Regarding repairs

There is a computer repair shop about 15 minutes away from me that repairs laptops and desktops. My friend had his LCD burn out on his HP pavilion after 2 years of intensive use, and the store replaced it for about $120. Sure, that may be equal to about 1 years worth of warranty from any company, but is it always worth it to buy warranty when these shops can fix them up for a higher price? What you end up paying for is immediate service. And would they be able to replace graphics cards? I think it would depend on the store, but are there any general rules here? Thanks

 

Not sure what you mean by general rules, but when I ran a tech team, if we thought it could be repaired, we did it. Word of warning to anyone, alot of these shops don't sell new parts. These parts are usually pulled from other units and then tested. Grade A parts are almost brand new and could last a long time. B has minor defects, usually cosmetic, and so forth. Replacing an LCD screen for $120 doesn't sound right. $120 for labor, sure, but not labor and parts.

 

I don't buy extended warranties, but they certainly can be beneficial if a component (such as your friend's screen) dies. I guess you have to judge whether immediate service is more important than paying less if the warranty is needed.

Most laptop graphics cards can't be replaced without also changing the mb, because they're soldered to the board.

 

Back in the 90's I use to work for a large third party service provider and that's what we usually did. It got worse, because we would send out boards for repairs that usually did not last.

That's why I always deal directly with the factory irregardless of whether I buy an extended warranty.

 

(extended) warranty costs as long as it doesnt cost more than 20-30% of the product price..