Alienware M18x: Should I Go for the Extended Warranty?

Hi!

I have an M18x that has the warranty expiring in 8 days. This laptop is the second replacement from my first that I got two years ago.

Anyhow.....

I bought an extended warranty last year for my old M17x (now is eplaced with the M18x). I paid $269.99 for it, and also got 3 $25 Amazon cards with the deal.

NOW, the extended warranty for the M18x is....<sigh>....$540.48!! That is for the basic one year that you getwhen you purchase the thing from Alienware.

Two things.....Does anyone know a way to get that $540.48 lower, and could you please tell me how you did this?

The other thing, I bought the extended warranty last year using an American Express card. When you buy anything with that type of card, they extend the warranty by what the warranty is. So, a one year gives you a one year for free. So yes, I have another one year extended warranty, but that will be it I believe once it is over.
The problem I have is...I highly doubt you can buy an extended warranty when the "Dell/Alienware" warranty has expired, even though it is covered by American Express.

I do not trust Alienwares products anymore. I know I will have issues in the next 2 months. It'll probably be the ATI cards or the mother board. That is my track record with the craptops.

Going back to my first thing....Does anyone know of a lower deal then $540.48? Yes, it is worth it because getting anything replaced will pay fo that amount, but I AM BROKE and can hardly afford the warranty.

By the way, if you geta replacement laptop from Alienware, KEEP the power supply!!!! you may need a second, or you CAN sell it on EBay to make up for the huge Alienware price tag. Keep everything you have.

Thank you anyone who reads my little Waawaa whine I typed here.

Best,
Mike</sigh>

 

I second the first question, though I doubt there is a postive answer. I got 3 years extended warranty with accidential damage for under 500 on my inspiron now it seems they want 1600 dollars for that on my alienware. I won't insult it though as alienware doesn' tmake the gpu or most of the components. If they break I really wouldn't blame the company. I just want to be covered.

 

Well, after having 5 motherboards replaced and 6 sets of video cards replaced along with other things, I have the right not to trust them anymore. I don't overclock or doanything of that nature.
As long as I am covered and getthe replacement parts, I'm alright with it. I just hate missing work so that someone can fix the thing.

Mike

 

i made a thread back in february under the m17x (since the 18 didnt come out yet at that time) that explained this. and to answer your question, yes, you can haggle. when i was asking about getting a warranty on an already expired one, i could still even do it, but it was MUCH harder to get, so extend the warranty before it expires. but say that "one of your friends said he got the same deal for 300$" because that was the cheapest i could go on advanced warranty, and see what they say, if they say no, hang up and try to get ahold of another rep, until you find one that lowers the price on extending your warranty.
...hope this helps.

 

That's basically the way to handle Dell in regard to anything. The 1st rep refuses, the second does too... the 8th will sell you the thing for e.g. 300. Keep on trying. Hotline's free in the end Same applies to buying anything from them. Being persistent is the key.

You can always say you are considering buying another laptop, m11x for example, but first you need to be sure your m18x is covered and safe. Just don't promise anything. Say you are considering things.

I guess the point is to act like a smart guy with money. Richer you are greedier you get, right? The fact you want to save and are exploring options does not mean your are broke. You just may be careful and like purchasing smartly. The rep could be helpful counting on future sales.

 

I've been quoted 533, and the best i was able to get was 75 dlls discount and a 75 dlls dell gift card. Still trying to see if I can get better.

 

I've been quoted 533, and the best i was able to get was 75 dlls discount and a 75 dlls dell gift card. Still trying to see if I can get better.

 

Yeah i bought like 4 years of advanced right off the bat for like 300 or watever it was to be safe. If i pay 5200 for a machine, I want it to last for a while.

 

Hey! Thanks for the advice! I really do appreciate it. Good ideas too! A friend got one for 300....I am considering buying a m11x...persistance for sure is a key!

Also, always be nice to them no matter what! You will get farther when the person likes you over them thinking you are an a$$.

I'm about to make my first attempt with the barganing.....


-M

 

Alienware says that they make the Warranty prices depending on what your specs are.
I tried to lower it, and only got down to $465 from $540.48.

I guess $465 it may be! The cool thing is, with the track record I have with them, I will probably end up getting a new replacement within that year. I've received two of them so far in the past two years.


Thanks for helping!!


Mike

 

A replacement with basic warranty??? Why would they do that? They just keep patching it till your warranty runs out.

 

Besides that, if they can't fix the computer, the eventually replace it. I'm on my second replacement from my original two years ago. I just paid $450 last night for another year. If a mother board needs to be replaced, that there is the price of the warranty. With my track record with their laptops, I'm sure I will need another one within a year. I already have a new one since I got this laptop last June.
I HIGHLY recommend to buy the extanded warranty, if you have issues that is.

Mike

 

I wanted to add 4 years of extended warranty since my 1 year is about to expire so how much would that cost?

 

oooh. ...that might be a bit. lol, depending on how lucky you are, maybe nothing less than 500$? each rep is different, so try to haggle them, but im betting with the right rep maybe 400-500$.

