I got an early Xmas gift today, I have questions for the computer gurus here

[cicy33]

I agree 100%. Extended warranties are a great deal - for the company. Stay away from them. You don't need it.

I DISAGREE completely. bought a laptop for our 15 year old last xmas. within 4 months the screen was "flashing". He is very careful with it, does not take it to school or friends houses, we don't allow it. We had purchased a warranty which wasn't too much (about 100). FIgured kids are rough on stuff, you know? we sent it in as requested, they determined the cable between the screen and the laptop was bad, fixed it and sent it back within 10 days. Best 100 I ever spent. We paid about a 100 for my laptop warranty as well, we bought the anything goes warranty. If we step on it, drop it whatever it is replaced. my other half is a clutz! so it really depends on what the use is and your luck of the draw. laptops go bad sometimes because they overheat. Going to college is something to consider. most college kids take them back and forth to school. anything can happen. your friends may not mean it but accidents happen. consider just an accidental warranty maybe. been well worth our time.

[lovcom]

I DISAGREE completely. bought a laptop for our 15 year old last xmas. within 4 months the screen was "flashing". He is very careful with it, does not take it to school or friends houses, we don't allow it. We had purchased a warranty which wasn't too much (about 100). FIgured kids are rough on stuff, you know? we sent it in as requested, they determined the cable between the screen and the laptop was bad, fixed it and sent it back within 10 days. Best 100 I ever spent. We paid about a 100 for my laptop warranty as well, we bought the anything goes warranty. If we step on it, drop it whatever it is replaced. my other half is a clutz! so it really depends on what the use is and your luck of the draw. laptops go bad sometimes because they overheat. Going to college is something to consider. most college kids take them back and forth to school. anything can happen. your friends may not mean it but accidents happen. consider just an accidental warranty maybe. been well worth our time.

This is silly....the 1 year factory warranty would've covered that issue! You got ripped off man. Read ConsumerReports...they will set you straight.

And who charges just $100 for an extended warranty on a new laptop?

Nobody these days!

[lovcom]

Thanks for the tip

MyrDale, This makes no sense, because OpenOffice opens and writes MS-Office documents, so it does not matter if the rest of the world uses MS-Office or not.

[cicy33]

This is silly....the 1 year factory warranty would've covered that issue! You got ripped off man. Read ConsumerReports...they will set you straight.

And who charges just $100 for an extended warranty on a new laptop?

Nobody these days!

on his in this case we were lucky. but if he does anything worse they would not cover it with a regular warranty. Also if they had determined it was not the computer but his fault it still would have been covered.

Good example, my daughter had a laptop a year or so back. She was using it and walked away. While she was away from it (about a half hour tops) there was a pipe in the ceiling of the basement they were in (they lived in her husbands mothers basement when they first married, it was very nice and finished but well stuff happens) and the pipe burst and flooded her laptop. She did not see this coming and could not have avoided it as no matter where she had set it the water would have gotten to it. she had no extra warranty and when she called they told her they did not cover water damage or personal damage only if the computer was defective. laptop became a nice paperweight.

Now with my laptop I was willing to pay the extra in case something does happen. as said above. laptops are mobile, accidents happen. regular warranty WILL NOT cover accidents. I would never pay for an extra warranty on a desktop because you don't move those around.

[lovcom]

on his in this case we were lucky. but if he does anything worse they would not cover it with a regular warranty. Also if they had determined it was not the computer but his fault it still would have been covered.

Good example, my daughter had a laptop a year or so back. She was using it and walked away. While she was away from it (about a half hour tops) there was a pipe in the ceiling of the basement they were in (they lived in her husbands mothers basement when they first married, it was very nice and finished but well stuff happens) and the pipe burst and flooded her laptop. She did not see this coming and could not have avoided it as no matter where she had set it the water would have gotten to it. she had no extra warranty and when she called they told her they did not cover water damage or personal damage only if the computer was defective. laptop became a nice paperweight.

Now with my laptop I was willing to pay the extra in case something does happen. as said above. laptops are mobile, accidents happen. regular warranty WILL NOT cover accidents. I would never pay for an extra warranty on a desktop because you don't move those around.

Again, the extended warranty was a waste, because HomeOwner's insurance would've covered the drowned laptop. Even most car insurance policies would replace a laptop stolen from your car too. Also had you purchased the laptop with certain credit cards, an automatic extended warranty might have provided coverage too.

My two daughters have had laptops since they were 3 years of age, and today their 20 & 22, and they nor myself have ever had any out-of-warranty repairs, nor any repairs for any accidents.

I told the girls that if they drop it, or break it, they get no replacement on my dime, and maybe that's why they are so careful with their laptops.

If your lifestyle is so fraght with accidents and such, then I think there are other bigger issues that need attention.

