Brian Eddy and his wife purchased a late-model Dodge minivan, and as they left the dealership, they ran into trouble.

“And then we drove away from the dealership and then it just died. We were going 30 miles per hour and there were cars behind us and it just died on the highway,” Eddy said.

The Eddys didn’t panic because along with the van they purchased an extended warranty for $5,000.

“If something broke on the car, it only has 30,000-39,000 miles or something; we thought it would be fairly good, you know,” Eddy said.

However, when Eddy contacted the dealership, they refused to repair the car because it broke down after it left the lot, and the extended warranty company refused to repair it because they said the breakdown was due to pre-existing problems with the car.

The Eddys now owe money on the van and the extended warranty for a vehicle that doesn’t even run.

Cody Fair, a real estate agent in Covington, said he, too, was a victim of a useless extended warranty.

Fair depends on his laptop to find properties and alert his clients, but for months Fair said he couldn’t do his job when his brand new laptop stopped working after six months.

“it’s my office wherever I go. You just open it up and you’re at work,” Fair said.

Fair purchased an extended warranty for $600 when he purchased the computer.

“I know I’m going to have a hard time. With technology, electronics, things go wrong, so let’s buy it. I’ll never have to worry about it again. That’s what they tell me. Why wouldn’t I believe it?” Fair said.

According to Fair, when his computer broke the electronics company accused him of causing the malfunction and refused to repair it.

After months of battle, Fair gave up and bought a new laptop somewhere else.

Consumer advocate Robert Krughoff of Checkbook Magazine said extended warranties are really a form of insurance.

“Extended warranties on appliances and electronics are generally a very bad deal,” Krughoff said.

“You should only buy insurance for really big risks, like health insurance or life insurance or something where you have a catastrophe,” Krughoff said. To buy insurance on something that might cost you $300 or $500 if you have a breakdown really doesn’t make sense for most people.”

For more information visit checkbook.org.