Entended Warranties

[MinnesotaKid]

Hello to you all,

I am in the process of purchasing a new computer. Not 100% sure if I will get a laptop or desktop. I 'm leaning towards a desktop because of bang-for-your-buck compared to laptops and because I would rarely see a need for me to have a PC while I am not home.

Anyways, I have been going to some of the local computer stores in the Minneapolis area and getting some ideas on price and features. While at Best Buy I eavesdropped on a conversation a Best Buy employee was having with a potential laptop customer. The guy was interested in a laptop going for about $1999 with a $200 rebate.

The clerk then said the famous words "Would you like to purchase an extended warranty with this computer?" The model only came with 90 days parts and labor, which I found amazing in itself. Most, but to my surprise, not all of the laptops at this store came with 1-year warranties covering parts and labor. I would think a two thousand dollar PC would come with at least 1-year.

The cost for Best Buy's PSP (Performance Service Plan) for this amount was $249.99. That's their charge for anything over $1000. This particualar customer decided to get the extended warranty. Another 10% or so added to the final cost.

I am not sure where I will get my computer, but I assume most stores will try to get me to buy one of these warranties. I've purchased 4 desktops over the past 7 years and have never gotten the extended warranty and have only once had to replace anything (hard drive=$79).

My question for you folks is whether or not these extended warranties are a rip-off or worthy insurance against a catastrophy which may occur? What I have been reading on the web leads me to believe that a laptop is much more likely to get messed up than a desktop. Is this true? If something is going to go wrong on a computer, will it usually happen in the first year? Will a laptop with a 1-year but with no extended warranty be too risky? I've read that Best Buy really pushes their employees to sell these things and that their little sales pitch can be a little misleading concerning coverage. I've also heard that Best Buy makes more on the warranty than the actual computer, so I am a little afraid of getting taken.

Thanks for any guidance!



Last edited by MinnesotaKid at Today at 10:18 pm

[ecperez]

My advised is, if you're going to buy a notebook or desktop, and want to make sure of the warranty, try to check with the manufacturer itself like DELL, HP, COMPAQ etc. for its warranty and ask if they have special warranties, or extended warranties. If they say yes, and by no means buy the extended warranty.



Last edited by ecperez at Today at 3:31 pm

[skloo77]

My vote is Depends on a case by case bassis.
warranty differs from every single country which the same product maybe sold in......the warranty is US may not be the same as the warranty in UK for the same model.

as what my friend has mentioned, it is best to check with them directly. normally they call it special pack or extended pack or some other pack. it will cost a bit, but can save your butt if they hardware really fails u.

its like insurance, u get what u initially bought after something happens....heehee.....(just a joke for this part)

[just_do_IT]

Also, read the "fine print."

some extended warranties are "pro rated...."

Meaning that if in 3 years your cd writer fails, they might give you $20.00 towards the replacement cost of a new one.

An extended warranty should replace anything that fails in the warranty time window at full value imho.

@MK

Have you ever considered building your own computer? It is not very difficult and the sense of accomplishment is very good. Case-Mobo-cpu-ram-hd-vidcard. If you can replace a hard drive you can build the box. If you need help, you have us here at B1.

Zo

[MinnesotaKid]

Quote:

Originally posted by zonko@Today at 10:13 am
@MK

Have you ever considered building your own computer? It is not very difficult and the sense of accomplishment is very good. Case-Mobo-cpu-ram-hd-vidcard. If you can replace a hard drive you can build the box. If you need help, you have us here at B1.

Zo

I have replaced hard drives, cpus, cards and that kind of stuff, but have always been a little afraid to build one myself from scratch. Are there any good sites that can help a person through the process? Besides the great advice from B1 members, that is. Case-Mobo-cpu-ram-hd-vidcard...Seems pretty straightforward.

Reading more about this I feel I will go with a desktop. And will probably only get an extended warranty direct from the manufacturer if I buy one pre-built. Getting a little more fascinated about building my own now. My wife's gunna love to hear that!

