Are Used Camera Warranties Worth It? When to Pay and When to Skip

Are used camera warranties worth it? Usually yes when the warranty comes included with a purchase from a reputable used dealer, and usually no when you are paying an extra 10 to 20 percent for a third-party plan on a body that costs under $1,000.

The reason is simple. The included warranty costs nothing and covers the window when a hidden fault is most likely to show up. A paid plan covers years you may never need, on gear that rarely fails outside of drops and water.

Three kinds of used camera warranty

• Dealer-included. Used specialists such as KEH, MPB, B&H and Adorama grade the gear and back it with their own warranty at no extra cost.
• Manufacturer refurbished. Canon, Nikon and Sony sell refurbished bodies with a short factory warranty. The camera was inspected by the maker, which is the main value.
• Paid extended or protection plans. Asurion, SquareTrade, Adorama Protect and similar. These are the ones people mean when they ask whether a used camera warranty is worth paying for.

What the big used dealers include

• KEH: 180 days on graded gear from Bargain up to Like New. As-is and Ugly grades are excluded.
• MPB: six months on used cameras and lenses.
• B&H Used: 90 days parts and labor.
• Adorama: 180 days on the higher grades, 90 days on lower grades, no warranty on X-condition.
• Amazon Renewed: at least 90 days.
• Canon USA refurbished: 90 days.

Terms change and vary by grade, so confirm on the listing before you buy. The point is that a used body from any of these already has a warranty attached, which is why most buyers do not need to add one.

When a paid used camera warranty is worth it

• The body is expensive, roughly $1,500 and up, and packed with electronics you could not fix cheaply.
• You shoot paid work or high volume, where a shutter or sensor failure costs you a job, not just a repair bill.
• You travel with the camera and the plan covers accidental damage, which included warranties never do.
• The camera is already out of the maker’s warranty and you plan to keep it three years or more.

When to skip it

• Lenses under about $500. They are mostly mechanical, and a repair or a replacement often costs less than the plan.
• Anything that already carries a 90-day or longer dealer warranty and a return window. Test it hard inside that window instead.
• Plans that exclude pre-existing faults and normal wear, which is most of what goes wrong with used gear.
• Any plan priced above about 15 percent of what you paid.

How to buy used without paying for a warranty

Buy from a dealer that includes one and offers returns. Check the shutter count on a body. Shoot a few hundred frames and some video in the first week, at every shutter speed and with the screen and ports exercised. Pay by card so a dispute is possible if the seller will not honor a return.

In our catalogSony · APS-C · MirrorlessSony a6400from $924See price comparison →

The Sony a6400 is a good example of where this works: high used supply, low failure rate, and a price gap against new that pays for a lot of caution.

Bottom line

A used camera warranty is worth it when it is included, and rarely worth it when it is sold to you. Buy from a dealer whose warranty is part of the price, test the camera inside the return window, and put the money you would have spent on a plan toward the lens.