Opinions on extended warranty

Is it worth it? $300 for 3 years production replacement plan

can't seem to find a post regarding this.

btw I own Compaq v2000 (yes, the one with the crappy dvd-drive design)

 

YES.... unless its AW

btw there was a few polls bout this

 

I will take the other side - it has been my experience , for electronics , if a component is faulty from the factory it will likley fail within the first year - you usually get a year from the manufacturer .

I never buy (well never say never how about rarely) buy an extended warrenty. I would only consider an extended warrenty if I could not afford a least a month without the item (to ship and fix and ship back from manufacturer/dealer ) and the warrenty would have to include :

1. A fix within 24 hours or a replacement (loaner be ok for some things)
2. If unfixable a new (if not in stock then one of greater value)
Edit (forgot the most important): It is all inclusive - ie: covers accidents and my stupidity

Then again I also take into account my living situation. I tend to put things away, am fairly carefull, treat things well and my kids are teenagers now (so they know better hahaha ). When I bought my RPTV TV (a monster back then 260lbs haha) the kids where very young and I did buy an extended warrently for fear of something being thown the screen (never did happen - so a waste of money)

It is a bit like life insureance - you really have to asses your situation and the likley hood you will require some extra protection, otherwise save you rmoney.

my $0.02.......dy

 

My idea is to buy business laptops, whose standard warranty is 3-year.

 

I work in a college computer store, where 99% of our business is laptops, and we absolutely back the 3 year warranty. I see so many computers come in with random parts failure. And if you open and close your laptop constantly... those hinges are going to go, and they run at least $30-50 per hinge. I think the 3 year warranty is worth it, unless you don't plan to have the computer for 3 years. I wish I had it on my Toshiba... I've easily paid $200 for new parts in the past year.

 

on something thats got so many different components that could break down (and their wear does extend into years to come) extended warranty is something you dont want to be without... just dont go AW or youll loose 300$

 

This is generally true. But notebook components, especially MECHANICAL notebook components, do wear out--witness xAMDvsIntelx hard drive explosion. I too have worn out hard drives, but without such spectacular effects.

My rule of thumb: if an extended warranty (years 2 and 3) costs more than $200, then either the company is screwing you, or their notebooks have a high failure rate. Me, my current notebook came with a three year warranty as standard. Most business notebooks do--but also have a higher overall price.

As a final thought, the whole purpose of an extended warranty is to keep the notebook in operation during years 2 and 3. If a failure during this time period is ultimately just another reason to buy a new notebook, then clearly you don't need an extended warranty--the money is best saved for your next notebook.

 

I'll second SpacemanSpiff, if you can get a 3 year for $200 or under go for it. My last laptop I bought from Best Buy and the service plan was about $250, and all that I ever got out of it was a new battery worth about $75 on ebay. Also as previously mentioned buying a business notebook with a 3 year warranty standard is very helpful.

 

I thought the 3 year extended warranty for the v series was $199 at time of purchase.

Anyways, I'm of the school of thought that most notebook computers have a high rate of part failure compared to their desktop counterparts. That said, I'll always shoot for the 3 year warranty on a system that I'd like to have resale value, pass down, or simply keep for experimental purposes (nothing like a sandbox to do really dangerous stuff with.. "hmm I wonder what this virii really does").

Well, I've experienced the joy and pleasure of having warranties on notebooks and have come out on the winning end, and, by the way, they were high-end business notebooks by IBM and Compaq (things just degrade over time).

The repair totals for the replacements would have been over $4,500 over the course of 3 years (well actually we just complained about stuff, screen a little dim? it's going bad, replace it... I'm having constant glitches and and post errors... get a new mobo... Oh, and the, it's coming to the end of our warranties "my computer is glitching, freezing, making wild noises, and going grrrrrrr, and you can't reproduce it in any consistent manner... new mobo, screen, hd, and power supply... Thank you very much.

Order it directly from the HP website, not through any middlemen, if you're anything like me, you'll be glad you did.

 

Yes on laptops, no on almost every other piece of electronics.

The first time the Hd craps out, or the Lcd inverter goes on the fritz, you will love it. For smaller items it never really makes sense, but for a laptop with thousands of parts all working together, things can go wrong at any time.

 

I'll go with others here, Yes on laptops, I've had two laptops fail in the second and third year of use. The first one when it failed I had to pay for it since I only had one year warrenty, and it ended up costing me over $600 (in hindsight perhaps I should have just gotten a new laptop then, but... ) my current laptop, this toshiba, now has power issues which means I can use it, or charge it, but not both at the same time (going in for repair soon). Personally, it's totally worth it (then again most laptops I get are top of the range so cost around 2 to 3 grand, if I brought cheaper lower range laptops I might not think it was so required.