Best Buy's Xbox 360 2 Year Warranty

[RPG_Fanatic]

My Elite 360 (bought it 8/22/07) died last night (RROD) I've been playing a shit load of Call Of Duty 4 with my friends online lately. So I took it to Best Buy last night thinking they would give me shit and say sorry. But the apposite happened, the guy said go and get a new one so I went over and they didn't have any black elites so I went back and told him they only had the Resident Evil ones. Long story short I now have a brand new red Resident Evil 360!! with the game (even SF II turbo HD remix) no problems. That 2 year warranty sure paid off!!!!!!

[kaedesdisciple]

I'm a BIG fan of that 2 year warranty in this case. Similar thing happened to me, my machine RROD'd, I took it to BB and they said "go grab another one off the shelf." They even let me put the old HDD onto the new one so I wouldn't have to re-download everything again. Got another one right there on the spot. In this very rare case, the extended warranty is worth the price.

[RPG_Fanatic]

They even let me put the old HDD onto the new one so I wouldn't have to re-download everything again.

I did that too, they didn't care.

[Hitman Tyler]

Does, that mean you both have 2 HDD? 1 that came with the system,and your original one.

[kaedesdisciple]

Nah, we don't have two, just a 1:1 swap like the 360.

[RPG_Fanatic]

Yep, They just took the new one off the new 360. Then put my old one on the new 360.

[The 1 2 P]

Thats great guys. Hopefully that never happens to me because I bought my 360 at Circuit City's going out of business sale, lol. All I would really need is a cheap arcade system for my 120 gb hard drive. But since I have a jasper I should be ok anyway *crosses fingers*

[GM80]

Wanna see something freaky? Pull out your Best Buy plan's paperwork (if you still have it) and read the fine print - "DOES NOT COVER DAMAGE DUE TO THE XBOX 360 'RED RING OF DEATH' PROBLEM."

I saw this after purchasing the warranty, went right back in and demanded a refund. The manager couldn't believe that was actually in there - they replace RROD'd systems all the time, she said, but I wasn't about to walk out having paid for something that technically (and legally) excludes the primary cause of Xbox 360 deaths. She made herself a note to call corporate and complain or something.

This was in the little paperwork brochure about 3 months ago.

[megasdkirby]

She made herself a note to call corporate and complain or something.

All managers say that...only a few actually do what they say they will.

In the store we have returns all the time...the first thing I ask "Is it the three red lights?" and most say "Yeah, how do you know?"

[NE146]

How much is the extended warranty?

[Mason P.]

The Best Buys in Columbia, SC used to let you return them in the strore. A couple of years ago they stoped that and said you had to mail them in to the Best Buy warrenty center. They then mail you back a gift card for full price + tax on the system. I just got back the refund on my 4th system. They best thing is you end up getting the new tech instead of getting a refurb. I just picked up an Arcade (i have a 120 gig HDD) and a new warrenty. $199.99 for the system and $30 for the extended warrenty. I stll have about $100 left on the gift card because I originaly had puchesed a Pro system.

Best 50 warranty money I have ever spent.
Mason

[skaar]

Product replacement plans can be good, sometimes.

Here if it dies they send you a gift card for purchase price. I did that with my Rockband set awhile back.

[Oobgarm]

How much is the extended warranty?

2-Year Black Tie Protection (what they now call service plans) typically runs at three price tiers for the 360:

Arcade: $29.99
Pro: $39.99
Elite: $59.99

Best Buy did the switch from Product Replacement/Service Plans (PRP/PSP) a while ago, and I've never heard of us turning someone away for a RROD system. Maybe some places haven't noticed it in the fine print...but I think we'd have heard a huge fuss about it before now.

Consider me surprised.

EDIT: Here is the brochure in .pdf format. The 360 exclusion is on page 5.

[Gentlegamer]

Wanna see something freaky? Pull out your Best Buy plan's paperwork (if you still have it) and read the fine print - "DOES NOT COVER DAMAGE DUE TO THE XBOX 360 'RED RING OF DEATH' PROBLEM."

Did it actually use the words, "RED RING OF DEATH" . . ?

