Warranty options on Thinkpads

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fox_napier · #1 Post by **fox_napier** » Tue May 18, 2004 11:07 pm

Hi all,
Been looking through TABook (ftp://www.thinkpads.com/pub/T42%20Pages ... tabook.pdf) and noticed the different warranty offerings:

1. EasyServ(TM) onsite pickup and delivery 3 year limited warranty

2. limited onsite service 3 year limited warranty

And also that some models are listed as "Education" models, such as 2374 (see p. 13 of link above).

So, I'm wondering a) what is the difference and the better warranty option and why and b) is there any difference in the Education models from the rest (besides the obvious price reduction), i.e. do they use inferior parts and the lcds that wouldn't pass if they were for the corporate/regular models?

csv96 · #2 Post by **csv96** » Tue May 18, 2004 11:39 pm

fox_napier wrote:is there any difference in the Education models from the rest (besides the obvious price reduction), i.e. do they use inferior parts and the lcds that wouldn't pass if they were for the corporate/regular models?

No difference. They use the same parts.

EZ-Serv is the standard warranty where you mail-in your Thinkpad to a depot for repair service. On-site service is where they send someone out to your home or office to attempt to perform the repair.

fox_napier · #3 Post by **fox_napier** » Tue May 18, 2004 11:57 pm

Hmm, so why are they Education models cheaper? Or put another way, why are the identical non-Education models more expensive? (I know, humor me.)

Also, doesn't mailing your laptop in take a long time? Isn't it potentially dangerous? (e.g. hard drive gets a nasty bump, returns to you with data corrupted.)

Also, am I correct in assuming the Express models are those IBM thinks will be popular and thus they discount them? Not exactly sure why they would do this, as it undercuts other sales (I'm thinking in terms of T42p models.)

csv96 wrote:
fox_napier wrote:is there any difference in the Education models from the rest (besides the obvious price reduction), i.e. do they use inferior parts and the lcds that wouldn't pass if they were for the corporate/regular models?
No difference. They use the same parts.

EZ-Serv is the standard warranty where you mail-in your Thinkpad to a depot for repair service. On-site service is where they send someone out to your home or office to attempt to perform the repair.

#4 Post by **JaneL** » Wed May 19, 2004 12:03 am

The rule of thumb is to never send anything to EasyServ that isn't part of the problem. As a result, the HDD (and memory and CD/DVD drives and PC Cards, etc) would be safely at home and unlikely to get any nasty bumps.

#5 Post by **JHEM** » Wed May 19, 2004 12:05 am

csv96 wrote:EZ-Serv is the standard warranty where you mail-in your Thinkpad to a depot for repair service.

Actually, here in the US and many other countries, they use an express carrier such as Airborne or Fedex.

Using the US as an example again, if you send your Thinkpad off Monday via Airborne, you'll most often see it returned fixed by Wednesday morning.

Regards,

James

csv96 · #6 Post by **csv96** » Wed May 19, 2004 12:06 am

I don't think we'll ever fully understand how IBM pricing works. At least it's not like Dell where the price can fluctuate hour by hour.

EZ-Serv works great. They overnight you a fully padded box with prepaid shipping label. You usually get your unit back within 2-3 business days.

fox_napier · #7 Post by **fox_napier** » Wed May 19, 2004 12:12 am

That's actually a pretty good idea.... unless you can't figure out what is the problem and so you have to send the whole laptop in. It also looks like only one of the T42p models has on-site service (an Education model) which I am assuming will raise the price since someone has to come out to your location.

I like the idea of a fully padded, self-addressed box provided by IBM. It sure beats the packing job I would have done.

Also, is this mailing somehow insured, i.e. in the U.S. an Airborne carrier picks it up and it gets lost in transit. (This is a nightmare scenario if I have to include the hard drive) Is there anything in the warranty about this?

nonny wrote:The rule of thumb is to never send anything to EasyServ that isn't part of the problem. As a result, the HDD (and memory and CD/DVD drives and PC Cards, etc) would be safely at home and unlikely to get any nasty bumps.

csv96 · #8 Post by **csv96** » Wed May 19, 2004 12:29 am

fox_napier wrote:Also, is this mailing somehow insured, i.e. in the U.S. an Airborne carrier picks it up and it gets lost in transit. (This is a nightmare scenario if I have to include the hard drive) Is there anything in the warranty about this?

Don't know for sure. I don't recall seeing any documentation of insurance. But common sense says that IBM is ultimately responsible since they are paying for the shipping service.

fox_napier · #9 Post by **fox_napier** » Wed May 19, 2004 12:56 am

Also, according to the link above (which I found on Bill's thinkpads.com website) which looks like info found in TABOOK, I came across a peculiar statistic regarding the T42p models.

