Panasonic may not honor my warranty?

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this. I purchased a new Panasonic Toughbook CF-52 from a guy off eBay back in October 2009. Arrived, worked great, no issues. Shortly after I received it I called up 1-800-LAPTOP5 and rattled off my model and serial number. I did advise Panasonic that I purchased the unit off eBay. I wanted to be sure the unit was a) new, b) not stolen, and c) still covered under warranty. I was advised by Panasonic at that time that the unit was indeed new, not stolen, and if I went the Toughbook Support website and registered the unit to myself I would not have any issues getting warranty support. So I did that.

Fast forward to January 2010 (today actually). I pop a cd into the drive and it spins up, but while spinning up it causes serious vibration in the chassis. I'm not exactly how to describe it other then to say its beyond the normal humming sound and low level vibration you commonly experience from a spinning DVD drive. I should note that I can surpress the vibration if I apply moderate but consistant pressure to the chassis right above the DVD drive.

So, I call 1-800-LAPTOP5, I rattle off my model and serial numbers, give my name, phone number, etc. I explain the situation to the tech and even hold the phone near the unit while the drive is spinning so he can get an idea of what I am talking about. THEN, he asks where I purchased the unit, I advise him that I purchased it from a seller off of eBay. Hmm, he doesn't like this, says Panasonic will likely not warranty my laptop! I explain to him that back in October 2009, I called in, confirmed everything - why the change now? He asks me to email him proof of purchase so he can forward the situation onto him manager for approval.

Has anyone had any recent experience with 1-800-LAPTOP5? Am I foolish to think that the new Toughbook I purchased off eBay would be warrantied by Panasonic? Should I not have told the tech where I purchased it from?

Any insight would be great.

Thanks.

 

I've never used that 1-800-LAPTOP5, I know for a fact if the unit is still under warranty panasonic will cover it 100% no matter where you got it or if you are the first owner, talk to panasonic direct

 

Thanks for the reassurance Conner922. As far as I know 1-800-LAPTOP5 is Panasonic, as per the Panasonic's Support Page: http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wc...ntactTechnicalSupport?langId=-1&storeId=15001

Do you have any other contact information for Panasonic?

I've emailed him my proof of purchase details - guess we'll see where this goes.

 

Just tell them that it was a Christmas gift and move on to the next question.

 

I've been through this... BOY have I been through this. I have several MK4 CF-29s that should be covered under warranty... -IF- I was the original buyer.

This is the dope... If the seller you purchased from was an "authorized" reseller of Toughbooks... Then you should be covered. If he was not... You are in the cold my friend. When you first called they assumed that you were the original purchaser... Most likely as the time gap between was short. NOW... flash forward... You call and mention the dreaded "I bought it on ebay!" words... They wil automatically deny every claim... End of story! If they have a chance to deny the claim based upon you being the 2nd owner they will do it in a New York Minute! (Or a Canadian 30 seconds!)

They are VERY picky about this.

Your best bet.... Be vague as was suggested. Tell them you recieved it as a present and had called early on to check on the warranty. They have records and keep them VERY up to date! (This is another thing I have experience with!) The fact that you purchased it off of ebay has most likely already been entered but you can try to say you weren't sure and you assumed it was ebay. (?) The good news? The DVD module should be a cheap and easy repair.

Just hope you don't need more intense warranty repair in the near future.

Sorry to sound so glib.... It is just that I have about $5000 worth of "Free" warranty stuff in my shop IF I were the original owner! Since I am the 2nd or 3rd..... No dice. Not even snake eyes!

You may try going back to the original seller and seeing what warranty he promised you or stated it had coming with it. If he stated 3 years, or balance of factory warranty.... I'm sure one of us can swing by his house and shoot out his front porchlight for you... If he doesn't help you out and honor his original promise.

 

Did you try it with an other cd? Some cd's are out off balance and can cause vibration

 

PM sent and thats funny lol

 

Toughbook said;.. I'm sure one of us can swing by his house and shoot out his front porchlight for you... YeeHaa !!! the voices keep saying clean your guns !! but I always keep one loaded while I'm cleaning the others ,, just for cases like these...

 

Hahaha, gotta love this site.

Thanks for the info Toughbook - sometimes the truth sucks. Yeah, the original seller did say "balance of 3 year factory warranty". I could ring him up and see what the score is.

In answer to Denrosten - it is definitely not as bad with other CDs and I'm actually not too concerned about it. Its not so much that I wanted to claim it as I guess I wanted to see if I could.

Here is the response from the Panasonic Guy:

Good Evening,

I received a response from my Supervisor, and unfortunately we wont be able honor the Warranty, as No Panasonic Reseller sells Laptops on Ebay.

Regards.

In the future I might have some luck with Conner992's suggestion. Anybody know if Panasonic Canada and Panasonic USA share records? I've been dealing with USA up until now.

Thanks for the backup Holiday

On one hand I now feel like I have to be really careful with my Toughbook because there is no safety net, but on the otherhand its a Toughbook....why am I worried?

 

Panasonic .ca will not look after you on USA purchases
You have to send it back to the USA

That ebay info in incorrect, but only a couple of Toughbook authorized sellers sell on ebay


Alex

 

I live in Canada, the Toughbook was purchased in Canada, from a seller in Canada. Maybe those yankees down in USA Toughbook support land can eat my shorts?

I thought that ebay info might be incorrect, I'm trying to track down the guy to find out if he was an authorized seller. Alternatively I do like the "I got it as a christmas gift" story.

Does anyone know if the Canadian and US departments of Toughbook Support share records?

 

No they would not share records

Did you only try to get support from the US only
Or have you tried the Canadian site


Alex

 

Just US. Only used 1-800-LAPTOP5 (which I believe is US only).

 

That is the North American Service Hotline, All repairs from Canada, USA, Porto Rico(sp) are all sent to North America

 

Actually I don't know if the whole "I got this an an X-Mas gift" story would work, though you can try it. They KNOW the original In Service date. Meanwhile... I would go back to the seller and ask about how he intends to honor the warranty. Ask for what type of "Authorization" he has. Heck... I am an authorized reseller too... I have it and I authorized the sale myself.

The warranty is a totally different story! And yes there ARE eBay Authorized Resellers. Actually... I should say... there are authorized resellers that do business on ebay. I don't know if the fact they sell it on ebay negates their contract or not... Who knows... I'll call my buddy Ray tomorrow and ask. He'd know for sure..

 

Thats good to know that the warranty is North America wide
I knew or thought that if I had issues with my newer models that as they were purchased in the usa ,that they would have to be sent to the usa for service
They are all registered with the usa site
Is there a few repair facility's in the usa, or just Heartland Services ?


Alex

 

Just Heartland I believe