Alienware Insurance

Hi Guys,

After a bit of advice, Dell have finally got back to me in regards to extending my warranty - it's due to end this November.

I just want to see if the price they offer is reasonable, I'm not so sure but at the same time I've never done it so I'm not sure, it's more of a gut feeling that the price seems exessive and he didn't seem to be budging on price.

Hardware & Software support including next business day support.

1 Year = £185
2 Year = £350
3 Year = £520

Hardware only support was the same prices above minus £20 pounds. so £165, £330, £500

What do you guys think? Is it good? Am I being ripped off?

Thanks!

 

Holey smokes that's expensive. Jeez, my local Clevo dealer (Metabox) only wanted $89 AUD for 3 years of onsite warranty.
I know Alienware machines are fairly modular, I believe if something stuffs up you can still send it back for repair (provided it isn't extremely serious like a complete motherboard failure), they'll just charge you a fee + cost of component which is frighteningly similar to the amount they're asking for the warranty.

Really for that price, you're only getting protection in the case of Motherboard, PSU or LCD screen failure. RAM and CPU are covered by their respective companies, I don't know about GPU. The cost of a replacement LCD is cheaper than 185 pounds, the cost of a new PSU is around 100 pounds so really, the motherboard and GPUs are the only worthwhile thing provided they are likely to fail in the next 3 years.

O dunno, if you're fairly rough with your machine and expect a hardware failure soon due to your usage patterns then it might be justifiable but I wouldn't pay that much money considering the risk of a kind of failure that may require such a warranty is low.

 

Same price I paid for a single year and I have now extended another year. It has paid for itself easily even to the point of a brand new replacement. Not once have I had to send it in and an engineer always comes to my house to repair. This does depend on where you live though and the availability of local repair technicians. What GPU do you have? The 580m in the R3 has never lasted more than a couple of years in my experience!

It's nice to know that you have good coverage with a company that backs up their warranty, well they do ATM...

 

Hi Both,

Specs are as follows. I think I will bite the bullet as now I know someone has at least paid the same price so there's possibly a set price list they run with. In regards to warranty so far I've had two Alienware M17x R4 (new motherboard, battery, charger) which eventually got changed for the 17 R5 - that already has had the GPU replaced.

Computer Model Alienware 17
Manufacturer Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
16gb RAM
80gb mSATA
750gb 7200rpm hard driver
Blu-ray driver
1080P display (No 3D)
Display Adapters NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600

Thanks.

 

I'm a huge champion of extended warranty service. The number one reason I'm going to be ordering again from Alienware is the warranty service. I figure I have cost AW about $3K in parts and service, and they have always done it fast and efficiently. My advice is to extend your warranty until you reasonably expect to be buying a new model, and then just repeat the process. Peace of mind on a $3,500 machine is a beautiful thing.

 

I agree, you never know what can happen, especially with electronics. I have been super lucky with my baby, and never bring it out of the house.

 

Good post. Everything you've said is true.

The best thing about Alienware systems, aside from the aesthetics and performance, is the warranty offered at the time of purchase. The price is more than fair (at the time of purchase), and I recommend purchasing as much as you can then, as opposed to spending twice as much later on extending it. You should purchase at least three years of enhanced support up front. This will not cover accidental damages, but it will cover parts/repairs for those three years, and it's only $300~ at the time of configuration.

What I've highlighted in bold is especially important for members here to realize. That warranty may seem unnecessary at first, but it's a life saver in a time of need.

 

We are glad you've been satisfied with our warranty support. We try to stand behind our product all the time. @OP, those prices are normal taking into consideration that most components inside the laptop cost more than that. Also, even when the part is not that expensive, you could be charged a lot for service or phone support.

 

The prices you quoted are the standard list prices for warranty on all the Alienware systems after purchase.

 

The chance of failure goes up exponentially with time so not too surprising at the costs, it is a calculated risk on their part after all.

 

Those are standard UK warranty extension prices for the UK. It's irrelevant if the machine is a 14, 17 or 18 - the price is the same. It's worth noting that whilst you can renew a warranty if it has expired, there is an additional charge of around £45 for renewing a lapsed warranty. If you look at the cost of buying warranty at the time of configuring a machine, it's always massively cheaper to do that as opposed to renewing when the initial one year is up - one of the reasons why you'll find that many people will give the advice to get as much warranty as you can afford at the outset if you plan on keeping your machine for more than a year or so.

Also, the optional accidental damage portion - if taken at the outset - cannot be renewed. It can only be purchased to run concurrently with the number of years of extended warranty bought at configuration - it can run shorter than the main hardware warranty (eg. 4 yrs hardware + 2yrs AD) but cannot run past the hardware cover end date.

Occasionally, Dell will have a 'special' on warranty extensions - just a few weeks back, extensions had a 33% discount on them.....it might be worth asking about to see if you can get in on the action before your warranty expires....perhaps leave it as long as possible to see if an offer crops up before your warranty runs out. That's what I am doing, as I bought my 14 second hand with only 1yr on it which is up in August. (wish I had known at the time but I forgot to phone ....)

Dell Warranty and Service Renewal | Dell UK (UK & N.Ireland)

Just my tuppence on it....

 

Oh yes, I know just how much the parts cost; I've researched them extensively, and especially when in-home replacement labor gets factored in, I know just how cheaply I got off. Always buy the extended warranty, kids!

 

Thanks all for your input, insurance then is the way forward! I'll get back in touch with them as if anything was to happen to this laptop I'd be heart broken!