I've always been of the opinion that you are better off self-insuring for most things, especially if you buy decent quality to start with. I'm wondering if I need to reconsider.
I've just had a Neff oven door self destruct, in an oven that cost £1,000 six years ago. The engineering that delivers the "slide & hide" feature is somewhat suspect, and it is almost certainly going to become a
common occurrence. One thing of note is that while the door is easy to remove in normal operation, it can be a true SOB when it has gone off the tracks (the GBBO is not the only way it can disclocate, other ways leave everything very jammed)
Anyhow, I poked around and came to the conclusion it was an accumulation of play in several components. I thought changing the hinges and runners would be the first step, so looked up the cost. £220. And, no guarantee it would be fixed or remain fixed. Repair through Neff? £100 callout + parts. So, after a bit of Google I found what seemed to be a good repair outfit promising a fixed cost repair guaranteed for 90 days for £160. Turns out they also sell annual warranty, which would give me a year's protection for another £70. The fixed price repair included parts up to £250, and if they can't repair they replace like for like. On the basis that I had reconciled to spending that much on spare parts, I went for it, so find myself back in warranty land.
At the same time our one year old Samsung US-Style fridge freezer started leaking water. Engineer has just visited that and..... it's a write off.
It just seems symptomatic of the naff quality of Neff and other pretty damn expensive white goods, these days. Not convinced about warranty (and I'm unlikely to renew the oven after this year) but it does make me think.
Oh, and one last thing. Those two little 20W halogen bulbs in the door....
HOW FUCKING MUCH EACH? ? ? ?