Living In USA

When you buy new electrical appliances, radios, TVs, or other major items such as stoves, you will probably be given some papers with them. One of these is likely to be a written warranty. This means that if anything goes wrong, you can have the item repaired free of charge for a certain length of time — for some items as long as three to five years. You should read the warranty carefully. It probably asks you to send in a postcard to establish the date of purchase. If so, be sure to do it as soon as possible. In addition, write the date of purchase on the warranty itself, along with the serial number on the appliance. Keep it somewhere safe so you can find it if you need it. The warranty will be of help only if you have saved the papers and complied with the instructions. You may be able to buy an extended (longer) service warranty for larger appliances for an additional fee, often up to 25 percent of the purchase price. With the drop in prices of many consumer electronics, you must weigh carefully the cost of such a warranty. With computers, digital cameras, video recorders, and so on, you can be virtually assured that in six months time, you will be able to buy a better model for less money.