Pay or use the warranty?

In April, we purchased a new computer monitor. Over the past few weeks, it has started to develop black patches all over the screen.

Here's the dilemma:

We purchased an extended store warranty and still have 3 years covering the warranty, but if we...

return the monitor to the store in exchange for a new one, the warranty is then void...we lose the remaining 3 years, so if the new monitor breaks, we are without warranty.

We can send the monitor back to the company, but it's at our cost, and it requires us to also purchase bubble wrap to ship it in (it needs 5 layers). Even then, if they find that the problem is not covered by their own warranty, we'll have to pay for the repair. However, we keep the warranty.

So...should we return the monitor and void the warranty, or should we ship the monitor to the company at our own cost?
What would you do?

my advice is use the warranty that is why you bought it worry about the next problem if and when it should ever come

I would go ahead and use the warranty. Isn't that what you got it for in the first place?

It stinks that you have to lose the last three years. BUT, here's how I would look at it, if you then find something ELSE goes wrong with the second monitor, it becomes the company's problem for issuing a faulty product, and I would then return it directly to the manufacturer. You'll have to pay for shipping (should you need to return the second one...) but they should fix the issue if it needs fixing.