Dell 6400- go for 3yr complete car accaidental.... for €190

markjobrien

bought a pretty sweet Dell 6400 on ebay for €630 just rang about getting upgrade of warranty. Been quoted €190 for next day biz day service plus accidental damage for 3yrs.

Just read some stuff about Dell warranties on notebook.forum.com where a former Dell manager siad defo go for it then conventietly drop it after a couple of years. The idea being that in two years whatever the give you will automatically be an "upgrade" i.e. my lappie has a 160gb hard drive in two to three years what will be the minimuim size HD be or what will be the lowest spec proccesor be.............

Heres the article
http://consumerist.com/consumer/insi...ger-268831.php

So what do you guys think

Ingeniero

markjobrien wrote:

bought a pretty sweet Dell 6400 on ebay for €630 just rang about getting upgrade of warranty. Been quoted €190 for next day biz day service plus accidental damage for 3yrs.

I bought a Dell 6400 Inspiron Laptop recently. Great machine but unfortunatley it died after 5 months. Luckily I had purchased a "3 yr Next Business Day" warranty package + accidental damage at the time of purchase from Dell. It cost me about €150. Well worth it. A Techie arrived to my home and sorted the problem quickly and efficiently. (He replaced the Motherboard).
In the past, especially with Desktops, I would have tended to sort out problems myself. But with a laptop I think it's worth going down the "On site " maintenance route.

singloud

I'd advise against getting an extended warranty. Was in some book I got about going to university. I left the book back in Ireland so I'll quote WIkipedia(sorry)

Consumer advocate groups, such as the non-profit Consumers Union, advise against purchasing extended warranties. David Butler of the Consumers Union says, "The extended warranty is definitely in the best interest of the company, but isn't often in the best interest of the consumer." He adds, "The company is much more likely to profit from the extended warranty than the consumer is." In many cases, if the item does need repairing, the cost of repairs are less than the cost of the extended warranty.

Consumers Union says only two products deserve extended warranty consideration: projection TV's and digital camcorders. Both are expensive to repair and need repairs frequently

I have to say I feel very proud when I think of all the money I've saved when not taking out extended warranties. But it really is your call. I just don't seem to have problems with my electronics

AlmightyCushion

I wouldn't go or the extended warranty if I was you. The thing is costing a third the price of your laptop which is money that could be spent improving the specs of your laptop. I've never gotten an extended warranty and it has never come back to bite me in the ass. As far as I'm concerned you'd be better flushing you money down the toilet than getting one.

is_that_so

I think it depends on how you view them. I've certainly found them worth the extra cash but I would go for the most basic package you are happy with. Yes they are a cash cow but seeing as I had two machines misbehave inside a week, it is worth the €40-€50 a year. You are paying for convenience.

For personal machines they may not be worth it, but I can understand it from a business perspective.

is_that_so

singloud wrote:

I have to say I feel very proud when I think of all the money I've saved when not taking out extended warranties. But it really is your call. I just don't seem to have problems with my electronics

How can you save money when you have already said no to something you don't have to buy anyway?

homerjay2005

extended warranties are definately worth it. my own laptop has developed a serious fault and im lucky that i got a 3 year warranty (system is 18 months old). i have worked for a few IT companies and once a system passes a year mark, anything is liable to happen. repairs these days cost a fortune.

Ingeniero

AlmightyCushion wrote:

I wouldn't go or the extended warranty if I was you.

For almost all equipment, extended warranties are a complete waste of money. I agree. They are a huge source of profit for the retailer. But there are a few exceptions. As I stated in my previous post I think that for a Laptop they are a useful purchase. My Laptop is heavily used and I really can't be without it for more than a day or two. Had I not had the warranty it would have been "collect & return" to Dell, valid for 12 months. My Laptop was sorted next day in my home and will be for the next two & a half years.

singloud

is_that_so wrote:

How can you save money when you have already said no to something you don't have to buy anyway?

I dunno about you but I feel a bit pressured by salesmen when buying laptops into getting an extended warranty. It's like the old saying,a penny saved is a penny earned.
Not buying a non essential option is still saving money

I've never really had any problems with my computers and even when I had, I could find the help on the Internet for free.

The bottom line is it really is your call, if your really worried go ahead but it could save you money not to bother. Just think what that 190 could be spent on

the_syco

User: "My notebook is new"
Me: "How old?"
User: "Only 15 months old"
Me: "Sorry, but you're beyond the 12 month warranty, goodbye"
**User hangs up"

=-=

The extended warranty is for piece of mind.

BostonB

singloud wrote:

I....Consumers Union says only two products deserve extended warranty consideration: projection TV's and digital camcorders. Both are expensive to repair and need repairs frequently....

The flaw in your reasoning is that also applies to Laptops, especially ones that are expensive. Cheaper laptops <€500 its probably not worth it.

AlmightyCushion wrote:

I wouldn't go or the extended warranty if I was you. The thing is costing a third the price of your laptop which is money that could be spent improving the specs of your laptop. I've never gotten an extended warranty and it has never come back to bite me in the ass. As far as I'm concerned you'd be better flushing you money
down the toilet than getting one.

Might only be 10-20% of your laptop. If you do have a motherboard failure, or a screen failure it might be uneconomical, and poor value to get it fixed. Meaning you have to buy a brand new machine.

Blaster99

It's never worth insuring something that you can afford to replace.

Anti

Blaster99 wrote:

It's never worth insuring something that you can afford to replace.

QFT!!

With any pc its best to have a warrenty. Herselfs laptop broke a few weeks ago, the techi came round and replaced so much she mayaswell of had a new laptop. Well worth the 130€ in my eyes.

BostonB

Blaster99 wrote:

It's never worth insuring something that you can afford to replace.

Not sure I agree with that. Depends on the cost of the insurance relative to the value of the item.

Tony H

i just upgraded my warrenty on my inspiron 6400 , 82 euros it cost to upgrade to at home repair for another 2 years , well worth the money , i got a dell tech out last week to replace the hinges on the display and he also replaced the front and back of the screen as well , it has paid for itself already.

clapyourhands

Fitzdragon that seems a good deal. Was your 1 yr warranty almost up when you upgraded this.? Is it next biz day or just two year at home service

Tony H

Yes it is next business day , i upgraded the warranty with about 2 months to go on the collect and return .