I have used a maintenance contract since I started 20 years ago. At first my distributo offered it free for the first year after a purchase. They would come monthly. Once I had to start paying for it I have them come every 3 or 4 months. I feel it has been worth it as I have very little down time because a good tech will often see things about ready to go out and I can preorder parts or have it fixed before it shuts me down. The key is to have a good tech and not some flunky who is just learning. I pay $250 per automatic partly because they have to drive 300 miles to get to me.