Extended warranty---change in terms and EXPENSIVE

Hello:

In April, 2010, I posted
" Toshiba offers two extended warranty plans: Toshiba 2nd/3rd Year Extended Service Plan "WSN-PEQQ3V" @ $149 Toshiba 2nd/3rd Year Extended Service Plan for Satellite "WSN-PEQQ3D" @ $129"

The website said
" Must be purchased within the first 9 months of product purchase (30 days for refurbished laptops)"

So I deferred the decision.

Received an email yesterday from Toshiba about heating problem with the "DC-In harness" and the only way to check it is to install a new BIOS and if the system is affected, it will disable the power input and must be sent for servicing.

I checked extended warranties today and to my surprise:

1. the previous plan WSN-PEQQ3D is no longer available. The website states " Must be purchased within the first 30 days of product purchase" and not the previous "9 months"

2. the new plans WSA-PEQN3A (3 years) and WSA-PEQN4A (4 years) cost $469 and $629 and one has one year to purchase. The numbers are not a typo. My system was bought in Jan 2010 and the cost was $600.

I am not sure how to interpret this. Can a company change the terms so radically?
Any suggestions, comments?

Best

 

It could have been a special that they were having when you bought your computer, usually it is cheaper to buy the extended warranty when you buy your computer. I know Dell extended warranty is always cheaper if purchased when you buy the computer and can be really expensive later.

 

It was certainly not on special.
Even at $129, it is expensive as a fraction of cost of laptop. At $469, it is more than 75% of the cost!!

 

Investigate your third-party options. Who's well experienced with SquareTrade? They look pretty promising: $129 for 3 years and accidental damage for a little extra. If you're no longer covered by the original Toshiba warranty, the ST warranty doesn't start for 60 days, but if you have more than 60 days left on the original manufacturer's warranty, the ST warranty will pick right up when the other one ends. They'll even give you a refund for the remainder of the warranty if your problems can't be fixed. People say it's a good value for the peace of mind they give you.

 

so they give you a partial refund if the problem cant be fixed? That sounds a little suspicious to me, if they cant fix your laptop they should replace it, kinda the point of a warranty to cough up for expensive fixes, not give you $100 and tell you that is all they can do.

 

Well, maybe I wrote that wrong. I'm sure replacement is included. It may be that replacement plus a prorated refund are standard only in the worst case scenario when they can't fix your problem outright.

That seems pretty charitable because I haven't heard of other companies giving you a refund on the rest of your warranty in that case. The thing is, Toshiba wouldn't give me a refund for the rest of the warranty if my Portege went kaput tomorrow because I didn't buy a warranty separately--it came with the purchase of the laptop as standard policy. SquareTrade is a third party, so they don't have that purchase and repair lock-in that first-party manufacturers have, thus ST would have to refund you for what's essentially the failed service that you bought from them, lest heads roll...which is exactly like anything you buy from a vendor! I hope that makes sense to you, I think it did for me!

I'm not a paying client (yet), so I don't know everything such as rates for additional accidental damage protection, but most customers love their flexibility and are pleased as punch (Hawaiian Punch!), so I think I'll be getting three years' coverage with ST at the end of my one-year mfgr.'s warranty with Toshiba.

 

I just checked SquareTrade. Says " For laptops that we can't repair, we will reimburse the full price you paid for the laptop." More reasonable.
Thanks for your suggestion.

Can we return to the topic, please?

 

Here's the email I received.

************************************************************************
At Toshiba, customer satisfaction with our products and services is of paramount importance. Our records indicate that you have purchased a Toshiba Satellite/Satellite Pro T130 Series laptop computer.

Certain Satellite T135, T135D and Satellite Pro T130 laptop computers have been manufactured with a potentially faulty DC-In harness. These computers will have model/part numbers beginning with PST3AU, PST3BU, or PST3LU. The defective harness may, in some circumstances, overheat to the point of melting the computer's base at the location where the AC adaptor plugs into the unit. To date there have been no reports of serious injury, but the temperature is sufficient to pose a burn hazard if specific parts of the DC-In Jack or plug are touched when they are overheated.

Toshiba is releasing a BIOS revision which will prevent the computer from overheating in this manner. To protect you from injury and your computer from damage, Toshiba strongly recommends that you update your system BIOS to version to 2.70 for the Satellite T135, 1.90 for the Satellite T135D and 2.70 for the Satellite Pro T130.

The BIOS can be downloaded by clicking on the following hot link: Satellite T135 v2.70 for the Satellite T135, Satellite T135D v1.90 for the Satellite T135D, Satellite Pro T130 v2.70 for the Satellite Pro T130, The appropriate BIOS revision is also available as an update provided through the Toshiba Service Station Application installed on your computer.

Should the BIOS determine that a harness failure is occurring, external power will immediately be disabled eliminating the possibility of the overheating. You will then need to contact the Toshiba call center at (800) 457-7777 to set up a warranty repair. If the harness failure is detected while the system is operating you will receive a system message indicating that the failure has occurred and that external power has been disabled. You may continue to use the system, without risk of overheating, using the remaining battery charge. You should immediately close all open files and applications to avoid any data loss. Once the data has been saved the system should be properly shutdown. It will not be possible to recharge the battery within the system until it has been repaired.
**********************************************************************

 

Did anyone recently buy or try to buy an extended warranty? If so, what price did you get?
Even if you have no plans to buy, can you check the cost for extending the warranty from 1 to 3 years on your Toshiba laptop and post it here?

 

I am no expert but assume this will be fixed outside of warranty?

 

Yeah, honestly, Toshiba's horrible warranties are one of the reasons I am weighing the decision to buy a G73JW. While There are a ton of things I love about the Qosmios, there are things I am concerned about, one of them being a one year warranty, parts and labor. I honestly believe that ALL moderate to high end laptops should come standard with 3 years full protection minus any accidental damage, of course. Anything longer than 3 years and any accidental damage should be extra. Asus only offers 2 years full coverage, but it's better than one.

 

I bought this Toshiba since my previous Toshiba bought almost 10 years ago was rock solid. Now they just seem to be doing things that leave a bad taste.

No online support. No email support or contact. Inexplicable changes in warranty terms!! A $400 warranty for a $500 laptop!!

What are they worried about?

Bad experiences with manufacturers are not uncommon but this is not acceptable.

I will not buy a Toshiba again, unless they make significant changes and become transparent.