Laptop Warranty

[stevo-08]

Hi All,
Been looking on this board for years now but this is my first post.

I've just purchased a new laptop from PC World - Compaq Presario C701. Retail price was €699 but was on sale for €519 so i think i did ok. Anyway, generally i wouldnt even think about taking out additional warranty but i was talking to the salesman who was surprisingly a genuinely honest guy. He said that PC World do have a reputation about ripping off the customer when it comes to warranty etc. but that the existing deal is good value for money. it's a 3 yr warranty including accidental damage and costs €180 (€18 per month for 10mths). However it also includes 1 service/health check per year for the 3 years. These normally cost €80 each so by getting these 3 health checks done, you already save the warranty costs. He also said that if the laptop needs to be replaced due to damage, then i will be entitled to a new laptop worth €699 rather than the €519 i paid.

anyway, as you can guess i decided to take out the warranty but i can cancel the direct debit within the next 14days if i wish. so im looking for some advice from the tech guys on this board. Do you think the warranty is worth it or should i cancel. I will only be using the laptop in the house so the chances of damage is quite slim. but i do like the fact that i have 3 free health checks included.

anyway, any advice welcome & thanks in advance..

[Gnevin]

Seems ok , epically for laptop where the slightest fall can some times f**k them up, the only thing to check is to make sure damage covers everything

[Bud Wiser]

The first thing you do is put the laptop as inclusive to "nominated" items on your house insurance.  I stood on my laptop getting out of bed this year when I was in hospital.  The insurance paid me the full value. They removed the hard drive and gave it back in a housing that just USB's to my new one so now I have a new laptop and a spare hard drive with all my old information.

As for the "service contract" I would not touch them.  In three years you will have paid more than the price of a brand new replacement of the same spec.  There ius a guyt down the road from Ballyboden Clubhouse, "No Waffle" computers and he will fix anything that can be fixed for 20 or thirty euro.

Download AVG antivirus or subscribe to Norton and you can back horses with the money instead.


Welcome to the board !

[pintsofguinness]

it's a 3 yr warranty including accidental damage and costs €180

I'd take it. 
I've insurance on mine. 

[stevo-08]

Seems ok , epically for laptop where the slightest fall can some times f**k them up, the only thing to check is to make sure damage covers everything

pretty sure it covers everything. the guy even said that you could "accidentally" break the laptop of a wall in the 3rd year and it would still be replaced. not that you'd get any luck from doing such a thing.

The first thing you do is put the laptop as inclusive to "nominated" items on your house insurance.  I stood on my laptop getting out of bed this year when I was in hospital.  The insurance paid me the full value. They removed the hard drive and gave it back in a housing that just USB's to my new one so now I have a new laptop and a spare hard drive with all my old information.

yea, i thought of that and it's probably the best thing to do. the only question then is: are the 3 health checks worth the €180?? maybe not...

In three years you will have paid more than the price of a brand new replacement of the same spec. 

Do you mean the €180 warranty cost?? Or some additional costs associated with the services? Surely €180 wouldnt get a new laptop

There ius a guyt down the road from Ballyboden Clubhouse, "No Waffle" computers and he will fix anything that can be fixed for 20 or thirty euro.

Thats great value. I know a guy here in sligo who charges €100 to fix anything. Thats why i thought the €180 was pretty good value.

thanks for the help guys.

[Bud Wiser]

First, can I ask you a question.  In what branch of PC World did you buy the laptop.  This would be important, very important.

[stevo-08]

The Sligo Branch.

[Bud Wiser]

If you go to www.cro.ie and enter the search environment for companies you will find that a lot of PC world's are non existant. For example if you bought it in PC World in Dundalk that company has been dissolved. I will check Sligo for you in a minute.    Let me explain. I purchased a laptop, Packard Bell, from PC World branch and it was F.O.O.B., faulty out of box.  Faulty Screen and cracked hinges.

They would not repair it despite admitting it was a manufacturing fault whereby the hiunges were over tightened. They gave me the run around.  I then did a company search and found that the company from whom I had purchased it was dissolved. I threathened company enforcement proceedings and that I would picket outside their door saying they were trading illegaly using a company name that had been dissolved.

