Notebook Vgp
Notebook Warranty Guide
Are you thinking about buying an extended warranty with your new notebook but aren’t sure about it? Warranties can be confusing investments, even for more experienced buyers – in this article we explain basic warranty terms, what they cover and don’t cover, and what kind of coverage is practical for your needs.
Basic Warranty Terms
I need to start from the beginning and explain what a warranty is and what it is designed to do. The book definition of a warranty is:A guarantee given to the purchaser by a company stating that a product is reliable and free from known defects and that the seller will, without charge, repair or replace defective parts within a given time limit and under certain conditions.
Applied to notebook computers, this means under normal operating conditions (not subject to drops, extreme temperatures, and so on) it should work without problems for the length of the warranty period; if anything happens the company will make good on the warranty and fix the problems. This is what is known as a limited warranty – that is, a warranty with limitations on what is covered.
What Does a Basic Warranty Include?
The outright majority of consumer notebooks sold today come with a one-year limited warranty. In general, the following should be included with the warranty (all for one year):
- Parts and labor coverage (that is, a guarantee on both the parts and the workmanship)
- Mail-in service (so you can ship your notebook to the company for service)
- 24/7 phone and email support
- Basic warranties only cover items the company is at fault for; if they put in a defective screen, that would be covered and the company would replace it. On the other hand, if the laptop does not function correctly because of something YOU did (such as spilling water on it), in all likelihood it will not be covered.
Accidental Damage Warranties
Accidental damage warranties cover as the name implies – accidents.They are an add-on to basic warranties and make the warranty less limited by covering more things. Always read the warranty text of what is covered; in general, accidental damage warranties cover liquid spills, drops and falls, power surges, screen breaks, and other collisions.
Something an accidental damage warranty does NOT cover is theft.There are companies that sell insurance for notebooks and other devices that cover theft; Safeware Insurance Agency is one example. In some cases your renter’s or homeowner’s insurance will cover theft, but check with you provider.
Manufacturer Extended Warranties
A basic extended warranty will extend the period of time a product is covered. As I noted, the outright majority of consumer notebooks come with a one-year warranty; purchasing a two-year warranty will extend the standard coverage by one year beyond that and so on.
Basic extended warranties do not necessarily add extra features such as better support over the included basic warranty. If the standard warranty is listed as “One-year limited warranty” and the extended warranty is listed as “Two-year limited warranty”,chances are they are the same except for the period of time covered.
The longest warranty period I recommend is three years; four- and five-year warranties are offered by some manufacturers however that is an eternity in the computer world; any computer that old would be quite outdated and at that point, it would be best just to get a new computer. Also, note that the price for four- and five-year warranties is usually higher per year than three-year warranties; the manufacturer knows it is likely going to have to replace parts at that point and charges accordingly.
“Premium” Extended Manufacturer Warranties
Companies also sell “advanced” or “premium” extended warranties that add additional features to the basic warranty. Feature support will vary by company; they may include extras such as:
- Enhanced technical support
- Expedited shipping
- In-home repair service
- Accidental damage coverage
“Enhanced technical support” can be ambiguous; larger companies are offering it in response to the backlash they received years ago from outsourcing to countries such as India. Dell, for example, bills their enhanced technical support as “North American Phone Support”.
In general I think premium warranties are a waste of money (with the exception of accidental damage protection); whether you have the standard or premium warranty,the manufacturer will still make good on warranty issues. Premium warranties are a good example of companies “skimming off the top”, making you pay for things you don’t need.
Retail Store Extended Warranties
Retail stores such as Best Buy are infamous for pushing customers to buy their extended warranty plans. Stores rarely make more than a few percent profit on notebooks themselves, however extended warranties are almost always pure profit.
You are almost always better off getting an extended warranty from the manufacturer rather than a retail store for the following reasons:
- Manufacturer extended warranties are almost always less expensive. To illustrate, Best Buy’s two-year standard plan for a ~$1,000 Toshiba laptop is $179.99, while Toshiba’s two-year extended warranty is only $79.99.
- It will likely be faster getting your laptop serviced by the manufacturer rather than the retail store. Retail stores do not stock replacement parts like manufacturers do; chances are if you bring your laptop into Best Buy for repair, they will have to send it out anyway to get the job done. Don’t expect retail stores to be any faster servicing your notebook than the manufacturer.
- Retail store warranties do not include phone support on all but their most expensive plans; manufacturer warranties include phone support for the length of the warranty period or longer. Getting a two- or three-year advanced warranty with phone support from Best Buy on $1,049 Dell laptop is $299.95, where Dell only charges $168.00. Lenovo/IBM ThinkPad X60
- In short, manufacturer extended warranties offer the same level of service or better compared to retail store extended warranties at less cost to you.
About the Author
Playin’ around with my Digipiano+ Notebook + VGP VSTi setup in Arch
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