Lenovo v. off-market extended warranties

I was advised to get an extended warranty from Square Trade rather than Lenovo on my new T420.

I'm tempted to go with Lenovo for $209 (2 year, overlaps basic warranty, so only 1 year more) which is pretty pricey, only because I don't know anything about the other companies and whether they'll be reliable.

Since I'm taking it with me on an extended tent camping trip, I definitely need the accidental damage coverage. Already working outside at home I had a pine needle blow between the keys and jam one of them.

Probably could use on-site as well as I may be 50-150 miles from service centers and maybe an hour from a post office... but would Lenovo really come on-site that far? Does anyone know if on-site is good when one is traveling all over the US?

 

Got some more prices. Lenovo 3 year for accidental coverage is 279 while Square Trade is $210 -- a$70 savings.

But they don't offer on-site coverage, which through Lenovo, would cost $209 for 2 years.

I tend to keep computers for a long time (e.g. I still have an old Thinkpad with Windows 3.1 and the butterfly keyboard, which was super fast for text files if I use the old writing programs on it, but became useless when 'a' drives disappeared.) But I'm not sure a 3 year warranty is worthwhile as I won't be traveling more than a year or two.

 

I would recommend manufacturer extended warranties as long as you get one that is appropriate for you.

The problem with extended warranties is they only cover the "value" of the laptop. If your laptop cost 800, and it is out of manufacturer warranty and a repair costs 200, your extended warranty has 600 dollars left. If the repair exceeds the cost of the laptop, it is bought out.

Lenovo will cover the cost of repair "infinitely" if it is covered by your warranty terms.

 

Thanks. And I found out my credit card will extend for one year, so I can buy a one year and get two years of coverage. A fabulous deal.

 

Yes but I would read the terms of the extended warranty carefully. Many times you will have to deal with the credit card companies, not Lenovo. Also they may want you to pay for the repair up front and they will reimburse you. Definitely read all the fine print.

 

Just FYI, this is not the case with SquareTrade.

You still should read the fine print, but SquareTrade's warranties don't work like that.