Extended Warranties

I'm seriously considering getting the T Series laptop with the ultrabay battery + 9-cell to combine to a long battery life. I'm also considering opting for their maximum warranty (5-year depot). Is this warranty needed, or will I not need to service my laptop over 5 years of heavy usage?

Does the warranty cover dead batteries? Does it cover dead pixels?

There is an option for a 'damage warranty' in case I drop the notebook and damage it. Is this a good option?

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful response.

Simon

 

If you want to buy peace of mind, go for the longer warranty. Accidentaly damage coverage is also nice, although maybe not cost-effective, if you know yourself to be careful with your laptops.

The warranty does not cover batteries that die due to heavy usage, which eventually happens to all batteries. Some batteries may come defective and lose their life too quickly, in which case the 1-year warranty on the battery may help you.

The warranty does cover dead pixels, but only after a certain amount, which depends on LCD resolution. Some models will only warrant LCD replacement if there are 5 dead pixels or more, some only if there are 11 or more.

 

You might want to check out taking a rider on your homeowners/renters insurance. In addition to accidents, it should cover things like theft, a more likely occurance. My own personal opinion is anything over three years is probably too much.

 

If you are willing to spend that kind of money on the warranty you might want to think about getting on-site repair, when my HDD died they had a tech at my house with the drive by 10am the next day, and the only reason they took that long was phone support managed to turn spruce lane in to strucks drive.

 

So "On-Site" repair is "To the door" service?

 

I think that if your laptop breaks down on the fifth year, it would be a good idea to just replace the laptop altogether, especially after heavy usage because it would be obsolete and the chances of other parts starting to break down is higher. My T43 has 3-year warranty and my credit card company adds another year to it since I used the card as the method of payment. Four years is the minimum amount of time I expect to use my thinkpad. After the four years, I will begin my search for a new laptop and make the purchase when I find a hot deal or if my laptop gives in and is not worth the cost to repair.

 

I'm not sure if they are calling on-site to door now, my laptop is a bit older, check their explanations on the website of what the various warranties entail, but I'm sure they still have an on-site repair option, as do most of the other corporate level notebook companies, but I don't have any experience with them.