how does dell's warrenty work

well, just before i order my vostro 1400, i would like to know in case whatever happens to my laptop, how would dell honor there warrenty, i mean do i mail to package to them? do they pick it up? if i have to mail it to them, would they pay for my postage? for your infomation, i plan to buy 1 year complete care as well. thanks for your help


(ps, i emailed dell last week, still no reply)

 

I believe compete care is the accidental plan, not the actual warranty plan. There are two 1 yr warrenty plans, one is mail in. The other is On site. With mail in, they mail a box, padding and a return label. And yes, they do pickup. (Technically, the parcel service does pickup.)

If it's onsite, it's a contracted onsite technician that usually handles the onsite repairs.

The complete care is typically just a fancy warranty plan. They either repair it or do a mail in exchange.

 

660hpv12, I'm not sure why you didn't get a reply to your email, but I've got the answers to your questions. While it has been a while since you posted this, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have on it.

You will should have two options for warranty service on the system. Typically the default is a Return to Depot service contract where you ship the computer for repairs (Dell pays the shipping in both directions).

The other option is next business day onsite service where if you call during standard business hours parts are shipped to the onsite tech for delivery the following business day, assuming no shipping delays. Once the tech gets the parts he is supposed to contact you to schedule when he will be out to work on the computer.

The default warranty is 1 year, although longer options are available if you want them. The Complete Care option is, as surfasb states, the coverage for accidental damage to the system that is not covered by the normal warranty (such as cracked LCD glass, dropping it, or spill damage). Please keep in mind that Complete Care is not available everywhere, however (some kind of legal thing prevents it in certain states, but I don't know the details on why).

Larry
Dell Customer Advocate

 

Just make sure to get the bigger warranty (complete care). I took the base warranty and ended up regretting it. I bought an Inspiron 6400 in june 2006 and after about 7 months my screen panel began to split in 3 (the inside bezel, the screen itself and the exterior bezel). I went to the dell store in my town and the guy started bull****ing me that "esthetic problems" were not covered by the base warranty. When my friend has a similar problem (but with the complete care warranty) they shipped him a full new screen.

 

i have a dead pixel in my screen that bothers me at times. i have 3 year dell care plus... so can i just call then whenever and they'll send a technician to fix it?

 

1 dead pixel wont fall under the warranty. there is a certain number of pixels, might be around 5/6 not sure, that have to be dead to warrant a screen replacement.

 

kowell, if the plastics on the LCD panel were separating that should have been covered by the normal warranty unless there were obvious signs that the system had been dropped (which, from what you describe, does not sound like what happened). Did you ever get the system fixed?

chyeah, typically it takes 7 to 10 dead or stuck pixels to qualify for a replacement. The exact number varies slightly based on the panel, but 7 to 10 covers just about all of them. The only way to "fix" failed pixels on an LCD panel is to replace the panel, so sending a replacement panel (with tech if your warranty covers that) or shipping your notebook to our repair depot would be how to fix it.

Larry
Dell Customer Advocate