Warranty Choice & Upgrades for a T500

I'm pretty settled on a T500. I'm just not sure about which warranty to get. Is the warranty really just a case of how much you're willing to pay, or is there a general consensus on the minimum option to have when buying a ThinkPad? It comes with 1 year factory depot or something like that, and I know that it doesn't seem very much, but the prices for the other options seem to go up pretty quickly.

Also, is upgrading things like RAM/Hard drive very difficult? (I've upgraded my desktop PC many times, but I've never opened up a laptop.) Because I imagine one could cut quite a bit of cost by buying a less expensive setup and getting upgrades separately...

 

I just stuck with the regular 1 year depot warranty, since I'm betting if anything really goes wrong, it'll go wrong in the first year of use.

RAM is definitely cheaper to add yourself, and probably the hard drive too (although it is a bit of a hassle moving data onto the new hard drive). Everything else is more worth it purchasing from the OEM. You can judge for yourself how difficult it will be by taking a look at the hardware maintence manual, here (PDF). The hard drive is extremely simple to replace, just one screw. The RAM requires that you remove 4 screws and the palmrest, but that should be okay as well (it says you have to disconnect a few cables, but you really don't have to if you're careful).

 

Might want to look at the warranty guide.

 

Certain visa and amex programs add up to an additional year on technology purchases as well. I say get 2 years and have the credit card cover a 3rd.

 

is the 3 year warranty really worth it? it costs around 129$. 3 months, i already have a keyboard and adapter replaced. very good service

 

Good reading. Thanks

 

Upgrading the harddive and memory is easy, you can do it yourself. Just be careful and follow the directions.

You can get the standard warranty and then you have 1 year to get a add more of a regular warranty and 30 days to add an accidental warranty. You can get the included warranty now and then think about it for the time I mentioned above and choose to get more if you want. But sometimes the warranty prices at time of config can be better then buying after sale, just something to keep in mind.

Another thing about warranty is that the type you get depends on some things. Are you taking it out a lot? Are you around stupid teenagers, little kids, pets?, if so you might want to get a comprehensive accidental plan. If you use it at home mainly by yourself(and you are a careful person), then a regular plan should do. I am in a dilemma as well, I have the regular standard warranty and am thinking about adding more. I would only get the regular warranty for myself, since I mainly use it at home. My main concern is the MOBO or the LCD going or some other expensive part going causing me to get rid of an otherwise great laptop. These parts aren't the easiest to replace and can go even if you treat the machine correctly, so that worries me. Just some food for thought.