How to Manage Warranty Documents

It takes a lot of pricey gizmos to keep a household running these days.
Inevitably, some of the them will break, malfunction or need maintenance
repairs. When that happens, you need to be able to quickly find
the warranty documents.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Read warranties carefully before purchasing something expensive like a car or a large appliance to make sure you understand them. Do some comparisons. Look on sites such as BobVila.com, Law.FreeAdvice.com and OnTheHouse.com.

2. Create a warranty-filing notebook. Purchase a pocket notebook or a binder with plastic protector sheets and organize the warranties and all other product information (such as assembly or operating directions) together by year, type of appliance or area of the house where it's used.

3. Keep track of the following information for each warranty or service contract you acquire: what the warranty covers; when and where you bought the item; the warranty terms; the expiration date; and contact information (phone number, address).

4. Keep warranties and receipts for the life of the product. See 232 Organize Important Documents.

Tips & Warnings

• Buying extended warranties on items like DVD players is a losing proposition. As soon as you walk out the door, their value goes south in a hurry. Better to take it home, hook it up and make sure it works. If not, return it.
• Make sure you understand what terms render a warranty void and who is expected to perform maintenance and repairs.