HP Warranty Experience. Worth It? Can a Best Buy do HP warranty work?

Hi I was looking for someone that had experience with HP warranties. Are extended warranties worth it? Is the upgraded "accidental damage" warranty much better then the regular warranty? How many years should I get? Can I get replacement parts right before the end of my warranty period like the Best Buy warranty. I really like the fact that the best buy warranty actually fixes your notebook within a reasonable time, however I think I am going to order from HP because then I can customize.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

The notebook has an included one year warranty. Best Buys warranty I believe concurrently runs with the original warranty so it kind of a waste of money. Accidental damage is a good coverage and that one also concurrently runs with the original warranty. They'll replace your notebook if you "accidentally" mess it up. I got that for my tx1000z.

 

Do Not use Best Buy Warranty while still under HP warrenty. When you are down to only Best Buy warranty expect a 3 to 6 week turn around time... Three weeks is the best turn around time They have done for me over the last 3 years... Very Frustrating.

 

After buying 10 HP notebooks over the past few years (and after buying many other brands as well), and after trying both the HP&Others warranties v.s. 3rd party warrentys, I can state with truthfullness:

1) The HP warranty is better than most, and less than others.

2) The 3rd Party warranties are not nearly as good, and the turnaround time is usually measured in weeks (you can expect 5 to 10 day turnaround with HP).

3) The accidental damage protection works well (had several experiences). Often, HP will replace with a better unit. If the notebook has been destroyed, the replacement is very fast.

4) If you keep your notebook any length of time, it will need service. Most repairs will require a motherboard replacement (very expensive). Out of the 10 I have bought from HP, every one of them have gone back, some more than once. 6 out of 10 of the machines where only used for file servers, so they did not get much "hard" use, and just sat there most of the time. In my experience, its not "if" but "when" the unit will need repair.

5) Most 3rd party warranties have the option of simply refunding your money, and bailing. After a year or two, replacement parts can get very hard to find. The third party warranty places start buying broken units on eBay for parts (I think HP hordes them for thier own warranty repairs). In short, you may get used parts on the 3rd party warranty.

6) The warranty comes in very handy when you want to sell your unit.

7) The better HP's often command almost thier original selling price on eBay even years after purchase (I think this may be due to the third party warranty people buying them for parts). In short, part replacement can get very expensive.

8) You can buy a 4 year warranty with accidential damage protection from HP via the store (it is not ususally offered when you customize a machine). It is worth every penny. If you wait to buy it untill after you get your notebook, you can use a discount coupon that will probably be included with the notebook for. Seriously, you can get a decient warranty for less than $10 month. It can an investment that can pay off bigtime.

9) Warrantys in Florida are different, due to our messed up insurance laws. Be very carefull at investigating any warranties you may purchase if you live in Florida. For example, Dell often will not offer certain warranties in Florida.

10) Did I mention peace of mind?

Joe