D300 Protection Plan or NOT?

I would like to purchase a D300 in the next few days. Is it worth it to buy a protection plan or is it a rip

off? Thanks for your opinions and experiences.

Are you rough on your cameras? Unless they cover pretty much unconditional damage the odds are in their favor. From what I have seen here photograpers have had good service from Nikon. It would be interesting to hear from those that do have a protection plan, and if they have had to use it. How much is the plan?

All so called protection plans are major profits for the seller. Do you wonder why they are so eager to push it onto you?

Depends on how you take care of your equipment.<br /><br />

 

I have Nikon bodies I bought back in the 70's through the 90's and<br />

have been through multiple DSLRs over the years with no issues.<br /><br />

 

But it is about how conscious you are of your equipment when you're working.<br /><br />

 

If you feel you're not confident about the care of your equipment,<br />

it might behoove you to get the plan.

Not.

 

See how hard they sell you? Their margins are huge. They actually pay the salespeople to sell you. Because they make tons of money off these. Which means, while you might get lucky, the odds are way in their favor.

I try to take good care of my equipment and respect what I have.........unavoidable accidents not withstanding. With the Nikon warranty, perhaps I don't need the protection plan. Thanks!

I've saved enough by not buying protection plans over the years, so I could throw a brand new D300 in the garbage and stil

come out ahead.

I bought my D40 at Staples with the service plan last year. 2 weeks ago, I came back there, claimed my camera was broken, and upgraded my D40 to the D80 kit. They gave me full credit of what I paid for the D40 last year, which was $600. All I had to pay was the difference, which was $500. I know it's not the best deal out there, but I paid a little bit more for the "upgradability".

 

Now, I have $1100 "credit" for my next "broken" camera. This would definitely help in case I want to upgrade to something else down the road. Granted, they don't have a big selection to choose from.

I bought the 3 year extended plan at Circuit City for my D80. I have been using Nikons since 1963 and have never had a problem. But, for some reason I just feel the peace of mind afforded by the warranty is worth the money.

It's not a rip off. It's a gamble, like all insurance. Do you feel lucky?

 

Semi-seriously, if you have other options you may not benefit from an extended warranty. For example, your homeowner or other insurance may cover certain types of loss. Some credit purchases cover certain types of losses for a limited period. (By "loss" I mean the loose definition of financial loss, not necessarily actually losing track of the property through theft or UFO abduction.)

 

And if you have enough income to save money to pay for repairs, should it become necessary, again, an extended warranty might not be the best gamble for you.

OK,

 

my iPod story is too long to tell. But basically every MP3 player I get lasts about a year & then dies to the point of no repair. I guess they're really not meant to be used while riding a large Dressage horse with a giant stride. ;-)

 

Anyhow, I've always bought a service plan. Poor Best Buy (HA!!! Not) but they've basically had to give me a new one three or four times by now. All I do is pay for a new service plan & a year goes buy & in the MP3 player goes for repair. I've tried several brands & they all have the same result...

 

I bought a video camera from Panasonic. Bought a service plan for it. It's been in four times by now. Think that's about to run out so I should try it again & if it breaks down again - - then they have to give me a new one.

 

Now, for my D200 & D300 I've bought the Nikon service plan. I just sent in my D200 for service, cleaning etc etc etc. It came back looking like new & all was great. The service plan from Nikon cost about $ 200.00 - - to me it's worth it. If I bought a Nikon from Best Buy I would not buy their service plan - - I wouldn't want them near a D300 personally....

 

JMHO & yes - - when I buy my next camera I will most probably buy a service plan for it. I just bought a new DELL XPS 630i for almost $ 3,000 without a monitor. It was delivered last Friday. Tomorrow a tech comes with a new motherboard for it. Turns out one of my IEEE 1394 Ports is none functional & that means the entire motherboard has to be exchanged. Did I pay for a service plan - - Yes I did - - North American support is what I paid for.

 

I'm not regretting it.

