Well let’s take a real-life/real-time example without the warranty…
I have an Oticon Chili SP5 that I purchased used as a single hearing aid (HA) for approximately $200. I paired this with another Oticon Chili SP5 that I purchased as a single used HA for approximately $300. So I paid about $500 for the pair.
Now the $200 HA is in need of repair. It was profusely sweated upon, and now when you turn it on it plays the start-up tunes for a few seconds and then shuts down.
I took it to a local audi who said it’s an internal problem and has to go back to the factory. I don’t want to send it back to the factory/Oticon. That would cost a minimum of $300.
So today I have packaged it up and sent it out to a repair lab. I use EarMax Lab which I have used before to repair my wife’s HAs. It will cost $100 for repair plus $6 return shipping. The Lab is closed for vacation for the first half of November so I probably won’t know the results until the end of this month.
I will let you know if the repair goes well. If yes then my preference is to pay $100 for repair rather than pay thousands for a warranty. But that’s just me. Maybe you prefer the comfort of a warranty.