The top of the line 15" T42p (2373-KXU I believe) comes with the bigger 9 cell battery and weighs 5.4lb (2.4kg) according to the link.

However, the top of the line 15" T42p EXPRESS model (2379-DYU) comes with the smaller 6 cell battery BUT weighs 5.9lbs (2.7kg)!

Any ideas what's going on

csv96 · #10 Post by **csv96** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:00 am

Travel weight is sometimes calculated with the travel bezel instead of the optical drive. The difference in weight between the travel bezel and the optical drive is exactly .5 lbs.

I guess you found an error in the TABOOK. It appears the 15" T42p (non-express units) are listed with the weight of the 14.1" T42p.

fox_napier · #11 Post by **fox_napier** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:06 am

I should get a medal for this!

Just kidding....

But seriously, thanks for the travel bezel info. Would you happen to know how much more the 9 cell battery weighs from the 6 cell?

csv96 wrote: I guess you found an error in the TABOOK.

JaimitoBond · #12 Post by **JaimitoBond** » Wed May 19, 2004 2:12 am

fox_napier wrote:I should get a medal for this!

Just kidding....

But seriously, thanks for the travel bezel info. Would you happen to know how much more the 9 cell battery weighs from the 6 cell?

csv96 wrote: I guess you found an error in the TABOOK.

About .155 kg, or .34 pounds.

sktn77a · #13 Post by **sktn77a** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:27 am

To an earlier question "why are academic models cheaper", there are several explanations. One is that they buy in (very large) bulk quantities. Two is that they are frequently self warranted and insured (ie it is the University NOT IBM that is providing the warranty/insurance). Three is that they frequently buy CTO (configure to order) units that have no ram/hard drive, etc and put these in themselves. This is how it works at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My oldest daughter goes there and it was quite a bit cheaper for me NOT to get the computer through them - their price was basically IBM's web price with 1 year extra warranty, 4 years all-perils insurance and OEM MS Office Basic.

Lmax · #14 Post by **Lmax** » Wed May 19, 2004 11:28 am

csv96 wrote:Travel weight is sometimes calculated with the travel bezel instead of the optical drive. The difference in weight between the travel bezel and the optical drive is exactly .5 lbs.

I guess you found an error in the TABOOK. It appears the 15" T42p (non-express units) are listed with the weight of the 14.1" T42p.

And what, exactly is a travel bezel?

Max

#15 Post by **JaneL** » Wed May 19, 2004 11:46 am

A travel bezel is a small plastic open frame that fills in the UltraBay space when there's no device in it. It's very light-weight and protects the open bay if you're trying to lighten your load when traveling by leaving the CD/DVD/etc at home.

fox_napier · #16 Post by **fox_napier** » Wed May 19, 2004 11:57 am

Do you have to buy this travel bezel separately or does it come with all T42 laptops?

nonny wrote:A travel bezel is a small plastic open frame that fills in the UltraBay space when there's no device in it. It's very light-weight and protects the open bay if you're trying to lighten your load when traveling by leaving the CD/DVD/etc at home.

G-Man · #17 Post by **G-Man** » Wed May 19, 2004 11:59 am

You have to buy it separately.

Regards,
G-Man

csv96 · #18 Post by **csv96** » Wed May 19, 2004 12:00 pm

It's available for $20 here:

http://www.compu-lock.com/tbezel.asp

It's also included with the X4 Ultrabase.

Lmax · #19 Post by **Lmax** » Wed May 19, 2004 1:58 pm

Anyone know where the T4x travel bezel is on the IBM website?

Max

csv96 · #20 Post by **csv96** » Wed May 19, 2004 2:49 pm

It's not available on IBM's site. Compu-lock is the actual manufacturer of this IBM part.

dclee012 · #21 Post by **dclee012** » Thu May 20, 2004 11:14 am

on the topic of warranty options...
is it wise to upgrade the warranty upon buying a thinkpad, or to wait after the 3 years is up?

csv96 · #22 Post by **csv96** » Thu May 20, 2004 12:02 pm

My philosophy (and of course I'm biased, judging by my signature) is to stick with the standard 3-year EZ-Serv warranty, then sell your Thinkpad after 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years and buy a newer model.

#23 Post by **JaneL** » Thu May 20, 2004 12:05 pm

I'd wait until the original warranty was about to expire since anything could happen in 3 years. You might decide to sell it, it could get stolen, the house could burn down, etc, etc

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