3 or 4 year notebook warranty? It sounds like everyone here is saying "yes".

Pursuant to my prior post subjected "Are you agonizing over what notebook to
buy?---Inspiron 6000---My views", it sounds like the continual advice to go
/long/ on the notebook warrantees is still consistent.

Is there a break-even point where the warrantee length is overkill for
notebooks?

Anyone have any thoughts on that?

 

"Thomas G. Marshall"

I usually get a 3-year warranty, as that's as long as I keep a laptop
before upgrading. There is a point of diminishing returns, though, as
the value of a 3-year-old notebook is nearly zero compared to a new
one 3 years later.

You want to have a warranty (or replacement plan) that's as long as
you plan on keeping the notebook, as any out-of-warranty repair will
most likely be cost-prohibitive.

 

Basically what it all comes down to is there are a couple of parts on
notebooks that can fail and are extremely expensive to repair
(particularly the LCD & the motherboard). Also note, high end notebooks
tend to maintain their value at least somewhat well (my former machine
from 2001 still goes for $300 on eBay which was more than the 3 year
warranty's price). There's a few factors to consider: first off what
was the initial value of the notebook? Secondly, how long do you intend
on keeping it? How critical is it to your work (eg. is this your only
machine so you can't have down time, or do you have a backup)? Finally
how clumbsy are you (do you need an all inclusive warranty or just one
for failed parts)?

Personally, I tend to go with business class models (higher initial
price) which I expect to last at least three years. I do have a
backup, so I can live with a mail-in warranty, and I'm fairly careful
and don't have a need for accidental coverage. In my situation, I tend
to go for 3 year warranty minimums, and at least with my previous
machine, it's been worth it. I wuldn't pay for an extended warranty
(beyond 1 year) on a model that cost below $700 (nor would I expect it
to last 3 years under hard use, though I hope it would). Given my
conditions stated above, my warranty purchasing preferences as a
function of initial value (P) would be:
P < $750 1yr
$750 < P < $1350 2yr
1350 < P < $2000 3yr
P > $2000 4yr

 

Taking into consideration from the other posters, you need to figure out how
you use
your laptop.

For example, I use my laptop for small uses (Wireless Internet, Word
Processing) and I have
a desktop backup in the event my laptop dies. When I purchased my Inspiron
8600, I knew
that I was not going to need one for a long time to come because I have no
reason to upgrade.
I use the same types of software, albeit newer versions, as when I first
purcahsed my laptop.

I purchased the three year onsite w/accidental coverage (total $375). I
will
definately get the extended one year when they send it to me in Dec. 2006.
I will not
need a new laptop for the next 2 years or so unless I get into other types
of software that
require better hardware configurations (e.g. Photo editing).

If you are a gamer or person that continually requires new hardware, go with
a two year
warranty w/accidental coverage, then purchase a new laptop in a couple
years. You can
always extend the warranty a year when Dell asks if you want to renew.

If you will use your laptop occasionally, and you buy a powerfull laptop
now, get a longer
warranty.

moncho