I am going to buy my daughter a viola for school. Do you think I should buy a warranty for repairs and upkeep for this particular instrument? IS is worth the extra money?

Unless or until you learn how to do some of this yourself, possibly. In Pittsburgh there are plenty of string repair shops around. So gauge it by that. Do you have people you can take it to otherwise? Is this the only place you can come to? How long does the warranty last? How much is it?

Very important information.

If you're spending the money on a high quality instrument that is going to school, then I would get the warranty if it's reasonable. You not only have to be prepared for what your daughter may do but also all the other band members around her.

I guess you are right. The other day, her and another orchestra member switched bows by mistake and it was not the right size. I have had to go back to school to retrieve her instrument many times, as well. The warranty might not be a bad idea.

Is it a very expensive instrument? If your daughter is going to take it to school anything might happen to it. Then the cost of repairs might exceed the cost of the warranty. I feel that purchasing a warranty is a good idea.

As ShackMan mentioned, it's a good idea to know in advance what kind of pricing repairs are gonna be. I have to travel an hour to the closest person who I trust with my guitar if something goes wrong with it. Do your research before jumping in with both feet.

yeah i guess so its worth it ..that is if your buying the best viola in town..

Still, it depends on how much the warranty is. On a case by case basis, you can have small repairs done for as little as $10-30 per visit. And that's only on things like cracks or changing strings (which is easy enough for your daughter to learn how to do herself). As long as she takes decent care of it, you shouldn't need to take it in for repairs within the next two years or so.

I agree that it's probably most worthwhile if it's a high end instrument.

My most expensive guitar to date was only about $500, but I've heard about professional classical musicians considering spending around $20,000 on their children's instruments if they're taking a serious approach to studying music as a career.