DJI care is no longer worth it.

[John Gowland]

This is one of many emails between myself and DJI support concerning an Avata replacement with DJI Care refresh.


"I have tried that process many times as I have said many times. I have also said I do not want to apply for DJI care on this aircraft or any other DJI care program. It is simply not worth the difficulty and after the payments it is no longer financially advantages to the purchaser.
I will not purchase as many products as I have in the past and never will I pay for DJI Care. I will also advice friends, colleges and lists not to purchase DJI Care. It was once and excellent product with very few procedures or questions, products were replaced without question and in full with no charge.
Clearly profit has replaced service, I can not afford it and I don't want it.
However I do want to thank the support staff for their continued professional and polite attempts at helping consumers even though they are under increasing rules and regulations to slow down or stop a claim through DJI Care.
So Thank you, but I will not purchase DJI Care again."

John Gowland

 

[vindibona1]

DJI really know what they are doing. They have basically stripped away the extras that come in the kit, insure the drone itself, sans controller which is not covered, figured out what they would sell a replacement drone to you retail, charge money up front in hopes of us not having a repair needed. The problem is that the way that their drones are packaged at retail, Care/Refresh lets us fly with less concern about crashing or fly always. But the fact is that DJI has no risk involved. If we crash and they have to replace, they break even. If we don’t crash (within the coverage period, only up to two years) they win big. My Mavic 2 got a busted leg only weeks from C/R expiring and would have been a $200 repair outside of C/R. I had no choice but to super-glue the leg back in place. In my case DJI got a lot in premiums with no cost outlay whatsoever, leaving me in the cold, just weeks outside of the C/R period. Yeah… they are diabolically smart.

 

[msinger]

If we crash and they have to replace, they break even. If we don’t crash (within the coverage period, only up to two years) they win big.

Sure, but isn't this how any type of insurance works? Companies could not offer insurance products if every single customer made a claim.

 

[vindibona1]

Sure, but isn't this how any type of insurance works? Companies could not offer insurance products if every single customer made a claim.

Yes. But most insurance companies don’t control the cost of manufacture or retail sales pricing. Additionally on equipment most insurance companies don’t have a sunset clause in policies, especially because they have depreciating payouts while largely collecting premiums over time against the frequency and severity of payouts which they have statistics on creating a balance between profit and loss, without a consideration of more margin building. Therefore IMO it is a different animal entirely.

 

[msinger]

Additionally on equipment most insurance companies don’t have a sunset clause in policies

Not sunsetting is a common practice? Or are you maybe thinking of insurance companies that charge a never ending monthly/yearly fee?

I'm not sure DJI could afford to offer a lifetime DJI Care plan with a one-time payment. But, I guess offering another option with an ongoing monthly/yearly fee (until cancelled by the drone owner) might be a great benefit.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I think its fare to say that the DJI Refresh was taken advantage of by many and so them pulling back and making more hoops is warranted. I am happy to say I never paid for it nor used it. Because once I had a good drone it was on me.


Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the water, an New Flight Controller Cover

 

[Chrislaf]

AppleCare works the same way and it is an American company. Refresh is an insurance plan and has nothing to do with whether it is a Chinese company. You can either choose to pay for it or not. All insurance (house, car, drones, computers, phones, etc) are designed to make a profit just like any other product.

In the case of Refresh it eventually expires, so if you haven’t used it within the terms of the policy you can’t expect DJI to honour a claim after it has expired. I had Refresh on my Spark for two years and never used it once. Do I feel ripped off - no, because it was there if I needed it.

Chris

 

[FLDave]

Any seller/manufacturer all risk insurance is intended to be profitable for the seller; that's the way insurance works. DJI spells out all of the details about future costs when your purchase Care Refresh. If you never use it then it was a no-benefit cost. If you use it it's a good buyer benefit.
As a buyer you just need to understand your own risk of loss and how you want to financially manage the risk.

 

[GFields]

This is one of many emails between myself and DJI support concerning an Avata replacement with DJI Care refresh.


"I have tried that process many times as I have said many times. I have also said I do not want to apply for DJI care on this aircraft or any other DJI care program. It is simply not worth the difficulty and after the payments it is no longer financially advantages to the purchaser.
I will not purchase as many products as I have in the past and never will I pay for DJI Care. I will also advice friends, colleges and lists not to purchase DJI Care. It was once and excellent product with very few procedures or questions, products were replaced without question and in full with no charge.
Clearly profit has replaced service, I can not afford it and I don't want it.
However I do want to thank the support staff for their continued professional and polite attempts at helping consumers even though they are under increasing rules and regulations to slow down or stop a claim through DJI Care.
So Thank you, but I will not purchase DJI Care again."

