Opinion sought on 3Yr warranty and express card

Hi everyone,

I am about to pull the trigger on an X220 and was wondering if the expert/experienced users can opine on two options I am considering. I have done search on these topics, and have a general idea, but was looking for more recent specific opinions.

1. Is the 3 year Onsite warranty worth it? It is an option for about $100 extra. I realize it is a personal risk preference. I didn't buy it for my T60p and thankfully never needed it. But just wanted to know the experience of people who actually bought it. Was the onsite service as expected? Or is there a fine print to it?

2. Is it worth going for the 'Gemplus 54mm ExpressCard Smart Card Reader'? I only had a empty slot on the T60p and never used it. But perhaps there are good uses that I have failed to consider?

All input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

I think the 3 year warranty is worth it. Depot warranty is fine IMO, onsite is just cream on the top.

The Smart Card Reader is probably something you will never use. Card reader - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You will have the 54mm ExpressCard slot available. All you need to do is plug an ExpressCard in it.

 

GomJabbar, thanks for the quick response. I have a very similar configuration as yours. The only difference being I will be going for the i5-2520 instead of 2540. Form what I could gather reading the 100+ pages x220 thread there is not much difference between the two. Is that correct?

 

No noticeable difference. At least the difference isn't worth $50 IMO. I'd value the difference at $5, but certainly not $50. You'd probably save a little less than a minute in a 30-minute task utilizing the full CPU with the 2540M upgrade.

Just make sure you've got the IPS display

 

If you cannot part with your machine, I would opt for the on-site. Plus the 3 year warranty is worth it, especially on an x ThinkPad. Nothing like it going bad after 366 days. Plus the processors are BGA soldered so if your mobo goes bad the cost is almost as much as the laptop sometimes or is obscenely expensive.

 

yes, IPS is the main reason I am going for the X220. I have it on my now aging T60p, and can't live without that feature. ;-)

 

That's a good point. Thank you.

 

Other uses for the Expresscard slot:

Extra eSata port
USB 3.0
eGPU (external desktop video card for gaming)
Extra memory card reader

 

Do you mean the empty slot, or the actual card? If I understand correctly the slot is free and there on every X220, but the card is what you have to pay extra. Is that correct?

 

The empty slot, not the smart card reader.

 

Yes. The ExpressCard slot is there and ready to use with any ExpressCard. I use a cellular Sierra Wireless 890 AirCard modem ExpressCard in my X220. I did not get the Smart Card Reader.

 

Thanks...With yours, and other inputs I am understanding the slot/reader function a little better. It doesn't appear many have choosen to buy the card reader Lenovo is offering. I am now inclined NOT to order it.

 

Anybody else with onsite warranty wants to chime in with their experience? I was thinking of pullling the trigger today.

Thanks again to everyone who responded so far.

 

I'm going to respectfully disagree, here.

A number of people have had issues with the quality of Depot service for their ThinkPads. There have been enough inconsistencies that I will always add on-site service. That way, the laptop doesn't leave my sight, and I know what kind of work I'm getting (since I do a lot of laptop repair myself). I also know that the unit isn't going to be gone for an arbitrary period of time.

I don't think the three-year warranty is a bad thing, but I don't find it entirely necessary. With most electronics, if a unit doesn't fail within the first 90 days of solid use, it is unlikely to fail. There are exceptions to this rule, but I've found this to be mostly true, so I get a one-year warranty with the onsite upgrade.

I would suggest for the OP, that you look at how long you plan to keep the system before upgrading again. Compare the cost for each additional year of warranty plus onsite, with the approximate value of the system as it depreciates. Buy a warranty for only as long as the laptop retains enough value to justify the extra cost.

 

The only reason you'd want the card reader is if it's a work laptop and your office uses smart card logins. It's an entirely different type of card from your standard SD/MMC/Memory Stick memory cards.

 

Everyone's experience is different. I bought a used T42 that had the initial 1 year + 3 year depot warranty extension (I bought it when it was about 2 years old). I used the warranty service twice while it was still in warranty. Once to replace the fan because of overheating and once to replace the display with a failed backlight. I was able to bring the T42 to a shop within 5 miles of my home (I live in a large metropolitan US city) and they only kept it a day or two each time.

