Jan
16
When It Pays To Take The Long Warranty? – Water Heaters
January 16, 2008 | Comments Off
On very few things I get impressed by the warranty ratings. Cars could be one thing. But Water Heaters warranty ratings is definitively one thing I do watch. Blueprint For Financial Prosperity ponders the question about paying double for the water heater with the extra warranty ($755 12 year vs. $355 for the 6 year). My advice: replace it now and get the expensive one.
Water Heaters tend to break close to their Warranty rating. The problem with water heaters (vs other appliances) is that they are prone to leaking water and causing damage – not to mention the aggravation of being without hot water for a while. The item that breaks the most in water heaters is the water tank. This is especially true in areas where the water quality is less than perfect. Chances are a 12 year heater will last double the 6 year one – and the price premium will be justifiable.
Maybe my advice is influenced by my personal experience. I have had a water heater explode in my properties twice. The first time I caught it early – a 24th of December. Since I caught it very soon after it broke, I was able to stop water going into it. It was repaired in January, leaving me without hot water for over a week in the middle of one of those frigid New England Winters. The second time was worse. It exploded while my tenant was on vacation – so it accumulated a foot and a half of water in a finished basement. Repair costs exceeded $10,000, plus the cost of the water heater (insurance did covered most of it, sans deductible and water heater, but it didn’t covered having to be home to watch the contractors, nor the extra premium they now charge because of the incident).
Your time (watching over contractors), your aggravation (not having hot water), and most importantly your personal property or finished basement is worth a lot more than the premium you would pay for the better warranty heater. This is one of those few times where you do not want to be cheap – get a good quality, long life heater.
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