OK,

Rental - 1
Buy - 0

Bought a DLINK DCM-202 three years ago and it works like a charm. I got a full rebate from BestBuy to boot. Sweet!

Buy - You pay a one time fee and get a warranty. Get a decent brand that doesn't go belly up in a year. A good Motorola or D-Link should cost about $65. Look about and you're sure to find a sale. Talk to your cable techs and find out what brands they recommend and what is best suited to work with your particular service and go from there. The tech I talked to at my service recommended a particular Motorola Surfboard. I bought it and have had no trouble for the last year and a half.

Rent - You pay a fee every month, above and beyond what the modem is worth. When I was renting a modem I was paying an average of about $8 - $10 each month, which means I was basically buying the modem twice a year, but not getting a new one. When I did need a new one, the ones the cable company supplied were not the best suited for the service I was paying for. So in effect, I was downgrading my own service by using their modem, and I was paying for the privilege of doing so.


I am much happier owning my modem than renting it. And, should the thing go out and you are not able to get a new one due to warranty expiration or lack of funds, you can always rent one from the cable provider at that point.

Yep.

I own my Motorola Surfboard. Got a warranty. Paid about $60 for it.....

It's mine. I'd rather own it than rent it. I like being able to say "It's MINE!".....

I just read a news item where a local consumer's home was hit by a tornado and received a bill from the cable company for thousands of dollars for destroyed cable company equipment. When they called to complain, according to this news article, they were told to submit it to their insurance company. Since the insurance company only paid the depreciated value of the equipment, the cable company was attempting to persue the consumer for replacement cost of the equipment.

Don't allow the cable company to collect hundreds of dollars in rental fees from you, with the added risk that should the "Cable" companiy's equipment become lost, stolen or destoyed of you having to replace it for additional hundreds or thousands of dollars, especially when you can easily buy the item for less than a hundred dollars.

Thanks for all the replies. I had already bought the modem but found myself questioning if I should have done it or not. I figured owning would make it better and my bill will be a few bucks cheaper as well.

Since the subject came up what about one that includes telephone........The one I have (rented) has to be recycled damn near every time the power burps. Anyone know of a good replacement that will be compatible with my Brighthouse telephone service?