DJI care is no longer worth it.

[BDMavic505]

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

Same here. Just like Auto Insurance, Home owners etc.

 

[Dizzy1971]

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

I couldn’t agree more. After looking at the most recent care refresh plan,I too have decided that the plan is indeed not worth the cost.

 

[TxArch DroneGuy]

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

No one is being forced to buy DJI drones or DJI Refresh; everyone should be responsible for their own decisions.

 

[jrhoffman75]

Isn’t the warranty different than Care Refresh. As I read it the warranty is for product defects, not crash related damage.

 

[Droning on and on...]

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.

Yes.

The OP's experience, opinion, and punitive response is counter-balanced by other customers like me that have purchased care refresh for most of out DJI products, and have had nothing but excellent experiences with the service.

DJI even replaced my sunburned FPV Goggles v2 when I was careless with them, at no charge, when they aren't even covered by the plan. I've replaced a crashed A2S, M3P, and way back an MP1 that got stuck in a tree that was totally inaccessible miles in remote forest. That one surprised me, was sure they'd say no.

So, in contrast to John, I recommend Care Refresh to everyone with enthusiasm and share my good experiences as the reason.

 

[AirOso]

Every one has different feelings about this. I almost never buy post warranty coverage for electronic items (and less rarely for cars). The way i look at it is, if the charge is more than a couple % of the price, do i even want to buy the item?
When i bought my last car, I was offered an extended warranty at about 10% of the car's price. I asked the (closing) agent, "you mean there is a more than 10% chance that this car will require major service? Maybe i am buying the wrong car." The price dropped to just under 4% instantly.
These are always a scam ... unless you need it. It's a very personal call and one size does not fit all.
I have had Care/Refresh, but only because this was my first drone and I knew I would do something stupid. After more than 2 years, I did not, somehow. Did I waste money? Some will say yes, but allowing me to learn with less fear is worth it (to me). Will I buy it with my next drone ... probably not.

 

[Droning on and on...]

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

But you did comment, so you must be a DJI fanboy

Seriously, I have no problem wearing that label without shame. I have drones from about half a dozen different manufacturers, and none compare well against DJI.

[Off-topic and political portion has been removed vs removing the entire post]

 

[KJack91986]

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.

I think you nailed it with this response. For a newbie pilot or even if you've just purchased a brand new drone, I think buying the initial 1 year plan is a good choice. I think it relieves that background mental anxiety of having to worry about the cost of loss or damage in the short term after you make an expensive purchase. You can focus on just larning and having fun. I'm a believer in the concept of "self-insurance" beyond that. In other words, after a year of ownership, I should feel confident that I've bought a good product and "I" will assume the role of the insurance company for what should be low-risk going forward.

 

[seejake]

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.

Plus in dji's case they also control what's being manufactured. Allstate would make a killing if the made the cars, charged you your premiums upfront, told what they will and will not fix over the phone as final word from god. and then if they did replace it give you a used car in its place. I mean in dji's case they control almost all aspects of this care service they offer from the manufacturing all the way to they payout if they deem you lucky enough to get a payout!!!

 

[Merrillie]

I took out a 1 year care refresh on my Mavic 3 and I did receive an email with the option to renew for another year and it did cost. I have had no claims with it or my previous drones. I also received a phone call asking if I would like to renew but I had already done it.

 

[skycam509]

Two words: State Farm

 

[mobilehomer]

Crashed my 2S. Opened a Care Refresh case. From the time I dropped it off at the UPS place, it was exactly seven days later that I opened my brand new 2S. Care Refresh all the way!!!

 

[baddog]

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

My issue is...on DJI's enterprise drones, DJI, makes you take, at minimum, the basic version of DJI Care Enterprise. You do not have a choice. You cannot purchase the drone without it. I have liability insurance, with hull coverage, I would rather pay my annual fees than for Care Enterprise, because I am getting 90% of the time, a refurbished drone through care enterprise basic.

 

[jaja6009]

I have had Care on 1 consumer DJI drone and 3 Enterprise drones.

At my real job we have had Care on two Enterprise drones.

On my personal drones, Care replaced 1 drone 3 times. I did not pay a penny. I live in NJ and it was alomst exactly 2 weeks from shipping it to them (With prepaid label) I received a brand new non-refurbished drone.

For my real job drones, we used Care twice. 1 time got us a brand new drone and the second time we got our Matrice 300 RTK repaired. Did not pay a penny.

I have read of other stories with bad outcomes, but as with many things in life, when you have a positive experience with something you tend to stick with it, and when you have a negative you avoid it. Fortunately for me and Care it works for me.

 

[Duvel]

EU/UK get a 2 year extension if DJI Care Refresh is not used (for a total warranty period of 3 years). Everyone else (including you assuming you're not in EU/UK) will get a 1 year extension (for a total warranty period of 2 years).

Just a small technical correction:
You also get a one-year extension in Europe and UK.
BUT
In Europe and UK you get a (legal minimum of) 2-year warranty period, no matter what you buy.

So... You get the two year warranty + 1 year extension = 3 year.

Just for your information.

 

[Chrislaf]

Well I got the email from DJI encouraging me to extend my Refresh for a second year on my Mavic 3 as the original one year plan is set to expire in a few days. We shall see if they extend it another year for safe use since I haven’t used either of my 2 available replacement’s. I don’t plan on purchasing another year this time.

When I had Refresh on my Spark, this reward for safe use was not available so this will be a new welcome ‘bonus’ if my Refresh and Flyaway coverage is automatically extended another year.

Chris

 

[3rdof5]

Well I got the email from DJI encouraging me to extend my Refresh for a second year on my Mavic 3 as the original one year plan is set to expire in a few days. We shall see if they extend it another year for safe use since I haven’t used either of my 2 available replacement’s. I don’t plan on purchasing another year this time.

When I had Refresh on my Spark, this reward for safe use was not available so this will be a new welcome ‘bonus’ if my Refresh and Flyaway coverage is automatically extended another year.

Chris

I dont believe the refresh or flyaway is extended automatically, just the regular warranty is.

 

[Chrislaf]

I was wondering about that otherwise people would have no reason to by refresh for a second year. Regardless having the warranty extended another year is still a nice bonus.

Chris

 

[AnzacJack]

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

seen many people stating that they were coming to the end of their coverage and would be deliberately crashing their drones to take advantage of the cover and getting a new drone.
I am in no way surprised this coverage has been tightened up. I am surprised DJI still offer it

 

[lewisrassee]

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

Showbox jiofi.local.html tplinklogin​

"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

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.