Warranty on a laptop

[2occupant]

How many problems do laptops run into? It seems like damage insurance makes more sense.

I usually go by theory of you use it more as a new toy in first few months- that should get all the bugs out. Does that work for laptops?

 

[mickles]

Getting warranty for laptops is good piece of mind. A lot of laptop owners have mentioned that it is a good idea.

 

[fbrdphreak]

The only time I don't recommend getting a warranty with a laptop is when you don't care about it.
Laptops can be VERY expensive to repair, with most of the components (expensive ones mind you) requiring depot service, i.e. you can't do it yourself.
Accidental damage coverage is valuable also. personally, i recommend getting a warranty that covers both. read the terms carefully though: for instance, HP's Accidental Damage coverage only replaces one of each major component during the life of the warranty; i.e. you only get one replacement screen, one motherboard, etc.

I have a 3 year warranty w/accidental damage on my T42; eveyone who knows me has a warranty on their laptop from my recommendation and it almost always pays for itself. The only exception is my buddy who bought an Averatec, for like <$700 after rebate. He didn't get a warranty 'cuz he spent so little on it and uses the laptop only in a non-critical role, which makes sense for him. But most people don't fall into this category from my experience.

 

[dementedlemur]

Complete coverage through dell is a very good investment. I had my LCD and mobo replaced and it was very fast and easy. They shipped me the parts, then sent a tech out to my house to do the install. Definately worth the $ considering the high cost of laptop parts and service.
I also have an averatec and got a screen protection plan through Microcenter that covers up to 2 replacements per year.
The dell warranty is much better though IMO.

 

[vegetation]

Financially it's not worth it unless you buy some relatively rare, expensive, laptop like an ultraportable 1.5lb machine that nobody else has within a 100 mile radius. Otherwise, any lemon from a mainstream system will show itself within the first 30 days usually, majority will just be DOA. All companies offer at least a 1 year free warranty period (if not, RUN like hell) so issues like a messed up keyboard will show itself up. Aside from that, if you buy a mainstream laptop such as Dell, HP/Compaq, then there are so many common parts you can buy off the shelf from ebay in the event of a problem, such as broken hinges, etc.

Remember that warranties only entitle you to have an exact spec'd machine returned to you. Does not neccessarily have be the machine you originally owned. So your pristine no dead pixel UXGA screen machine may in fact be replaced with an identical UXGA but with dead pixels all over (as companies usually have ridiculous dead pixel acceptance standards). Frankly, this issue in itself turns me off from buying any extended warranty as a laptop with a perfectly flawless screen can be a difficult process.

With laptop prices going down and continuing to fall, there is even less reason to buy an extended warranty. Remember that companies push ext warranties hard because they are huge profit drivers.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Dunno what kind of customer you are, but when I spend money on an extended warranty I damn well get what I deserve out of it. And lemons aren't the issue: long term reliability, wear & tear, and accidental damage are the issues.
But then again, you would fall under the "doesn't care about the laptop" category: you don't care if something happens out of warranty 'cuz laptop prices are dropping. Which is a very fair position to take.
Personally, when I invested in my $2000 T42, I planned on keeping it for more than 1 year.
My $0.02

 

[ShellGuy]

If you get an extended from Best Buy then you can get a new Batt every year if you like. It also covers lots of other stupid stuff 2.


Will G.

 

[dementedlemur]

Be wary of Best Buy's warranty. It states they don't cover "consumables" and that includes batteries. Also they consider certain "normal wear and tear" as "physical abuse" (non-locking phone and ethernet jacks for example).

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: dementedlemur
Be wary of Best Buy's warranty. It states they don't cover "consumables" and that includes batteries. Also they consider certain "normal wear and tear" as "physical abuse" (non-locking phone and ethernet jacks for example).

Hrm........wrong. "Consumables" refers to things like ink/toner cartridges. Best Buy's warranty SPECIFICALLY covers batteries, they replace up to one per year. They ship you an aftermarket battery and you keep your original one(s).
Now you are correct that they don't cover accidental damage, the only downside that I see. Now Best Buy repairs don't have quite the turn around time that major manufacturers offer (at least the better ones), but you do have in-store support (again, take that with a grain of salt).

 

[dementedlemur]

My bad, I was looking at the PRP (my roommate had a copy with his speakers), which doesn't cover batteries, but the PSP on higher end items does.

 

[Namtaru]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: dementedlemur
Be wary of Best Buy's warranty. It states they don't cover "consumables" and that includes batteries. Also they consider certain "normal wear and tear" as "physical abuse" (non-locking phone and ethernet jacks for example).

Hrm........wrong. "Consumables" refers to things like ink/toner cartridges. Best Buy's warranty SPECIFICALLY covers batteries, they replace up to one per year. They ship you an aftermarket battery and you keep your original one(s).
Now you are correct that they don't cover accidental damage, the only downside that I see. Now Best Buy repairs don't have quite the turn around time that major manufacturers offer (at least the better ones), but you do have in-store support (again, take that with a grain of salt).

this is correct

Also, if something goes out on your laptop that cannot be replaced easily, usually BB will give you a newer model