Warranty worth it?

ciaranmc

Hi

I was wondering if i could get some peoples thoughts on this.

I am planning on getting a Nikon D3s and i was wondering am i better saving around €700 and buying the camera on a trip to New york or buy it here in Gunn's Camera Shop and have the security of the warranty? My more practical mind is taking over and saying buy it here so if anything goes wrong you can get it sorted.

I appreciate any thoughts on this.

Cheers
Ciaran

Rb

Buy it in B&H with a Sagemax warranty.

<SNIP>

Edit: 3 year Sagemax is $419 but there's absolutely no way I'd spend that money on a body and not have it protected by warranty.

rymus

get it in New York and buy a 3 or 5 year (cant remember which they offer) Mack Warranty. They're generally accepted as being better than manufacturers warranties anyway.

Rb

rymus wrote: »

get it in New York and buy a 3 or 5 year (cant remember which they offer) Mack Warranty. They're generally accepted as being better than manufacturers warranties anyway.

As I understand, the third party warranties in the states cover the product against accidental damage anywhere in the world. Standard warranties only cover manufacturing problems and can be an absolute b*tch to sort out with the companies involved.

ciaranmc

Cheers for the quick replies.

Can you get a international warranty with Sagemax? I never heard of this but i do know that the nikon warranty wont work here if you buy it in the states.

Borderfox

If it was something like a consumer body I would be more worried, I bought a 1dmk3 in B+H and had enough faith in the build quality not to bother with any warranty. I would assume it would be the same with the D3s in terms of having no problems

Rb

Borderfox wrote: »

If it was something like a consumer body I would be more worried, I bought a 1dmk3 in B+H and had enough faith in the build quality not to bother with any warranty. I would assume it would be the same with the D3s in terms of having no problems

Your professional insurance would cover any problems you have with it anyway, right?

rymus

Rb wrote: »

As I understand, the third party warranties in the states cover the product against accidental damage anywhere in the world. Standard warranties only cover manufacturing problems and can be an absolute b*tch to sort out with the companies involved.

Hmm, I should actually read the text of all those mack warranties I got with my *cough* non EU camera gear then. Cheers

Rb

rymus wrote: »

Hmm, I should actually read the text of all those mack warranties I got with my *cough* non EU camera gear then. Cheers

I've only read about SageMax, but just had a flick through Mack's website. It seems they have different coverage contracts, going from Standard -> Ultimate. The only one I can see impact damage coverage in is Ultimate, so I'd agree in that you should have a flick through your contracts and see where you stand

ciaranmc

Has anyone used this Sagemax warranty? it does make sense now that i hear read up on it. Might be the way forward

Borderfox

Rb wrote: »

Your professional insurance would cover any problems you have with it anyway, right?

That is true

ciaranmc

Back to all your wisdom again.

Sorry for so many questions but is it worth getting the extra warranty if you have all the camera gear insured? Who would you recommend for insurance? I always took that the house insurance would cover it sense i have all my camera gear listed on the policy.

Rb

ciaranmc wrote: »

Back to all your wisdom again.

Sorry for so many questions but is it worth getting the extra warranty if you have all the camera gear insured? Who would you recommend for insurance? I always took that the house insurance would cover it sense i have all my camera gear listed on the policy.

It really depends. The house insurance will cover anything you have listed on your policy both inside and outside the house, along with up to around 30 days outside of the country. The cost of a claim, however, could outweigh the cost of getting an external warranty and depending on the insurer, could damage your eligbility for cover from another company within the next three years.

So a claim on your house insurance could equal you paying the mandatory excess followed by a rise in the premium at a time where, I believe, premiums are going up anyway. The rise in premium could be sustained for a couple of years while you regrow your no claims bonus.

I'm not 100% sure though. Here's a few threads discussing camera specific insurance, there's more but too much for me to trawl through at the moment:

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055624302
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055558422
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055528299
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055467724
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055380132
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055341308
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055112778

One photography based insurance company often recommended here is PhotoShield. I think you could ask PaulW (iirc) for more information if you needed it on PhotoShield, but I could be thinking of another poster

Edit: Also there's a post here http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055112778 from someone involved with camerainsurance.ie

Borderfox

I use dolmen insurance for my work insurance.
http://www.dolmen-insurance.ie/