I just bought the Kitchenaid Pro 6 quart.

Kitchenaid has their own extended warranty from 1 to 3 years - basically $25 per year.

Amazon features Square Trade with 3 and 4 year warranties.

Extended warranties are like buying a life insurance policy, and I don't believe in buying a life insurance policy on anything but a life.

The manufacturer's warranty is usually enough to cover you for any immediate problems due to defects that might show up right away.

I think it's a waste of money for something that they push you to buy for their commission benefit and pure profit if there's never a need to pay out. You're usually better off paying for a repair or a replacement IF/WHEN the time may come, and saving the extra money for now. Consider yourself lucky in 30+ years that it lasted as long as it did, and use that as an opportunity to get the newest model or the hottest new color available!

Both my sister in-laws had to replace theirs shortly after getting them. It might be worth it from what I hear.

From what I hear about the KAs now, I'd invest in the extended warranty. People have had problems with them just after the 1 yr warranty on the purchase expires, and the repairs have cost almost as much as a new KA. When Hobart made them, they were the best and couldn't be beat. Not so much any more. I have one of the old ones made by Hobart and it's still working. Love it, but I have a Cuisinart 7 qt that I really like now, and it comes with a 4 or 5 year warranty - can't remember which right now. I am one who, on certain appliances, does believe in an extended warranty. Have found it VERY useful with the double oven we had installed in our kitchen remodel in 2004, but of course that's a lot different from a KA stand mixer. But if it were me, I'd go with the extended warranty.

i never buy extended warranties on anything. We view them as 'gimmicks' that salemen use just to upsell you.

You mention the many year warranty on the Cuisinart. Sometimes I look at long warranties. It seems to me if a company gives long warranties - especially an established company - they have a great product or they would not give long warranties. Just a way of thinking - may not be so, just my thinking.

Kitchenaid was first and foremost in my mind because it is what everyone talks about on baking and decorating sites.

When I bought an ipod from BestBuy they tried to sell me the extended warranty. Best Buy makes more money on extended warranties than they do on actual sales, I suspect, the way they push, push, push them on you. The salesman even went so far as to say, " this particular ipod model has been having lots of problems, with a warranty you won't have to worry about it." I asked him why his company was selling me a product that they knew was having lots of problems, and should I go to another store that doesn't do that? That shut him up.


Regarding Kitchenaids. Their customer service is very good about keeping you happy, even after the warranty expires. I have a friend who recently got a brand new replacement shipped to them 6 years after the warranty expired.

And the problems that have been reported with the new owners of kitchenaid are not quite accurate, as I understand it. What happened is that the new owners changed a couple of the gears to plastic so that if the machine was overburdened to the point of burning out the motor, the gears were designed to break just before that point. Makes sense when you consider the cost of replacing a few gears as opposed to replacing a whole motor. Unfortunately, word spread about the plastic parts without the explanation of why they were being used.

People couldn't get over the association of a change from metal to plastic as meaning lesser quality in their eyes. Kitchenaid, unable to change this perception, eventually changed the gears back to metal, just to stop the chatter. Unfortunately, it's harder to stop these rumors than you'd think, as people still warn others about the plastic gears, long after they stopped making them that way.

I purchased a 10 year warranty on my Kitchen Aid Mixer for $69 about 15 years ago. I have to say, it was the best money I ever spent. I am not sure they offer a 10 year warranty anymore, but if they do, I would not hesitate to purchase it.

How many times have you used that 10 year warranty? What ways has it helped you?

I've had a KA mixer for over 10 yrs and STILL use it being in great shape as much as I use it. I use it like 5x a week and have for the past x amount of years..I love it, but NEVER got the ext. warranty on it. It's more money they want to dish out of you due to recession. It's up to you really..but if it were me, nah..I'll pass..

Look at reviews on your mixer online and that should help you also to make a decision. We always do on things before we buy.

good luck
jenifer

Lets just say I use my Kitchen Aid quite a bit and whenever it broke down I called Kitchen Aid, and they would send me a new one. I definitely got my money's worth.

Kitchen Aids are completely messed up lately. Do your research about the problems the mixers are having and see if you might need that warranty.

I have had 3 Kitchen Aids in the last few years...how I wish I had purchased a warranty! The first one was replace by KA, but the other two were beyond the warranty from the manufacturer...so, I got last year the KA 6 quart PRO with a 10 year warranty (it was a special sent by KA to me). It was the same price as a 3 year one...a really good deal. Now, this KA will probably be better, as they have changed the exhaust part of the machine to the back. Also, they now have a little round sticker on the dough hook that says to never use it above a #2 on the machine...so there were problems and complaints.

I have had 3 Kitchen Aids in the last few years...how I wish I had purchased a warranty! The first one was replace by KA, but the other two were beyond the warranty from the manufacturer...so, I got last year the KA 6 quart PRO with a 10 year warranty (it was a special sent by KA to me). It was the same price as a 3 year one...a really good deal. Now, this KA will probably be better, as they have changed the exhaust part of the machine to the back. Also, they now have a little round sticker on the dough hook that says to never use it above a #2 on the machine...so there were problems and complaints.

Ive had my KA since 1991 and its still going strong and never had one bit of problems with it!

AQuestion, what info did you have to provide to kitchen aid for the replacement.? I ask because I misplaced my receipt and online it indicated you have to come up with that? Please help- Thanx!

I have 2 KA's. A white one that I've been using for the last 20 years. It had a problem at the 10 year mark but I took it to an authorized dealer and they fixed it for $50 and it's still going strong. 3 years ago I got a snazzy red one and I use it almost daily and have had no problems. I did not buy the warranty for either one. 

Extended warranties are a waste of money.  Mfr's warranty is usually sufficient, and as others have noted, the mfr may help you out even after the warranty has expired.

Some credit cards automatically extend the warranty on purchases, so check to see if you have that feature.

I've read several horror stories from people who have tried to get service using their extended warranties.  Either they have to wait weeks for service, if it arrives at all, or they'll insist your claim is invalid and not covered by your warranty.

AYES. Any appliance or large electronic item, we ALWAYS get the extended warranty. It saves a lot of headache in the long run!

A

Extended warranties have their own headaches, since you need to go through the warranty company to get approval and you may be limited to service companies with less than stellar reputations.

Compare the likelihood of the item breaking down after the mfr warranty period and the estimated cost of a typical service call with the cost of the extended warranty. Usually the extended warranty will end up being more expensive (which makes sense, since part of the cost of the extended warranty pays for the overhead and profit of the warranty company).