In the end, I got a big placard and put it over my head and marched up and down outside the offices of Packard Bell on North Circular Road, a hillarious event but  I got the computer fixed.  No thanks to PC World.  The first thing you have to watch out for when buying a laptop is the condition of the battery. There are good batteries and there are faulty batteries, faulty ones being of a very high percentage leading to some manufacturers doing complete batch recalls on a regular basis.

The most likely fault with your laptop is going to be the battery in that it will not hold a charge.  Now, ask PC World "is the battery if it starts to overheat or loose its charge too quickly" covered under the warranty. You will be told no.  On that basis I would be glad to cover the cost of your warranty myself!

Now as to the value of your computer in three years time.  Have a look here:
http://www.technologyreview.com/NanoTech/wtr_16326,303,p1.html

In three years time laptops as we know them will be completely different with new rules and regulations regarding RoHs compliance and the aforementioned dreaded battery.  New technology will result in smaller, lighter and different designs altogether than what we have today. They will be more expensive in the early stages like DVD recorders were.  So say you make complete shite of your laptop and you arrive back at your un-dissolved branch of PC World and tell them, if you can find anyone to listen, that you want a new one to the value of your old one. They will tell you that the value of your old one, as new, would now be worth half what you bought it for, or around 250 Euro when in fact you have paid 699 Euro for !  Don't mind the sales bullshit, that is what they will tell you and most likely that the battery is three years old, is not covered under the warranty and since if the computer was repaired you would need a new one and they will then deduct that from what you are entitled to as well.

I would ask them these questions:  Is the battery under warranty for even the first year? Do they stock replacements?  If they don't stock mreplacements and you replace it with a battery from your own source is the laptop still under warranty? Then I would pick up the phone and cancel my payment.    That is only what I would do so I am not saying you should do it.

[Sky Blue]

You are a very knowlegable man Budwiser.

[Bud Wiser]

PC World in Sligo is not listed with the CRO. Ask them what is their company registration number !!  Ask them was it dissolved the same time as the one in Liffey Valley and exactly who is covering your warranty which you are perfectly entitled to ask. Then watch their faces reaction.

[Bud Wiser]

I am not that knowlegable skyer, I know that PC World, Dixons and Curries are all out of the one camp.  But by jaysus wait 'till you have a problem. Then they are like my own counties football team, promise everything and deliver nothing.

[stevo-08]

bud, thanks a million for all that. excellent stuff and i have to agree with sky  - you are indeed very knowledgable.

i'll call into the store on monday, give them a list of questions and then cancel the direct debit. i'll let you know what response i get.

by the way the battery i have is a 6 cell Lithium-ion battery. any idea how long i should expect the battery to keep its charge??

i knew i was right to get advise from this board.

thanks again.

[Bud Wiser]

How long will the battery keep its charge.  I don't know, it depends on what you are running and what you have plugged in and other things suchy as screen resolution.

If you "Google" Lithium Battery you will pick up information such as "Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. A lithium-ion battery in use typically lasts between 2-3 years. The capacity loss manifests itself in increased internal resistance caused by oxidation. Eventually, the cell resistance reaches a point where the pack can no longer deliver the stored energy although the battery may still have ample charge. " etc, etc.

Generally you will get 300 - 500 charges/discharges. However, if you ask one of our Indian friends they will tell you it will last for three hours, if you ask before you have bought the computer and posible one and a half hours after you have bought the computer.  Your battery will run out before your warranty and that is for sure. And when it does your waranty will not cover it and any replacement you provide will invalidate the warranty. 

By now you probably think I would not buy a laptop from PC World even if I had to go back to a ball-frame and a slate and chalk.  You would be dead right. !

[Donagh]

If you were buying a dog, a horse or even a wife, I'd say take it, but as computers are not people I'd say that paying 35% of the items value for a 'health check' (warranty) is a scandalous rip off – you wouldn't pay that for a car or a house. As Bud says, put it on your house insurance and if anything goes wrong, ask a mate or someone on here. Welcome to the Board btw...

[Sandy Hill]

I bought a Dell Inspiron 6400 about 12/14 months ago and the battery is as near dead as makes no difference. I really like the laptop but I think that what happened the battery was that I kept using mains electricity near enough all the time so the battery was constantly being partially charged/discharged; at least I think this is what happened. I've no intention of buying another battery! Before I bought this laptop I was warned against going to PC World; their aftersales is supposed to be crap; mind you I am sure Dell are not much better! Good luck anyway.