[elessar78]

I used to be on the boat that extended warranties on computers are a ripoff—that an owner should self-insure.

But after having two laptops go kaput in the last 3 years (first one, my fault and the second due to hardware failure) I think that it may not be a bad option. Especially, since I use my laptops for work I can write off the amount I paid for the warranty.

I have a mac mini and the apple care on mine was $150 for a $400 machine. When the motherboard/logic board failed on my second laptop, it was $70 just to diagnose it and then another $50 just to pull the data off my hard drive and put it onto a new one. When if I'd bought the warranty it would've all been covered.

I know you're not supposed to buy the warranty because the risk of failure is lower than the cost of the warranty, but from my experience it's not. My perception is that Apple makes good, reliable products but my experience has been otherwise.

[lovcom]

I used to be on the boat that extended warranties on computers are a ripoff—that an owner should self-insure.

But after having two laptops go kaput in the last 3 years (first one, my fault and the second due to hardware failure) I think that it may not be a bad option. Especially, since I use my laptops for work I can write off the amount I paid for the warranty.

I have a mac mini and the apple care on mine was $150 for a $400 machine. When the motherboard/logic board failed on my second laptop, it was $70 just to diagnose it and then another $50 just to pull the data off my hard drive and put it onto a new one. When if I'd bought the warranty it would've all been covered.

I know you're not supposed to buy the warranty because the risk of failure is lower than the cost of the warranty, but from my experience it's not. My perception is that Apple makes good, reliable products but my experience has been otherwise.

Your situation shows that the warranty was a waste of money!

You'd have to have such failures TWICE for a given machine, not once, to justify the outlay of $150 for the warranty.

The first incident means you got your money back from buying warranty.

The 2nd incident would be were the warranty saves money. However most computers never have a 1st incident, and those that do rarely have a 2nd.

Statistically speaking, if a PC or laptop is a lemon, it is most likely going to fail within the warrany period. And often, replacing a crashed harddrive should only cost $80-$100 for parts, and 5-10 minutes for labor, and often it can be done by the user and very easily and quick. This cost is a lot less then an extended warranty.

And one more thing....there is this dillusion with many buyers of extended warranties that think they're covered i they drop or run over their laptop, but warranties these days never cover user error.

It's all a rip off that is meant to increasre raw profit for stores. They know most people are ignorant of even the most basic aspects of computers, and like lemmings will shell out the cost.

Funny, you will not find a Consumer review board/organization that thinks these warranties are a good buy. Not. One.

[elessar78]

I don't know if my original post was misleading but the first two laptops were around $1,000 a piece and I did not have warranties for either of those. Both would've cost around $800 to repair.

The first was a moot point, because that was user induced damage. But the second one was a hardware failure that occurred at 13.5 months after I bought it, barely outliving the "natural" warranty. Had I had the extended warranty, my cost for repair would've been $150 not $800 (or being that I replaced it with a new machine $400.) A hard drive is one thing, but a logic board a totallly different thing. I checked on eBay and the logic board was $350 (at least) not counting labor since I don't have the know how to install it.

People like you act like everyone should know how to repair electronics like they're a bathroom towel rack that came loose.

Of course stores offer it because they make a profit. I think $150 for 3 year protection plan (arguably the reliable life of a computer) is not a "ripoff" at 13 cents/day. Especially from my experience where a major hardware repair can have you looking at an $800 bill. Keep in mind that a single incident is likely going to be around $120 for diagnostic and labor. No parts.

[cicy33]

Again, the extended warranty was a waste, because HomeOwner's insurance would've covered the drowned laptop. Even most car insurance policies would replace a laptop stolen from your car too. Also had you purchased the laptop with certain credit cards, an automatic extended warranty might have provided coverage too.

My two daughters have had laptops since they were 3 years of age, and today their 20 & 22, and they nor myself have ever had any out-of-warranty repairs, nor any repairs for any accidents.

I told the girls that if they drop it, or break it, they get no replacement on my dime, and maybe that's why they are so careful with their laptops.

If your lifestyle is so fraght with accidents and such, then I think there are other bigger issues that need attention.

First you are assuming there was insurance to cover it. For all I know her mother in law rents. then home owners does not cover peoples things. People are required to carry renters insurance to cover their things. this can get pricey too. I personally carry it because the house I am buying is contract for deed and I want to protect my things. Secondly, what on earth would one accident to my daughters computer and a mechanical defect to my step son's give you the impression my life is "fraught" with accidents. Life is full of things that happen. I am very careful with my laptop but I am also aware that accidents happen. That is why they are called "accidents". I suppose you have never ever tripped or stumbled or knocked over a glass of soda? I personally am not that perfect. So I decided it was smart to put accidental coverage on my laptop. It is a mobile item we take with us when we travel and everywhere. So far have never had to use it. But was worth the peace of mind.