John Gowland

John,

I find that there seems to be a lot missing from us in this story. Can you provide additional details? Did you have a flyaway? A crash? Perhaps it's just me, but I am missing something in the story.

My Mavic 2 got a busted leg only weeks from C/R expiring and would have been a $200 repair outside of C/R.

Unfortunately, the keywords in your statement are "after expiring" Insurance of any kind, auto, home, etc, is good while the policy is active. I sold insurance many years ago and this is something I heard a lot.

My experience with DJ Refresh was a good one. Sent it to DJI and they sent a new replacement the next week.

 

[GFields]

Any seller/manufacturer all risk insurance is intended to be profitable for the seller; that's the way insurance works. DJI spells out all of the details about future costs when your purchase Care Refresh. If you never use it then it was a no-benefit cost. If you use it it's a good buyer benefit.
As a buyer you just need to understand your own risk of loss and how you want to financially manage the risk.

Yup! I have always said, I'd rather have insurance and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[moldorf]

seems like some people don't understand how insurance works

 

[old man mavic]

if i commented on the OPs post ,then i would be accused of being a DJI Fan Boy ,so i will just not bother ,as my reply would probably break some of the forum guidelines

 

[msinger]

if i commented on the OPs post ,then i would be accused of being a DJI Fan Boy

I'm not even sure there is much to comment about. The OP is basically saying "I cannot afford DJI Care and thus don't want it". Lots of people fall into that bucket -- and others don't think it's valuable enough to purchase.

 

[3rdof5]

I think DJI care has it's place. Particularly for a newbie pilot. I just purchased a Mavic 3 Classic and decided on the cheaper 1 year care plan. I'm an experienced pilot so I'm not overly concerned about crashing but if something did go sideways with this Brand new aircraft then the 1 year care saves alot of delays in trying to determine fault. If I never use it then it gives me an extra year of full warranty. The price for 2 years of warranty or a free crash replacement, whichever come first was worth it to me.

 

[Chrislaf]

I think DJI care has it's place. Particularly for a newbie pilot. I just purchased a Mavic 3 Classic and decided on the cheaper 1 year care plan. I'm an experienced pilot so I'm not overly concerned about crashing but if something did go sideways with this Brand new aircraft then the 1 year care saves alot of delays in trying to determine fault. If I never use it then it gives me an extra year of full warranty. The price for 2 years of warranty or a free crash replacement, whichever come first was worth it to me.

Not sure if I am misunderstanding your post, but if you bought the 1 year Care Refresh plan then you are covered for 1 year NOT for 2 years regardless of whether you use it or not. You get up to 2 replacements within that 1st year. When your one year plan is near to expiry, then you will have the option to pay to renew the plan for a 2nd year as long as you have one replacement left. When you renew you only get one replacement in the 2nd year. Alternately, you could have chosen the 2 year plan at purchase.

Chris

 

[3rdof5]

You did understand my post, and I did double check. Both the 1 year and 2 year care plan adds 1 year warranty if you don't use the care.

 

[Chrislaf]

You did understand my post, and I did double check. Both the 1 year and 2 year care plan adds 1 year warranty if you don't use the care.

If this is in fact correct, it would be great news as I have a 1 year plan on my Mavic 3 which is due to expire in March and a 1 year plan on my Mini 3 Pro. I have no claims on either plan at the moment.

I had Care Refresh on my Spark and never used it. After the first year, I got an email asking if I wanted to renew for another year, which I did. It did not automatically extend for the second year even though I had not used any of the 2 replacements available.

I will check my Refresh policies again. If DJI has changed this, then it is a welcome change.

Chris

 

[3rdof5]

If this is in fact correct, it would be great news as I have a 1 year plan on my Mavic 3 which is due to expire in March and a 1 year plan on my Mini 3 Pro. I have no claims on either plan at the moment.

I had Care Refresh on my Spark and never used it. After the first year, I got an email asking if I wanted to renew for another year, which I did. It did not automatically extend for the second year even though I had not used any of the 2 replacements available.

I will check my Refresh policies again. If DJI has changed this, then it is a welcome change.

Chris

I purchased the 1 year care as part of the bundle with my M3C online at Dji just yesterday. I read both the 2 year and 1 year very carefully and both stated an additional year warranty if you do not use the Care. I have no idea if this a new change or not.

 

[msinger]

I will check my Refresh policies again. If DJI has changed this, then it is a welcome change.

Per the DJI Care Refresh FAQ, the warranty is extended by 1 year or 2 years if in Europe/UK.

 

[3rdof5]

Per the DJI Care Refresh FAQ, the warranty is extended by 1 year or 2 years if in Europe/UK.

View attachment 160828

Very interesting. I just went to Dji.com and looked up the 1 year care plan for the Mavic 3 Classic. It doesnt specify here that its only for the EU and UK. Guess I'll find out when I get the official document.