Sony's Extended Service worth it?

I'm in the process of ordering one of those new Viao-FE's and was wondering if its something worth purchasing?

What is the limited* warranty on a new laptop from sony? Can't find much info on their site about it, but surely can find info on their other plans (ironic).

Any info on this would be really appricated.
Thanks,

 

Normally I say any extended warranty is a waste of money. But in the case of Sony laptops I always get one. Especially on those new laptops like the TX or SZ. Its worth it no matter if you buy the extended warranty with accidental damage protection from Sony or you get an extended warranty from Best Buy.

The screens in a Sony laptop are amazing. But I have had them break on me and the repair costs can almost be as much as 2/3 the cost of a new laptop. In the case of Sony's cutting edge laptops I say the extended warranty is worth the money and piece of mind it gives me.

 

If you have a SonyStyle store in your city, buy it there. They offer a 5 year warranty through Sony for only $189.

Its exclusive to in-store sales only, so its not available online. The sales rep told me it gives them an edge over everyone else.

 

Is that just the extended warranty or is it the Ext Warr with Accidental Damage Protection? I think the Ext Warr with Accidental Damage is the same price in store as listed on SonyStyle.com.

 

Its just the extended warranty. Not sure what the acc damage was.

 

Accidental damage covers physical damage inflicted to your computer, such as you spilling coffee on the keyboard, or dropping the laptop. At least, that's exactly how the SonyStyle rep that I bought my SZ160 from put it. When he said that, I didn't hesitate in laying out an extra $299 for a 3 year protection period. I don't think I've ever kept a laptop for three years, but BOY am I at ease now. Laptops are soooo expensive to repair, and this is really worth the money, IMHO.

Javier

 

Here is my personal opinion of extended warranties.

Extended warranty is either a worthwhile investment or a waste of money. It is simply a gamble. For example, you have to ask yourself whether the Notebook computer is going to break down a year or two after the manufacturer's warranty.

If the notebook breaks down -- then pray that the repair costs more than the extended warranty.

If not -- then $200+ goes down the drain.

This is a reason why you need to research all manufacturers when purchasing something that is expensive and sensitive to damage like a notebook computer. If you are purchasing an extended warranty, you are implying that you have made your decision based on impulse -- you have no idea if the notebook is made to last. However, you also have a piece of mind knowing that you get a significant discount of the very expensive repair costs when the notebook breaks down after the original warranty ends (because believe it or not, you are paying in advance of the fixed repair costs by purchasing the extended warranty).

 

you might actually READ the fine print or the service agreement on the Accidental damage coverage plan!! it clearly stats that it only cover physical damage in NORMAL handling manner!! that means, they certainly could use that term to go against your coverage like spilling coffee, drop it in the pool, etc.! 'cos they could easily claim that IS NOT a NORMAL handling manner thus is not covered!! and pretty much you can't argue that point when filling a claim too!

you see my point?

do you think as big a company as Sony (even BestBuy or CompUSA's accidental plan are the same!), they will put theirself in such a bad business plan? honestly, when I first saw a coverage plan like that, first thing went through my mind is, "cool, 12-18months down the road, I'll just "accidentally" drop it or spill some coffee on it, and I'll get a brand new replacement"! and if you were Sony, will you ever gonna cover something like that? and how could you tell whether it's accidentally spilled coffee or intentionally?? that's why they put the clause in the fine print to save their own a$$ and $$!! otherwise, they will be out of the business in no time with such a bad plan that go against itself!

and first, I don't believe my luck (of being cover with that kinda "fine print") nor believe in any company's "good will" for any warrantee coverage. therefore, I passed that and so does my GF's new FJ laptop.

baseline: extended warranty is good for the peace of mind! accidental damage? it's just another way for them to collect more $ from you!

 

This might be off topic, has anyone out there purchased an FE with any type of extended warranty online? I just purchased an FE590PA with a 2 year on site warranty and noticed something weird.

My credit card was initally charged the total amount of the laptop plus the 2 year warranty all at once.
$ 2,492.48 = $ 2,199.99(FE notebook) + $ 154.99(2 year warranty) + $137.50(Tax)
Which was fine.

Then a few days later they charged my card another $154.99 for the warranty they had already deducted from my card initally. I called to inquire about this and the very rude customer service rep says they put a hold on the account to secure the funds and in a few business days my account will be credited. Does this make any sense ? Has anyone noticed this little quirk ? Or am i getting jerked around?

 

Sony's Support is known to be "not excellent". There is no reason that the extra $154.99 should be deducted seperately, if at all. Mainly due to the fact that its already been paid with the price of the notebook.

 

i've been in the sales business for 16yrs, believe it or not, that's very NORMAL for a c/c company to hold some extra fund from you!! what happen is, a c/c company could/would "approve" some extra fund from your account when it's charged from a company, and it will shows on the online statment. however, that money is neither belongs to the company who charge you (in your case, Sony) nor yourself ('cos your online statment shows that you "lose" that kinda $), when after appro. 3 business days when the whole transaction is cleared, you will see the total charge will reflect back to the right amount.

from what I've told by the c/c company, it approve some extra fund is b/c like, when you go to a restuarant, your charge is $100, the c/c company will approve more than $100 on the charge 'cos in case you are leaving some tips, the restaurant could adjust the total that will included the tips later on without swip your card again for a 2nd trasaction. and that's why it's very common is charge like restaurant, hotel, etc. but it's the first time I've heard from a retail company tho!! and it usually happen only on check card, never seen on credit card.......yet.

just wait for 3-5 business day or your paper statment, it will show the correct amount.

oh, and forget about finding someone to yell at! both sony and your c/c company and your bank will deny it and blaming each other!!

 

LandShark,
Thank you for your insight. I will wait a few days and see what my account balance is. Also you're right it was a "Check Card" not a credit card. Sorry I should have been more clear.

As far as who the blame should go to, I don't really care. At the end of the day, all i care about is getting charged the correct amount.
Thanks again

 

Back to the warranty topic....I bought the Sony extended warranty with accidental damage. I did this after being less than satisfied with Best Buy's warranty that I bought for my last laptop. Under the BB warranty my HP was "under repair" for 6 weeks the first time and 7 the last time until I was told that it was not repairable. So they did swap it out for my current SZ, but this turn around time was unacceptable. I also have an emachnines 5312 that has been serviced twice under their warranty and the total repair time from when they picked it up to when it was delivered back to my house was around 7 business days. So with this experience in mind I bought the Sony extended with the accidental damage for the same price as the best buy would have been without accidental damage.

It is a gamble getting an extended warranty but in the case of laptops I would recommend it. It has defiantly paid off for me thus far with my other laptops

 

Is it possible to buy sony's extended warranty and accidental damage coverage if you didn't buy the notebook from sony, but rather a retail store?

 

I had bought an old Sony 1.6ghz P4 from BestBuy with their 3 year warranty.

My screen went out and they replaced it with an old scratched up refurbished LCD plus they scratched the case.

I was pissed, considering I take very good care of my laptop. I raised hell and made them change it again. The second one was better but still now new.

On top of that, they took 5 weeks to get it back to each time!!!

After that, I'll never buy a warranty unless its from the manufacturer. At least you know its repaired right, and with brand new parts.

 

This is exactly what I meant on my other post on the similar warranty topic.
You'd think that accidental damage would cover "oops, I spilled coffee on my laptop". This is why I didn't go with the additional accidental warranty.