Thinkpads Forum

Hi,
I'm about to buy a T61 shortly and wonder whether I should invest in a warranty extension. The T61 offer I am contemplating already comes with 3 years bring-in service.

1. Can I also decide later whether I upgrade the warranty? Are the conditions likely to be less attractive?
2. Would you go for on-site as opposed to bring-in service?
3. Would you choose "Thinkpad Protection", too? As far as I have understood it's a kind of insurance against accidental damage; however many cases are excluded. Will cases where I accidentally drop the book or spill water on it be covered?

... or is this all just waste of time and should I stick with the 3 years bring in the T61 comes with?

Any suggestions are welcome.

1. You can decide at a later date, but the upgrade runs from the purchase date of the TP not the purchase date of the upgrade. Prices do change, e.g. there was an upgrade promotion in Germany during July and August, the prices have gone back up again. - If, for instance, you don't have it but have a problem, you must purchase it before you report the problem. This will mean a delay of some days before you can use it. I would recommend upgrading sooner than later.

2. Personally no I would not, but, I am in the position that I do not rely on one TP, if I have a problem with my main TP I just use another one. However, IF the TP is your sole notebook and you rely on it to earn your money, it is seriously worth concidering an upgrade. If you have to send the TP away you're looking at (rule of thumb) 1 calender week without it. An on-site means it will probably be repaired on the next day, as long as they have the parts available and can get them to the service agent quick enough. What is of more value to you; the upgrade cost or maybe 4/5 days out of action?

3. No I wouldn't, (same reason as above). IMO you have to read the description carefully here and decide for yourself if it's worth it. What can your own insurance offer? Don't forget that the on-site will not take effect, claims against protection are courier-collect, (possibly a week until return - no experience here).

It's not necessarily a waste of time if you think about it as an insurance - could I need it or can I do without it?

You do of course have a 4th option. Being in Frankfurt you could call the repair in, get you "call-nr" and bring the TP to the repair centre in Heppenheim - quicker than DHL

Thanks andy for your thorough explanations.

1. I think I will go for a fourth year of warranty right from the start - even if I might have a new machine before it expires, it might still be useful to keep the old one functional.

I wonder what the average life (in years) of Thinkpads (especially T series) is?
I suppose that the TFT screen is among the most critical parts?

2. I think I'll purchase the on-site since, here in Germany, the price difference is not that high: its 159 vs. 115 EUR (4 year extension, with and without on-site, respectively) and I will tax-deduct the notebook anyway (depreciation over 3 years).

I didn't know that there was a Lenovo repair center near Frankfurt, this is very good to know. But the on-site service is still of value to me for instance when I am abroad.

3. I downloaded the document with the TP conditions and I think I won't get it. You can't insure against all risks (for example theft or loss) and a notebook is something you have take care of anyway.

you're welcome

1. Good idea, then when you purchase your next TP you don't necessarily need the service upgrade as you have a spare.
Average life? My T23 is almost 6 years old, got a new MB after 2y 10m and runs a treat. I know about alot of TPs that are alot older.
IMO I would say MB (GPU) is probably more critical.

2. I agree, for the small difference in price, that little bit of extra insurance it's worth it. (Where did you get those prices? Have you shopped around?)

3. Remember that theft, e.g. from your car, it's not covered normally if it's lying on the back seat.

I have 5-year repair-depot coverage on my 4-year-old T40. I am not sure what possessed me to get that long a plan, but I still use it once in a while.

An interesting variant, if you are handy, is to have Lenovo overnight the part you need, and have you replace it, if you are handy with a screwdriver and can carefully follow the directions in the service guide. I replaced a hard drive that way -- Lenovo supplied a postpaid label for the bad one which they wanted back. The fan died about 6 months ago, and Lenovo overnighted a new one and said just throw away the old one. Now the CD-RW is squealing and not writing properly, so I will get that replaced when I get back home from my current trip.

Yeah, I could send it in, but doing it myself saves me a few days without my laptop. And, I have my old T20 for backup-interim use if I do have to send it in -- which is rare.

@SteveDC

I have assembled a lot of desktop computers in my life, so I guess this kind of "self-service" option would fit me perfectly.

That's all Ok, but, I've never known them send a fan in Germany. Memory, keyboards, hdd, pci cards, etc. they send. I can guarantee that they will not send mainboard, cpu, display - you shouldn't lose sight of, or forget, the "worst case" scenario.