 

Yep! I was right! I am glad I paid the $450 for the extended warranty! My M18x had to many issues. I just got another M18x replacement; brand new. This time, it has a 500Gb drive instead of the 320, and the ATI Radeon 6990M Xfire cards over the 6970m Xfire cards. DDR3 1600 RAM too over the 1333.

I'm tellin ya, a warranty is a smart thing to get.

Just to add, this new M18x is having problems with shutting off for no reason. The Alienware tech says it is not over heating, which I have doubt on his word. The system for no reason will start to run the main gpu fan really fast while the other gpu fan does nothing at all. 1 foot away from the vent in the back from the main gpu while it is running fast, you can actually feel the heat push out at you. Sort of like keeping the central heating on in your house.

The system crashes on Heaven 2.5 and 3dMark 06. Oh yeah, and watching a YouTube videos. ATI driver is reinstalled and the newest BIOS is installed.


I own a craptop! :tongue:


-M

 

Many of us (including myself) are having this problem. We've pretty much got it down to a hardware issue like the mobo or the cards themselves. Many of us have replacement cards/fans on the way to see if it resolves the issue. You can talk more about it Here
You can also download HWiNFO64 and manually control the fans to prevent them from being damaged. 1500-1800 I use for movies and surfing the net, and I turn the fans to 2200-2600 depending on what game I'm playing. I hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Very nice! Thank you sir! I'm looking forward to see what I get out of all of what is there.

Much appreciated!

Mike
=)

 

FYI my replacement m17xR2 (for a m1730) was out of warranty buy nearly 1 year as the m1730 one was carried forward and ran out. I emailed dell warranty sales and ask for the best 2year warranty price and got a prem alienware 2yr for $436aus. they didn't even re-certify machine and now valid until end of 2013.

 

Hey, I just downloaded the HWiNFO64 program for my M18x.....

When I compare my two GPUs (ATI 6990m Xfire), the memory on GPU #0 is 900.0 and the memory on the GPU #1 is 150., while the GPU for #0 is 250.0 and #1 is 100.0.

Sooo.....#1 is 100.0 / 150.0 and #0 is 250.0 (sometimes 715.0) / 900.0

Is that right? I don't really trust the Alienware techs that much anymore....some yes, but not all of them. I don't want to ask them. Sometimes they just give any old answer just to have an answer because they can not come across not knowing anything....MHO.

I'm trying to learn all of the detail stuff about what goes on inside of the M18x, and I am not sure where to go...but a place like here to ask away.

Onwe other thing, how do I change the fan speeds if you have a moment?

Thank you very much!!

Best,
Mike

 

I once haggled them with my old M17x-R2 for the extended one year warranty. I got it for $275. With that price I got the one year warranty and three $25 Amazon gift cards. Not to bad. I bought an Alienware backpack with them. They are sweet bags and really recommend them!

-M

 

Seconded ^.

I bought an Inspiron originally, and the FULL warranty (everything covered) was no more than $115 for three years. I had that replaced with an XPS m1730.

I then had that replaced with my current M17x. I tried updating the warranty on it just a few days before it expired and they tried to gouge me for $475. I told them I wasn't going to spend 4X what I originally paid for the warranty, and they called back later and offered it for $375, which was still too expensive for me. I plan on repeating the process later this month until I get below $300.

 

The thing is, they take notes when they talk to you. They might add to not bring the price lower then a certain amount (the amount the originally offered you). I call back a few times and always got the same amount. Eventually I got it knocked down 90 bucks.
Also, the warranty prices differ depending on the configuration of your system.....so they say. Makes sense I guess.....but that might just be their excuse.....

 

If I was to purchase additional upgrades will they still warranty those parts even though my lappy warranty is expired ? Just curious. Its about that time. cant believe its been a year already.

 

I was called Friday and again today. They offered my to extend my in home warranty for an additional 2 years for $341.00, I think I'm gonna take it. I have only had mine a couple weeks. I shoulda added it to my order.

 

I am planning on selling both my m18x's and buying a new one with max waranty. That's my plan

 

I got my warranty extended a year for the price $160 because the normal warranty didn't cover some damage my machine had received. I know have complete care till 2013

 

They will extend it for whats listed on the config page when buying a laptop from Alienware. You just need to talk to the right person.

So for example if an extra year extended is $199 for basic in home warranty service that is the tops you should be paying. Anything more than that, then save the money towards a NEW laptop.

 

Every time I've tried I keep getting the full price for extending a warranty on a refurbished product, which if purchased, would bring me right back to full retail price, minus the pretty box's you get when you buy it new. I'm covered till January 2013 and the max with the accidental would take me till 2017 at 1700. I picked up the laptop for 2750, which makes this decision difficult. But new with full warranty, 4300, 4500 or more. Or I can take a chance one year will be more than enough.

I got them to offer me 1478 for 4 years and accidental plus 75 dollar gift card so far....

