3rd party warranty - to buy or not to buy?

[jackattack]

I just bought a refurbished T42 on ebay and I can buy a 2 year warranty from SquareTrade for about $100. Is it worth it?

I have a T42 2378 RRU, which is an express model (customer configured) with a 1 year warranty (which is expired). I just wanted some input on what you guys think about 3rd party extended warranties. TIA.

[JHEM]

Personally, I think they're worthless.

I know this is more money, but IMHO you're better off with the post warranty service plan from IBm/Lenovo:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... =TPAD-PWMA

Regards,

James

[DIGITALgimpus]

Yea, unless the 3rd party has an awesome reputation, I'd go with IBM/Lenovo (who I know has a good reputation for honoring them). Most of these places tend to sell them, but rarely honor them, typically saying that all problems aren't covered for various reasons.

[jackattack]

From the looks of that site, you must purchase that warranty before it is available. Mine came with a 1 year warranty and is expired already. Would I be stupid to not get any warranty? I imagine I can pretty much handle anything I'd have to replace, with the help of this forum of course.

[JHEM]

From the looks of that site, you must purchase that warranty before it is available. Mine came with a 1 year warranty and is expired already. Would I be stupid to not get any warranty? I imagine I can pretty much handle anything I'd have to replace, with the help of this forum of course.

It all depends on your comfort level under the hood of the machine and how much you're willing to bet that the MB won't suddenly expire.

Personally, I extend all the warranties on my "up to date" (T, A or X) machines while they're still under their original warranty.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... U#consumer

For ~US$110 per year for depot level coverage I consider it cheap insurance.

But I still wind up performing 99% of the repairs myself.

Regards,

James

[Toine]

I have mackcam 3 year extra waranty, does anybody know if this is a good company?

PS: I have 4 year of warranty on My t41p, one of IBM and 3 of MACK.

[JHEM]

I have mackcam 3 year extra waranty, does anybody know if this is a good company?

Poor to worthless!

PS: I have 4 year of warranty on My t41p, one of IBM and 3 of MACK.

And where does one take a unit to be repaired under that MACK warranty in NL???

Regards,

James

[JHEM]

PS: I have 4 year of warranty on My t41p, one of IBM and 3 of MACK.

Were I you, I'd check here: http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/accessories/se ... kplus.html to see if my one year of IBM/Lenovo coverage could be extended.

Just click on "View Worldwide Supported Products List" and then go to the EMEA page.

Regards,

James

[kam_]

I agree, these third party waranties just add one more *very stubborn* person you have to convince to repair your laptop.

They don't care as much about reputation as IBM does as most of them are unheard of companies. They'll just tell you it isn't covered - or put you through to some butt who makes u fiddle around in control pannel forever, and then tell you to re-install everything - even when its clear its a hardware issue.

Don't bother.. if you're that worried add it to your home contents policy (it won't actually increase your premium unless you have a hoard of computers). If it breaks say you dropped it in the house (shh i didn't tell you to say that)

[Aroc]

Another problem with 3rd party warrenties is the turnaround time is often significantly longer (3 weeks in some cases) than the original maufacturer. So research before you buy. The mack warranty also has caveats anyone needs to be aware of prior to laying down the cash. So research is in order. Just be careful. That is all.

The problem stems from the fact that a notebook computer is different from say a big screen TV, microwave oven, or even a desktop computer in some cases. Notebook computers are fragile and very susceptible to developing problems needing repair, especially if mishandled. Generally due to parts that are propretary in shape and connections (planars, LCDs, etc) the repairs are much much more espensive. So when you bundle something that has high probably of needing service with something that has high service costs, generally a good warranty is practically a requirement. This isn't true of a lot of other electronics. At least not to the degree I see with notebooks.

YMMV