Dell Warranty and Replacement

I read lots of people getting replacements for their 2-4 yr old laptops with Dell warranty. I've been using my e1505 since June 2007 and just ordered 1558 last weekend, but with only 1-yr basic warranty.

Which warranties are those people using? Premium or Advanced? Which is comparable to "Complete Care"? Also, would it be cheaper to buy more expensive warranty at the checkout or buy extension once I receive the system?

Warranties cost only a few hundred dollars and people just seem to be getting amazing replacement laptops, like e1505 to SXPS 16.

I appreciate any comments.

 

Sadly, Dell has yet to replace my e1505 even though I've had them replace under warranty (a full set of this was serviced via ship-in 2 weeks ago):

x1400 thrice
cooling assembly w/fan twice
LCD bezel + both hinge assemblies
palmrest + touchpad
keyboard twice
MLB (mobo)
bottom plastics
optical drive
internal speakers
power plastic twice (the strip where the power button is)

I still have just over 2 months left on my CompleteCare, so we'll see what they do about the screen flicker that's been going on, but I have a feeling they have a glut of refurb parts lying around for the e1505/6400.

 

If you're in the US, and it's been in for service more than 3 times you can get a new model.

 

Hmm, maybe I should invoke that. One was a mail-in, even though I have NBD via QualXServ and invoked that twice already.

Anyway, to get the thread back on track after my hijacking, I think there's a wide variety in the warranty people choose to get. It really depends on how and how long you'll be using it and what it'll be subject to.

If it's not your primary machine and you don't really use it in a way that would cause liquid, drop, or electrical shock damage, basic is probably fine.

Advanced is pretty comparable to CompleteCare, since it covers all kinds of physical damage to the machine.

Premium seems to include a bit of the CompleteCare, with regard to providing telephone support (although lately Dell strongly encourages the use of DellConnect for RemoteDiagnosis with on-screen Chat. I get equally bad tech support by phone and chat though, so I prefer the text chat just so I can have a log. North-American Phone Support is a big plus though. You have no idea how hard it is to do an on-screen tech support chat with "Jaspreet" when he's not familiar with your lay-terminology.

With regard to the cost, I'm not really sure how the cost compares at checkout vs. an extension. I could definitely imagine that they make it more expensive to add on later, but I could also believe that they "get you" by bundling it more expensive at checkout.

Regardless, the cost isn't that great if you plan to use it for a couple years. I forgot the write this above, but the point of that list of replacement parts (which is everything but the BT and wireless adapters and the LCD/inverter assemblies) is that they've replaced FAR more than the cost of the warranty as compared to the cost if I bought them and replaced them myself. I'm sure they're all refurb parts, but they were still an improvement over what I needed replaced.

 

sk - I usually just buy Latitudes. Most have a 3 year warranty standard. Complete Care is a good deal if you are rough on electronics.

@ronnieb - That is absolutely not the case. Read your warranty again. It is always at Dell's discretion if and when the system is replaced or serviced.

If you want to get technical, it's 3 services for the same problem where you can ask for a system exchange.

 

Dell replaced my brothers e1505 with an alienware m15x....

 

o rly? what broke, how often, when was it replaced, was it hard to do, etc...

 

Water damage, my bro was next to the pool and his daughter knocked it into the pool. I didn't ask for a m15x but thats what they gave me. Not sure how they determine what they will give you.

 

FWIW, I had to call Dell and about a CompleteCare issue on my e1505 today, even though just got it back a few weeks ago for numerous repairs and it was finally working smoothly, kind of annoyed. Anyhow, the Tech Rep I spoke with mentioned my warranties were up in about 2 months and asked if I wanted to extend them (past the end of my 4-yr warranty). cost to add one year is as follows:

1 yr w/nbd + nights/weekends (157), completecare(99), "warranty support service" (12): $289.44 w/tax
1 yr w/nbd + n/w (157), "warranty support service" (12): $182.15 w/tax

I picked up the 4yr completecare back when EPP discount percentages increased as you added years, and 4 yr coverage only cost ~$300 to begin with, so I'm totally not paying for any extensions, considering I can get a better machine than my present for ~500

 

For my XPS M1730 I got the 4 Year Premium Warranty.

The Latitude D630 has 3 Year Basic Warranty - Next Business Day.

The Studio 1749 got 4 Year In Home Warranty Support - Incl. evenings and Saturdays.

It's a little confusing about what's the best warranty. I thought the Premium one.

 

I think they do it intentionally to keep consumers off balance. Instead of going for or avoiding the warranty they got last time, now there's a new name and some of the borderlines between the levels have shifted.