Accessory Advisor

As phones, mp3 players, gps units, and other electronic devices continue to get more powerful, the need for powering them up will continue to be an issue.  While I try to be good about plugging my cell phone and sandisk mp3 player in when I am at home or at my desk, I find it much more convenient to charge them in the car.  Each of my vehicles has multiple cig adapters so it is easy to keep everything plugged in.  The challenge is finding good quality vehicle chargers that I trust wont fry my device.

Sometimes people seemed shocked that I am leery of ultracheap car chargers.  Why not buy a charger for a buck on ebay or at the dollar store?  Both my phone and MP3 player would cost well over $100 to replace.  I don’t trust either to a car charger that is cheap and not guaranteed.

Guaranteed?

Absolutely.

Any quality company will back up their charger with a guarantee it will not fry the device.  If there charger does, they will replace the device for free.  You might think all companies provide this kind of assurance.  Nope.  Some of the more popular online retailers and at least some offline retailers dont.  As a result, if you fry your device, you either will have to see if the manufacturer will cover it or try to go after the company.  Both will probably end in failure.

Most manufacturers note on the warranty terms that the use of non-OEM items such as chargers may damage the phone and the warranty will not cover this type of damage.  In going after the company you can chargeback the purchase but if it was only a buck, so what.  Trying to get them to pay for the device will generally end in a refusal as they never guaranteed the item in the first place. 

My advice, always check the sellers info to see if they provide a guarantee.  If not, dont buy from them unless you dont care about your phone, mp3 player, or other electronic device. 

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