Computer Extended Warranties
The Consumers Guide To Extended Warranties
Walk into any big box retailer and attempt to buy just about anything and you will quickly be offered an extended warranty, replacement agreement or service contract. Consumer Reports and various other consumer groups would have you believe that these extended warranties are nothing but a scam to separate more of your hard earned money from your pocketbook, but this is not altogether true. The aim of this article is to give you the basic facts needed to make an educated and informed decision.
The Good These extended warranties can be a blessing for many consumers. Think of it as cheap insurance (although the retailers will swear up and down that it is not insurance for legal reasons) for your medium to larger purchases. In the case of service agreements, repairs are often done in your home and parts and labor are included. Often they will include yearly maintenance checks to keep your equipment in tip-top shape before there is a problem. If you are not mechanically inclined and don't relish the idea of paying for part and or labor charges (which start at about $70 an hour) or having to replace the item altogether, then a service agreement is in your best interests. Replacement agreements are usually offered on low to middle end electronic items. The benefit of these agreements is that if there is a problem with the item, the retailer will replace it for free with a brand new one and they usually cover the item for one to two years. If you find yourself buying the same item over and over again due to breakage (for me it's the computer headphone/microphone headset) purchase a replacement agreement and be done with it. This can save you an awful lot of money in the long run. Most of the better service agreements include a "lemon" clause. If you have the same item worked on for the same problem three or more times, they will usually replace the item with a spanking new one. The Bad Extended Warranties are about 90% profit for the retailer. They are betting that you won't be one of the 10% of users who actually encounter a problem with the item involved during the warranty coverage period. What this basically means is that most of the time you will never have a need to use the warranty you purchased, and it does become just a waste of money. Many items are not repaired in the home. Some good examples would be push lawn mowers, compressors, power tools and smaller televisions. This means you will have to take the item in to be serviced and often have to wait one to two weeks or more for the item to be sent out to a repair center and then returned before you can pick it up and actually use it again. In the case of a lawn mower, you (and your neighbors) might not be too happy about the wait. If you are mechanically inclined, you can often make simple repairs yourself, for just the cost of parts and not have to deal with the wait. In regards to electronic items and the replacement agreements that come with them, most electronics will fail in the first 90 days of use if they are going to fail at all. So in many cases the replacement agreement is a "rip-off" for the consumer. Tips Read the agreements carefully or make sure the agreements are explained well. Often times you will find out that many things are not covered, such as throw-away parts (filters, belts, spark plugs, batteries, hoses, etc) and abuse, or more specifically what the company considers to be abuse, or abusive. By GtrSoloist - Classically trained in music I have branched out into many other fields that include such things as writing, sales, movie reviews and the computer industry in general.
Computer Extended Warranty- RIP OFF? VERY MAD!?
I purchased a Toshiba Satellite P25 2 yrs ago and bought the protection plan with the computer (totaling $3,000). From a store that rhymes with "workit wity". I love it, it is second only to my child. I have never dropped it. I did damage a USB port while using a cordless mouse when I first got it (2 yrs ago)... but it didn't effect the computer so I kept on using it. I started having problems with computer about 6 mo. ago and sent it in to the repair facility via the protection plan. I called the protection plan and explained the issue: At start up the computer would flash ?0?s? and then show ?Windows XP? loading screen and then goes black. I can hear windows finish booting in the background but not see it. 1st time-fixed and sent it back. 2nd time-said they couldn't fix it because of the USB. WHAT A RIP OFF!! USB was same 1st time and it got fixed. Video card needed to be replaced. They said I dropped it. I think they wanted to get rid of me, to expensive. Your thoughts?
The USB was actually a problem with the mouse adaptor or problem with port itself, when I pulled out the adaptor for the cordless mouse, it pulled the plastic from the usb port. I didn't pull it hard nor did it take a lot for it to come out. So for me to say I broke it was half truth. The USB issue happened in the first few months I had it.. and I've had the computer for 2 years so if it was the USB it should have been an issue before now.
As for what they fixed, no idea! The tech said he just cleaned the computer, thats it. I know that isn't the whole truth because over the phone they had me do the "re-install" disk that takes your computer back to the beginning (forgot real term for disk) and I couldn't finish it because I had no screen, so the tech. would have had to finish it. He didn't note it on his notes so the 2nd time they said the tech said he only had to clean it nothing was wrong. So who knows on that end. I didn't install anything new in between incidents.
FYI I took it to best buys "geek squad" and paid them to see what was wrong. They ran tests and said it was indeed the video card and would cost with parts and labor over 600 to have comperable items installed. They also said it had nothing to do with the USB port as far as they could tell, the one underneath of the damaged one (they are connected) works fine and even the one that is damaged will work if you guide the wires into the incoming USB cable/connection.
I am really unsure what to do here... I love this computer and like I said have had NO problems until this one... I don't want to pay over 600 to fix it and next week have something else go wrong that they wont cover!
I don't understand why they would fix it the first time, whatever they did, and not the second. My only guess is the first time I didn't mention the USB. 2nd time I added it to the "whats wrong" section per the phone rep. said put everything that is wrong and they will fix it.. WRONG
PS forgot to add to post.
The only "same thing" done was that I was using a WinDVD program when the system/screen/video card failed. This is pre-installed program by Toshiba.
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Has anyone ever had a Dell computer extended warranty? Your thoughts & suggestions. frederickwoolfall?
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Computer Extended Warranties News
Schumer Urges Inquiry of Companies Behind Bogus Auto Warranty Calls
11 May 2009 at 12:00am Senator Charles E. Schumer has never struggled to find a reason to hold a news conference on a Sunday. But the inspiration for the one on Mother's Day arrived unexpectedly, when the senator's cellphone rang during a health care meeting on Capitol Hill last week. ''You are still eligible to reactivate warranty coverage,'' said the recorded voice on...Read more...
