extended warranties in general, A610 in particular

[AustinJ]

Have you had any positive or negative experiences with extended warranties? I've bought several, mostly at a certain chain store, and they've almost always paid off for me. Now I'm buying a digitial camera, probably an A610, online for the first time.

There are many options. Mack is the one offered most often. At one site, there's a Repairtech 5 year for $39.85 which includes a free annual cleaning, which seems too good to be true so I'd really like to know if anyone has used that service. I've also seen NSI and WACA offered.

About the A610 - How durable is it? Of course, it's too new to really say, but has anyone had a problem with the USB/AC cover? It seems flimsy. One final question - has anyone used a neck strap with the single eyelet?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers any of these questions. This is an amazing forum. Very many bright, helpful people are here.

[JTL]

Have you had any positive or negative experiences with extended warranties? I've bought several, mostly at a certain chain store, and they've almost always paid off for me. Now I'm buying a digitial camera, probably an A610, online for the first time.

There are many options. Mack is the one offered most often. At one site, there's a Repairtech 5 year for $39.85 which includes a free annual cleaning, which seems too good to be true so I'd really like to know if anyone has used that service. I've also seen NSI and WACA offered.

About the A610 - How durable is it? Of course, it's too new to really say, but has anyone had a problem with the USB/AC cover? It seems flimsy. One final question - has anyone used a neck strap with the single eyelet?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers any of these questions. This is an amazing forum. Very many bright, helpful people are here.The question is, will you really be using that camera for five years? I did get a 3-year extended warranty for my S2...that seemed like a reasonable time period...because digicams have a nasty habit of going south right at the end of their manufacterer's warranty period, but in three years (or sooner), I'm sure I'll be replacing the camera with something new...

I guess you have to really think about it...