I tried to extend the warranty again before the 4 years were up, but Lenovo wouldn't let me. I just sent it in again last month to get the backlight replaced by Moniserv for about $130. It was a top end 14.1" T42 with the SXGA+ display, so I thought it was worth it - even though an X220 is now my main driver.

 

If you had the T42 during the IBM years, that might be why your experience was better than today. Also, having a local shop would probably be a benefit too.

Many people must mail their system in to a contracted repair facility like Solectron, who has a more spotty record when it comes to quality-of-service.

 

3-years warranty come as standard in the UK and it costs £66 to upgrade to on-site. I've no idea how the quality compares to yours but am tempted after reading the above.

 

I cannot speak for UK service; only US. ThinkPad authorized service is done by others that way.

Keep in mind, I really like my ThinkPad T420, and feel so far that it is of even higher quality than my decent T61 and T400. However, when service is needed in the States, it can be a mixed bag, and depends on your region.

Some people's ThinkPads are apparently still serviced by IBM. Service experiences there have been reportedly excellent. Local authorized over-the-counter service agents also have reputations to uphold in their community.

Solectron, on the other hand (a mail-in contract servicer for Lenovo, as well as several other brands, cell phone vendors, etc.), has a reportedly spotty record. People have gotten their systems back with missing screws, or plastics not properly snapped together in some cases, and a few have had warranty claims denied on questionable grounds and have had to get Lenovo involved to get satisfaction. I have heard similar complaints from people in the cell phone world who have had to go through them.

I feel that the best way to guarantee quality of service (should I need it --note that I have not on any ThinkPad I have owned so far) is to keep the unit within arm's reach during the process. I take apart and repair laptops from multiple vendors on a regular basis, so that helps.

 

That's a bit shocking. It's what I'd expect from a company like Sony, not one of Lenovo's repute.

I know (from recent experience ) that the company that handles the RMA side here in the London area is called Ingram Micro. Whether they also do the servicing or whether it's trustworthy, I don't know.

 

Ingram Micro has long been the one of the heavy hitters in computer resale, actually the largest IT products distributor on the globe. I wouldn't know if they do the service themselves either, but I'd be more comfortable with them than I would be with someone like Solectron.

I used to order parts from Ingram Micro back in the mid-nineties when I worked for a small mom-n-pop shop. If you wanted something, you could get it from them, from graphics cards and SCSI controllers, to complete machines, servers, and service contracts for every Tier-1 manufacturer on the market. Ingram is where a large number of Tier-2 resellers get their equipment from.

EDIT: Solectron was acquired by Flextronics in 2007, however many still refer to them by their original name. If Flextronics is the servicer for your area, that means the same people as Solectron.

 

Maybe someone from the UK can chime in with their depot warranty service experience?

But yeah, on-site would be a safer bet, at least for the X220, what with it being rev A with more than its fair share of issues. The only nagging thing is that £66 would have been the difference between my i3 and an i5 and money is pretty tight

Lenovo may eventually get screens with zero bleed and ghosting and also upgrade to a better fan in due course. My machine may have the mSATA issue- impossible to know without a drive.

That said, I'm pretty happy with my x220 right now

 

Thanks again to all for sharing your experiences. I ended up ordering the x220 with the 3 year onsite warranty. I got the following specs:

i5 2520, IPS, 2GB, 320 GB, camera, fingerprint reader, bluetooth, 6 cell, 3 year onsite.

...for a total of $939.

 

I'd get the on-site, as it means that you can watch over the tech's shoulder.

Not that I don't trust the depot techs -- well, OK, so I *don't* trust the depot techs -- but there's something to be said for making sure that the repair is carried out correctly and to your standards.

 

We send in maybe 4 or 5 laptops every 6 months for depot service.

The only issue we have is they tend to return them... without fixing the issue. Even when the issue was "turn it on and the computer immediately does this", we'd get it back, turn it on, and the problem would present itself.

The turn around time for us is 1-5 days, start to finish. 1 day is when they sometimes offer an onsite fix. 5 days is when we mail it out Monday and get it back by Friday.