Is Harbor Freight's Extended Warranty Worth The Extra Money? Here's What Users Say

Power tools get put through the wringer on a regular basis, obviously. Their entire shtick is forcefully drilling, smashing, squishing, and otherwise messing with heavy, dense materials, and in the worst-case scenario, they can spontaneously break down right when you need them most. Most hardware brands like Makita and Milwaukee swear by their tools, which is why they offer manufacturer warranties for set periods. If your tools break during these periods, the manufacturer will either repair or replace the tool at no additional charge. However, the manufacturers aren't the only ones who offer warranties on products.

Hardware retailers like Harbor Freight often offer their own extended warranties, independent of the manufacturer's. If you purchase the extended warranty on a product at Harbor Freight, then you get one or two more years on your warranty, far longer than the default store warranty of a few months, provided any repairs or replacements you need are conducted at a Harbor Freight location. Of course, extended warranties cost money, and when you're buying power tools that are already pretty expensive, debating whether to lay down some extra cash in the name of safety can be a bit of a puzzler. In such circumstances, the best thing you can do is source opinions from those who have bought the extended warranty themselves (or made the conscious decision to refrain from doing so).

Based on user feedback from sources like the Harbor Freight subreddit, most customers don't bother with the extended warranty. As we mentioned before, power tools are expensive, and if you don't have to spend even more than you already are, you probably won't. If you're buying simple or cheap tools that you'll only use once or occasionally, there's not really any reason to get protection for them when you could probably replace them for the same price or less.

The only notable exception where users say you might want to grab an extended warranty is if you're buying an exceptionally large, expensive product that you know you'll be putting to extensive work. If you're going to be using a large, expensive tool for what you know will be a fairly long period, potentially longer than the manufacturer warranty may last, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra layer of protection in the event of sudden failure just so you don't have to eat the cost entirely. This is especially true for more mechanically-complex tools, such as those with internal electronics.

For what it's worth, users have said that Harbor Freight is very good when it comes to honoring extended warranties. One user called it a "no questions asked" system – if you buy the extended warranty and the product is still in the warranty period, Harbor Freight will repair or replace it no matter how it broke.