Sony Care(extended warranty)

Hey guys, I am planning on buying a Vaio laptop from Sony. I have a question about the extended warranty. Is it worth my $300 or $400 for the extra one year or two year warranty respectively? From the info I gathered from their website(link is at bottom), No cosmetic damage will be covered and they wil only cover hardware issues. This may seem like a simple Yes or No, but I have read bad things about Sony's customer service. I have heard it is a hit or a miss when it comes to customer service. I simply do not want to throw down a wad of cash to find out Sony will not honor the warranty. Has anyone in the community purchased the extended warranty and/or dealt with Sony Customer Care primarly in Canada? Thanks in advance!

 

I've also heard bad things about it, they take weeks, sometimes months to repair. I think you will be better off with squaretrade warranty

 

I would purchase warranty from square trade, but I am located in Canada. The only warranty they offer in Canada is if only the product is bought from ebay.

 

I personally didn't bother with the extended warranty on my computers or most other products. I find that in 3 or 4 years time that couple hundred dollars would be better off funding my next computer IF the existing one were to break in that time frame. The couple hundred dollars is also probably going to cover the cost of parts for whatever piece that broke.

Also hearing the horror stories of Sony's servicing is another strike against that option for me.

 

Those only apply to USA. Europe and Asia seem to be ok.

 

That's a good point. But what about Sony Canada? I don't think I've heard any stories- good or bad, about them.

 

Me neither or I haven't paid attention.

 

I was looking at getting the extended warranty too.

Would it be better to get the one from Sony or simply purchase a warranty from a third-party like Squaretrade (especially when the notebook is in the $1200-$1600 range)?

 

I say go through SquareTrade... they are the BEST with warranties... because well, it's their only business. Sony USA has a bit of a bad reputation on this forum for warranty coverage. Also, SquareTrade might even be cheaper especially since they always have their 15% off coupons, etc. Some people here have even added the Z to their homeowner's insurance (<-- don't ask me how that works though)

 

Anyone know such option in Europe? I'm sure there are many I just never looked for one but if you know any specific, I'm curious to have a look at what they offer.

 

I would say don't get the extended warranty. Like others have said, the $ put towards say a 2 year extended could be put towards a future laptop, and plus, you don't even know if you'll have any problems in 2 years or not. In sony canada, I had an issue as my keyboard stopped functioning on my vaio, and somehow sony refused to cover it on the warranty. So no, I don't really think it's worth it, but then this is just my opinion..