is it worth buying in the states?

G'day all,

Towards the end of next week, I'll be in DC for a a couple of days. Coincidentally, I'm also in the market for a new laptop, and the price difference between Australia and the US is very substantial (we're talking around US$500 for the dv6000). So, the price saving would be huge and bring a much better configuration into my budget range. However, since I'll be buying this over the counter (any suggestions of good places welcome BTW), is it worth it? I've heard here that HP's service is pretty dreadful, and given that the first port of call for complaints is normally the place of purchase, being on the opposite side of the world might be a *small* problem. What does everyone reckon?

Also, given the resolution of the dv2000 and dv6000 is actually the same, what's the point of the bigger screen in terms of real estate for say side-by-side windows?

cheers,

dan

 

The major problem would be getting warranty work done. HP does not offer any international warranties and unless you know someone living in the US it would be extremely painful to get the system serviced sicne even if you manage to ship the system to HP service centers in the US, they wont ship it back to any address outside the US. So, I wouldnt recommend buying in a different country unless you can fix things yourself or know someone who can.

 

You won't have an international warranty when you go back to Australia, only business models have that.
The screen is a matter of personal preference but most people are OK with it. You may search for Costco, that's a good place to see, test and buy. Best Buy, TechDepot are also worth considering.

 

Also, I don't know about Australia, but if you have a customized keyboard layout in your country, then you'll have to deal with a US keyboard. Not a localized one.
Steve

 

thanks all - sounds like there's enough deterent there to not go through with it. BTW what companies would have international warranties?

 

hmmm i bought an HP in dubai and I am sure it comes with an international warranty and its a dv9000 btw. just check out the US HP site for warranty details to make sure, you may have to buy it extra btw

 

The HP tech support is horrible. I wouldn't buy another HP because of it.

 

nobody can judge hp and say their support is horrible, just because you had some problems with them. No company's support is perfect. Some people have trouble with hp, and some do not.

 

My support with HP has been great. I've had a desktop and a laptop (both HP) and haven't had any problems. Anything i've thrown at them they've been able to fix.

 

seeeeee, toldja so!

 

In 10 years of using HP laptops, I have had only 3 problems total. One was the AC power supply and the two others were hard disk failures (after 3 years).

HP was not only always friendly but was very professional in helping me. In each 3 cases, I got the new replacement parts the day after I called, delivered at home!

I can only recommend HP.
Steve