Upgrade warranty or New Machine?

[byunnbi]

Hi guys,

Here's the specs on my t41p:

PM 1.7 (dothan)
14" sxga
1 gb
60 gb @7200
FireGL T2 128mb
cdrw/dvd
9-cell + ultrabay batt.
(2374-ggu)

My warranty is up in just a couple of months in May, and I have the option of upgrading it to a max of 2 years for a total of 220$ (depot service). My battery is also in pretty bad condition (as it was when I first got this), hovering at an astounding 27~ Wh (down from 71.44). The system runs GREAT - got vista on it w/ no problems, though I've had this thing majorly serviced just a month ago.

The Question: upgrading the battery/warranty would cost me ~350$, but I'm not sure if that's worth it or if that money would be put to better use TOWARD a new T60 or the like. What do you think?

[pianowizard]

The specs are really good and since you enjoy using this machine so much, I'd say it's worth extending the warranty for two years.

[dmar]

Byunnbi,

I think a question that could influence your decision making -- are you trading/selling or keeping it?

Trade/Resale: I think someone once cited that extending the warranty on your existing box would increase the value, but not by much. I'm guessing your T41P as it stands could fetch $625-675 w/o the warranty. With a 2 year extended, maybe you're looking at another $125-150 in increased resale/trade value. That being the case, is the $220 from IBM/Lenovo worth it? Numbers alone would suggest no.

Keeper: If you're keeping it for the longhaul (ie. another 2 years), and find peace of mind in the outstanding warranty support, then $220 might be a worthwhile investment if you tend to use the depot service at least once a year.

On a side note, I'd love to see a poll of the userbase and see exactly how many times we use warranty service per year. I'm guessing somewhere between 1 or 2 depot boxes per year?

[byunnbi]

Thanks for the greatly helpful feedback so far -

dmar, I've thought about both options there. I figured if I could get a handsome amount of $$ for selling it, I would be willing to take a hit to buy a new TP (Probably T60), but I figured it was a stretch to expect about ~700 for my T41p considering its worthless battery and soon to expire warranty.

I guess I'm torn in the end, b/c I wouldn't mind keeping it for another 2 yrs if the ~350$ investment (Ext. warr. + battery) is really an investment.

On a related note, I had an on site service just a month ago (after 1.5 years of ownership) to replace the entire board (it was the video). A friend of mine who has owned his t40 for the past 4 years had his serviced about 6 times so far - neither of us are idiots when it comes to properly handling machiner, mind you