 

Why would you even wate $1500 for a "warrenty", that that money put it in the bank account and stick with your original warrenty then. By the time that laptop does see the grave you will already have enough money set towards the next latest,greatest laptop. If you want a bit more coverage grab an extra year of warranty if its under $200. Beyond that, better off banking it since your basically buying a brand new laptop at the price they are giving you. Your laptop cost Dell/Alienware well under $7-800 to assemble and build in wholesale parts and labor cost regardless. Computer parts markup is like jewelry.

 

A year would be good if it's a fair price, I would image anything that might go wrong should go wrong in the next two years. Problems I've heard of people having just makes me sketchy.

Offered 420 and I think he said 75 dollar gift card for one year and accident extension. Currently I have no accidentel, just one year coverage.

 

Just bought my M18x 4 year extension for $478 today. But i used a gift card that they gave me when i originally bought it, so in the end it cost me nothing. That and i got the $75 gift card for extending the warranty, so im +$75 now. Woot woot. Warranty good until Aug 2017. I feel safe. Win?

 

4 years for $478 - 119.50 per year + cost you $0.00 + $75 credit!

I say you got a pretty good deal! Safe and Win WIN :thumbsup:

I had to buy 2 years for $299 - $149.50 per year, bummer me hehe

 

Mine was expiring on the 21st so I called and got another year for 203$ and they threw in an extra 3 months. CF 6990's 2630 cpu two 750gb drives and 16gb ram. Haven't had any problems with it but with a machine that complicated better safe than sorry.

 

Hi Guys i'm new to this forum so a big hello to all of you.
My m18x runs outa warranty on 31/01/13.
Can you give me some sort of idea what i should be paying for a 1 year extention etc..
I have no idea on what i should be paying.
Many thanks.

 

i thinks its something like 279 but its well worth it i mean one gpu goes out and needs to be replaced u have saved money already

 

I suggest you go for at least an extra 2 years, it will be worth it. Problems will start cropping up at some point or another after 18 months of use normally, and it's best to be covered... what would you prefer, shelling out an extra $100 or so for an extra year of safety, or risk losing $2500 because of that $100? It's a no-brainer in my opinion

Besides, I've read about a forum member on here who had an M17x R2 covered under warranty and it just... died. He was given an M18x R2 as a replacement. Of course, not everyone can be as lucky as him, but I hope you catch my drift

 

I paid $488 to extend my standard (not CompleteCare) one year warranty another 4 years and I got a $75 dell gift card with that!

 

Paid $169 with some haggling, reg price was $229, for 1 year extension.

 

Very smart move there Brother Larry. That's a great price for 4 years of peace of mind. If you don't buy it, you will certainly need it... Murphy's Law. If you do need it, should pay for itself.

 

any thanks for all of your input guys...

 

OP,

As you are in the UK, like myself, you might wanna send me a private message (PM) and I can have my very good Dell rep provide you with a quote for warranty extension. You need to have made around 5 posts on the forum to activate PM access - once you have done so, click on my username and look for the link to send PM. Shoot me over your name and telno or email addy and i can get my Dell rep to contact you over it - he saves us UK guys money on anything Dell based, including extended warranties.

 

great thanks stevie will do..

 

hmm cant send you a pm...any advice stevie...?

 

Yeah - make a few more posts until you see the PM link when you click on my NBR username! :thumbsup:

 

Agreed. As much as I hated to do it. I bought the laptop as pimped out as I could, but went for the standard year warranty, giving me another year to save up for the extended warranty. True, it ended up costing me another couple of hundred dollars, but it would have meant going another half a year without the M18 that I wanted.

And when you think about it, $500 (as much as it seems) to protect a $4000 laptop until the end of 2016 is a pretty awesome thing.

 

Any luck for us based users? As far as dell reps for a good price on warranty extensions. Speaking of which. Can we just purchase the year extension over and over each year until the maximum coverage time is reached?

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Unfortunately, my Dell Rep only deals with EMEA Territory, Europe Middle East and Asia - mainly 99% UK & Ireland. Perhaps you could reach out to Rachid or one of the guys over on the AW sales thread located here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/669327-alienware-sales-assistance-thread-redux.html - I am sure they would be happy to help out you guys in the States with extended warranties etc.....or you could Email for an upgrade quote by sending an enquiry here: [email protected]

 

Does it cost more and more each year if you just bought 1 year extensions or will the 1 year extension price remain the same for 4 years?

 

I'd imagine that no pricing remains static for 4 years, so you could potentially be looking at paying more and more as each year goes by to insure your machine. Also, it may even cost more each year to insure as your machine is not getting any younger and parts could be deemed to be more "at risk to failure" - we all know that insurers/warranty companies do not like increased risk, and if they do insure/warranty with increased risk, they generally charge more for the privilege of doing so. That means as your machine becomes more prone to failure, it's likely to cost more to warranty it year after year, on a rolling renewal basis.

I'd always say it's best to get as much warranty as you can, as soon as you can - normally get's you the best possible price that is NOT prone to any incremental price hikes if you do it on a rolling "year by year" basis.

 

I don't like doing that because I don't know if I'll keep it long when new designs revisions come out.

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