In the realm of shopping, commitments are generally best avoided. From cell phone contracts that lock you in to a flawed plan to airline tickets with exorbitant cancellation fees, commitments are often a one-way street that favors providers over customers.

One great exception is a product warranty. As a means of hedging against inflation and minimizing life-cycle costs, guarantees like these are a great tool in the Savvy Shopper’s belt. However, taking full advantage requires taking a few things into account:

• Good faith: Some companies can make big promises, but getting them to honor their commitments can be a challenge. Before you buy based on a warranty, check out the company’s reputation for honoring them. For example, it can be difficult to get a car dealer to honor a guarantee.

• Shipping and handling: Some companies require that you send a product (at your own cost) to their facility for inspection and repair. In many cases, this is the equivalent or worse of having to buy a new item altogether.

• Original owner: Most warranties are limited to original owners. However, some are transferable and consequently have much greater value if you ever want to sell your product.

• Maintenance: Some guarantees require that maintenance be performed at an authorized outlet. Again, this can largely cancel any cost benefit a warranty provides.

• Company solvency: If a company is on its last legs, a warranty can be less valuable than the paper it is written on. In 2008, the car industry was in trouble and Chrysler offered a lifetime warranty on its powertrains in a last-ditch attempt to revive sales. Although it was a tempting offer, I didn’t have enough confidence in Chrysler’s future to act on it. If it hadn’t been for a government bailout, I would have been right. Most companies lack that kind of backstop. Think about that when buying.

• Lifetime vs. other warranties: Outside of the lifetime variety, most warranties are prorated. In other words, coverage decreases over the life of a guarantee. For example, consider a 70,000-mile tire that wears out in 50,000. Instead of providing a new tire, the manufacturer applies a formula that will give a new tire at a discount. In the case of lifetime warranties, proration is not an issue and any product failure during your ownership entitles you to a free replacement. As a result, lifetime is preferable not only for its length but also lack of proration.

• Finding good warranties: Despite the fine print, great guarantees are abundant and can be obtained through a wide variety of means. In addition to the warranties that come with many products, a warranty (or its equivalent) is achievable through consumer-friendly retailers and service guarantees. A future article will detail such avenues and some of the value that’s possible!

With this article intended as a beginning, many additional details are in the pipeline and you won’t be disappointed. In the meantime, an example of a warranty’s potential can be found on this video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJc5NxtoGAQ) about Rachel who owns a 1964 Mercury Comet.

If you know of other great guarantees, let us hear about it. Please visit and "Like" our Facebook site (Click www.facebook.com/LubbockSavvyShopper or log on to Facebook and enter “Lubbock Savvy Shopper” in the search tool) or write us at SavvyShopperLubbock@gmail.com and fill us in on your ideas.

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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Savvy Shopper: Tips for taking advantage of full benefit of warranties