Thanks for the helpful replies from all of you.

[Jessica]

Quote:

Originally posted by MinnesotaKid+Today at 3:27 pm--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (MinnesotaKid @ Today at 3:27 pm)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin--zonko@Today at 10:13 am
@MK

Have you ever considered building your own computer? It is not very difficult and the sense of accomplishment is very good. Case-Mobo-cpu-ram-hd-vidcard. If you can replace a hard drive you can build the box. If you need help, you have us here at B1.

Zo

I have replaced hard drives, cpus, cards and that kind of stuff, but have always been a little afraid to build one myself from scratch. Are there any good sites that can help a person through the process? Besides the great advice from B1 members, that is. Case-Mobo-cpu-ram-hd-vidcard...Seems pretty straightforward.

Reading more about this I feel I will go with a desktop. And will probably only get an extended warranty direct from the manufacturer if I buy one pre-built. Getting a little more fascinated about building my own now. My wife's gunna love to hear that!

Thanks for the helpful replies from all of you.[/b][/quote]
www.actonlinestore.com

just customize it.
they build it for you, free.
and they're cheap.

I dunno about they're warranty.
But I never get any extended warranty on anything.
They never work when you need them to work. Meaning, people will say 'its not covered by warranty' and make up a stupid reason.

The one time we did get an extended warranty. It was stupid.
The CD-ROM drive began to fail, and so I took it (to best buy in fact) and they said they'd have to send the whole computer to Houston (i'm in tx...so i dunno where it would go for u) and they'd have to work on it there.
I was like 'no' ..walked to the back of the store, bought a new CD-ROM, and installed it. Much easier.

In short: No. DO NOT get an extended warranty. They've never worked for me. And as always, when it breaks...it'll usually be just a month or two after all warranties expire.

[tubebuoy]

Rules of thumb

#1. If it works "out of the box" it's gonna' work a LONG TIME!

#2. If the warranty is one year and you have no probs, it will work at least as long as the 'extended warranty'.

#3. Never spend more than 10% of the product cost on an 'EW'

#4. If you travel a LOT! Consider an 'EW' on a laptop. (baggage handlers,turbulence,etc)

#5. Don't trust salespersons! I was told my Canon printer had 1 year parts and 90 days labor so I left the store. Went to the Canon website and found out it was 1 year parts AND labor! The price dropped $20 a week later so I went and bought it.

In conclusion, don't buy ANYTHING that doesn't have 1 year parts and labor and you should be fine. The only exception I see would be a laptop if you travel a lot.

}---

[war59312]

If you buy a pre-built system go with dell. They are the best. Go with the Dimension 8200. It kicks ass.

Some options:

1.) 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year At-Home Service
2.) 2 Year Limited Warranty plus 2 Year At-Home Service
3.) 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service
4.) 4 Year Limited Warranty plus 4 Year At-Home Service
5.) 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year At-Home Service and CompleteCare
6.) 2 Year Limited Warranty plus 2 Year At-Home Service and CompleteCare
7.) 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service and CompleteCare
8.) 4 Year Limited Warranty plus 4 Year At-Home Service and CompleteCare

Everyone I know goes with option 3 (3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service).

That's also what I have. So far its great. I had a motherboard, sound card, graphic card, and modem replaced for free when they got struck by lighting.

Only thing is that I hope you want a P4.

For $1,807.00: (My friend has this one, he loves it)

Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.53GHz with 533MHz system bus/ 512K L2 Cache

512MB PC800 RDRAM

80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive

3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service

Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional

New 128MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4? Ti 4600 Graphics Card w/DVI and TV-Out

48x Max CD-ROM Drive

Free! 24x/10x/40x CD-RW Drive with Roxio's Easy CD Creator®

Harman Kardon HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer

Sound Blaster Live! Digital Sound Card

6 Months of America Online Membership Included (Sold to a friend, hehe)

USB 2.0 PCI Card w/ 4-Ports



Last edited by war59312 at Today at 12:31 pm

Dude....yer gettin a Dell