 

JMHO

 

Lil :-)

I just read a post on DPReview where the OP had a D70 that after 4 years started giving him err indications on the LCD. He had the 4 year service plan offered by Best Buy, which was just about to expire. He returned the camera to them and they handed him a D90 kit as a replacement. Just thought I'd pass it along...

"Is it worth it to buy a protection plan or is it a rip off?"

 

It depends on who you buy it from. And your attitude about it.

 

If you buy it from Nikon or one of the major chains like Best Buy, Circuit City, Ritz, etc., you are well protected and backed by a reputable company if you have a problem. Some lesser companies may not be so accommodating and may not repair or replace your equipment and be a rip off. Be choosy who you purchase it from.

 

Considering the considerable cost of the camera and the minimal cost of the plan, I think it is a good value and buys lots of piece of mind.

 

Some warranties offer protection regardless of the cause of the failure. For example, Ritz's warranty (very expensive) gives you protection regardless of the cause - if you drop your camera they will repair or replace it. Nikon's extended warranty like many others only cover manufacturer's defects but are much more affordable.

 

Another benefit... If you plan on selling your camera prior to the expiration of the warranty, the extended warranty adds value to the camera, may may it easier to sell and you will probably get a little more money for it as you can sell someone a used camera with a 'new' warranty (they are usually transferable). Or get a refund for the remaining balance if you don't transfer it.

 

Many credit cards offer one additional year of warranty just for using their card, usually at no extra cost. American Express is a great example. So you can get two years of warranty just for using plastic.

 

Drew, the best warranty plan is one you never use because the product you bought it for doesn't fail. If your camera breaks after the 1 year warranty expires, how will you feel if you have to lay out many hundreds of dollars for a repair because you didn't buy an extended warranty? Will you have the money to pay for the repair.

 

 

"Depends on how you take care of your equipment."

 

A well taken care of camera can fail due to a manufacturing defect.

 

Tam, if your camera was not broken, you effectively stole money from Staples - not something to brag about.

 

Lil, I have had similar experiences to you with electronic equipment I have bought. I buy extended warranties for most of my expensive electronics. Although I have never purchased warranties on any of my cameras, I did on my latest. Now the question is will I keep this one 3 years or upgrade yet again (I guess I do have NAS!!!)

Some of the examples given here are really bad. "Claiming" to have a problem sounds to me like there really wasn't a problem just turning in something for a newer model seems to be a little underhanded to me. Then "I'll have another $1,100.00" just waiting to do it again.

I hope that most of us do not do this as it isn't what warranty protection should be about, "claiming or abuse" should not be a reason for returning.

These are some of the reasons that things cost like they do.

Sorry, I just had to point this out.

Shun if you want to kill my response it's OK.

phil

If you purchase your D300 with one of many major credit cards, the credit card company will extend Nikon's warranty for

another year. Some will also offer damage protection for 90 days. With two years of warranty, your D300 will be protected

well past the camera's obsolesce.

I have bought the protection plans on the past and except for a Kodak my wife had i have never used them. NO i would not spend the money.

 

What i have done is added all my camera equipment on my home owners insurance; all equipment is covered for ANY damage. (the agent said i could drop a camera body out my car window and it would be replaced with current replacement) This only cost me ~$5/month USD and covers all photographic equipment i own. it is all covered anywere i travel in the US (don't know if it is covered international)

Claiming a camera is broken when it isn't to claim an upgrade isn't "underhanded." It's fraud. It's a crime.

I would say with these electronic equipments, it is better to have protection plan - irrespective of how careful you are with your equipment. I have D70s a pretty strong camera, I have to say. And I take real care of that - at the same time, I do always carry it with me. Whereever I go, I always have it with me in a lowepro bag. Once, without any warning, sign or anything, when I took it out of the bag and switched it on, for no reason the flash popped up and would go down. Something went wront with it - without even using it (I don't like using flash, I prefer available light). I had purchased the protection plan and it helped.

How much is the protection plan and how long is the coverage? If it's not too expensive and it keeps you from worrying about future repairs then I would say go for it. If you plan on selling the camera later, the warranty plan might not be transferrable(?)...