks: setting aside the money you’d have spent on declined extensions more than covers the rare out-of-warranty breakdowns. Save the extended warranty for big-ticket items where a failure would genuinely hurt.
The bare minimum: track your warranties
Whether you take the extension or not, the real waste is paying for a repair when you were still covered. With Keept, you record the duration of every warranty (legal, commercial and extended) and the app alerts you before each one expires. The moment something breaks, you always know which protection is still active — and you only pay for an extension when it genuinely adds something.