[GM80]

Did it actually use the words, "RED RING OF DEATH" . . ?

Yep, in quotation marks (edit: see Oobgarm's PDF). I remember thinking "well why the heck did I just pay $60 bucks for this?"

[The 1 2 P]

Product replacement plans can be good, sometimes.

For the most part they are a big waste of money. But the 360 is more the exception than the rule. I remember when I got my original Xbox in 2004 they wanted me to get a two or three year extended warranty. But 5 years later it still works perfectly. For those that work in retailers like Best Buy, they know that these extended warranties are little more than ways to make the store more money because the majority of them are never cashed in(meaning the system/electronic device doesn't break in the time frame of them). But for the older 360's? I would have definitely recommended a warranty for those.

[Pantechnicon]

You've got to hedge your bet with the 360, and Best Buy's extended warranty is the best way to do it imo.

I got my first 360 for Christmas from Mrs. Pan, purchased from Best Buy, and she had no clue about the prevalence of the RRoD so she didn't bother with the extended coverage. I went to Best Buy the next day myself, receipt in hand, and asked to buy the extended warranty. They said I had to bring the whole unit back in for testing to make sure it was all currently operational. So I did that the next day. A Geek Squader fired it up, pronounced it good, and they sold me the coverage.

I'm telling this story only because I think Best Buy is generally inept at best and misleading at worst. But in this particular case I think they were very accommodating, so credit given where due.

[megasdkirby]

For the most part they are a big waste of money.

I hear that all the time when I try to sell them.

A few months later, the same customers come back for a return. I deny the return because it is out of warranty. Then I rub it in, saying "If you had the extended warranty which was offered to you, you could have easily replaced it...now you just lost $300". They look at me and say "I was NEVER offered extended warranty". I tell them "Sure you were, because I was the one who attended you, sold you the item, and I SPECIFICALLY wrote it in the receipt "Customer REFUSED warranty: only 30 days".

Most get mad, of course. However, they have learned their lesson. Next time they pass by, they purchase the warranty.

The point is that even though they might seem a waste of money, it's not always so. Sure, some items outlast the warranty, but isn't that a good thing? From my experience thus far, extended warranties are an investment...specially when a good part of those who refuse getting it come back complaining about how their item "died" after the original warranty ended. And no matter how many have tried to resort to threats, it's always the same thing: SORRY!

When I sell Xbox 360's, I emphasize solely on the RROD. Immediately when a customer refuses warranty (if they don't, sweet ), I say "Are you sure? I mean, if something happens, you are out of luck. You CANNOT return the item here, and NOTHING you do can change that. The RROD is a VERY common thing, and it's covered by our (the store's) replacement warranty. I've seen consoles give out RROD a few months after purchase, and trust me, you don't want to spend ANOTHER $300 on another console, do you?"

I would say 70% take the warranty after that speech. And ironically enough, they have been using it!

It doesn't solely apply to the Xbox 360...all electronic equipment should be covered, but in my opinion, depending on how it will be used (and how well it is treated). Heavy use? Put the warranty. You might never know.

I'll admit: it's probably because of my sales experience and methodology. But I am tired of attending customers who create a HUGE fight solely because they try to return something out of warranty, and they never purchased the extended warranty. They even come with the "I've been a customer here for 666 years....blah...blah...and now you've lost me as a customer" bullshit. Yet the next day, they come back to the store.

It's a never ending cycle...

[The 1 2 P]

They look at me and say "I was NEVER offered extended warranty". I tell them "Sure you were, because I was the one who attended you, sold you the item, and I SPECIFICALLY wrote it in the receipt "Customer REFUSED warranty: only 30 days".

They even come with the "I've been a customer here for 666 years....blah...blah...and now you've lost me as a customer" bullshit. Yet the next day, they come back to the store.

[ProgrammingAce]

Then I rub it in, saying "If you had the extended warranty which was offered to you, you could have easily replaced it...now you just lost $300".

Except Visa, American Express, and Master Card all issue cards that extend the initial warranty by a year. So in many cases, your selling them a warranty they don't need, and then selling them a system to replace one that doesn't need replacement.