Where to get best deal on a Z11 with protection Plan?

Does anyone know where I can find a better deal on a similarly spected z11? I need an accident protection plan but I want to make sure that place I buy it from does not go bust (i.e circuit city) so I was thinking directly from sony would be the safest bet.
Having a built in Verizon card would be good but not essential.
Any help would be appreciated.

VPCZ1190X

$2799.98


Intel® Core™ i5-540M processor (2.53GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.06GHz
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Silver
256GB (256GBx1) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology
4GB (4GBx1) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
CD/DVD Burner
No Fresh Start
Microsoft® Works
Norton Internet Security™ 2010 (30 Day Trial)

No Engraving
Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband Built-In
Standard Capacity Battery
No additional Photo Editing Software
No additional Video Editing Software


3 Year Express Ship Service Plan with Accidental Damage from Handling Protection
[Sony recommends]
None

 

I think I will add the blu ray for $500 since I plan to keep this baby for at least 3 years.

 

If you're ordering from SonyStyle USA and you call, you should be able to bargain for a 15% discount fairly easily. Just indicate you're on a budget and see what they can do to help you. You may have to buy a couple accessories, but you should be able to work your way to a 15% discount at least. You might only indicate you're willing to purchase the extended service plan with accidental damage after you start the price negotiations, because usually purchasing an esp is a prerequisite to get the discount.

Also, I really wanted the Blu-ray, but $500 is ridiculous imho. It's because the drive is so slim and specialized. It's much cheaper (like as much as $400 cheaper) to buy a portable USB Blu-ray player.

 

Don't bother with the protection plan. It's far too expensive. Just get a PAP from you insurance company. Far cheaper and you also get theft and loss protection. Generally costs 1% for protection per year. So for a $2500 laptop, it'll run about $25/year.

 

Thanks JP, for the advice. I see your point with the blu ray. Any benefit from buying from SonyStyle store vs calling?

 

Thanks Travfar but what if I break my screen, I wounder if my insurance company will pay for the repair?

Thanks

 

I'm no expert but I think they will.
They don't care what happens to it, it just means your deductible changes or you can't claim as much things like that.

 

Yep. That's the point of the PAP.

 

Well the advantage I think of going to the store is that your physical presence there is a bargaining chip in your favor. You can hang around all day if you want hoping to get a deal. But other users have had harder times getting a discount from the brick and mortar store (mfpreach was in retail so he can speak more about this too). Overhead and such might make it harder for the store to offer you a deal than the online store.

 

Whoa, let me get this straight. I was going to insure my new notebook anyway to protect against theft. You're saying I can get a plan that will basically cover the same stuff as Sony's accidental damage plan? I might just get a refund for my esp.

Sorry to highjack the thread. Just this quick question...

 

Call your home insurance and ask them about it.

 

Just an update in case anyone is curious...

I called my insurance company to ask about covering my computer. Yes, I can get accidental damage (broken screen, dropped, water damage, etc.) plus protection against what my other property is protected against (theft, fire damage, water heater exploding, etc.). The annual premium for two years is less than what I'm paying Sony for a two year warranty with accidental damage protection.

However, what insurance does NOT cover is hardware malfunction. If the SSD craps out, or the GPU burns up, insurance doesn't care. On the other hand, Sony's warranty does cover this.

So personally I opted to stick with Sony's warranty and accidental damage, and skip the rider through my insurance company. I'll still be covered through insurance for things like theft with no addition to my annual premium.

 

Thanks for the update, good to know!

 

ALSO what an insurance company won't offer is ON-SITE repair included in the cost, with a technician coming to your house/work. If your laptop is mission-critical (like mine is), you don't want to be messing around waiting for the laptop to either ship to or from a repair center.

 

You guys are lucky in Canada I don't believe we have that.
I had to send my laptop to Coquitlam for servicing

 

Thanks for the update.... I think I will stick with Sony when I buy as well. I think I will opt for the blue ray as well.

 

Now that I am looking at the Z12, with its full HD screen option, I may get that one, but I dont want to spend too much. I may just go for the Z11 wo blu -ray, bc now I dont see point of paying 500 dollars if the screen can not display HD quailty (as I already have a blu-ray player).