Thinkpads Forum

Hi,
I'm planning to purchase an X220 and noticed that warranties are various types but for the most part, they CAN be upgraded provided you are still in your warranty period EXCEPT of course "Thinkpad Protection" which covers all sorts of accidentals beyond warranties.

So here are my questions about Lenovo Warranties:

1. According to the above, if I stick with stock 1 yr Basic Depot warranty, I should be able to upgrade all the way to 4 yrs (ie 3 more years) before it expires?
2. If anyone does have experience (& I'm sure there are plenty), please review salient points about different warranties, ie Depot average turnaround times, what ONSITE is most useful for, etc?
3. Regarding the Thinkpad protection is the *BIG ?* in my mind--- I am buying my first Thinkpad only because I have seen and read several accounts of how tough these notebooks are, so I am wondering if it is even worth it for me as I consider myself to be an EXTREMELY careful user (though the idea of having reckless abandon *just once* in my life would be worth it) so what's the verdict on these? Anyone had one and used it?
4. Regarding warranties, especially further down the line, does Lenovo just replace the same part / model or if it is no longer feasible has anyone recieved upgrades? (This is my counterpoint to buying super expensive extended warranties--I may just opt for a new model then?)
5. LASTLY *phew, hehe*--I am finding great prices OUTSIDE of lenovo.com and many are claiming to be authorized resellers of Lenovo warranty plans so why wouldn't I just save my money and buy from them? Anyone have a story to tell? What would be your advice in trying to do this, like ASAP or within 30 days..ANY help here would be very helpful as this is the most likely route for me.

OKayyyyyy..so that was a great post for a first-timer, I'm sure you're already sick of me and I haven't even bought one yet..but I will certainly appreciate the helpful replies and many thanks for reading

Yes, Thinkpads are extremely tough and reliable, compared to other notebooks from other manufacturers.

But like any portable computer, they will of course break someday. And this is the other area where IBM (and now Lenovo) has always been a market leader. The support provided by the manufacturer has always been top notch, and after having Lenovo support I think you would probably feel lost having to go to another manufacturer for support. This is everything from just how easy it is to submit issues and get them resolved, to contacting support, to arranging quick delivery/pick-up and even same day on-site repairs.

If you can afford it, and if this is your main and/or only computer and you really can't afford to be without it for a few days, then go for on-site support. There is really nothing like having a tech guy come to your home or office, on the day you need them, and sort everything out for you and hand a working laptop back to you. But then again it's not the cheapest option.

I don't really know about the cheaper 3rd-party options you are talking about, but it sounds like they are not really Lenovo support, but rather some 3rd party support? Well who knows, maybe some are good and some are not, but it just depends how important it is to you. If you want to be sure you are getting reputable, reliable support you probably need to buy the plan directly from the manufacturer.

I sent many laptops back to lenovo depot for accidental damage repair, they come back fast, usually within 1-2 days (i'm in east coast, it goes to atlanta).

I also have onsite services on mine. Onsite they outsource to 3rd party, one guy that usually comes also does dell laptops.. so I see him a lot.. the problem I have is onsite guys never puts the screw back correctly.. there is always extra screw, they dont carry manuals so they dont know how to put things back.

I just bought a 1 month old x201 with shatter screen, I was able to buy the TPP on top of the 3 year warranty it has for 158 + tax yesterday and I'll be sending it back for repair. It said I only had 90 days to buy the warranty, so you might want to check before your 90 day is up

I never gotten upgrades before, I think they always have parts... a lot of parts are interchangable.. so you probably wont get upgrades..

Thinkpad Protection must be added in the first 90 days and can go up to 4 years, while depot or on-site can go up to 5 years.

Just to add another wrinkle, you may want to look into a rider on your homeowners or renters insurance. In addition to accidents, it will cover things like theft, which Thinkpad Protection will not. Plus you may stop and start coverage whenever you like.

Also just regarding the question about upgrades, parts, etc. It's hard to say if every possible part and/or upgrade will be available indefinitely, but I can confirm I've had pretty good experience with parts and upgrades for Thinkpads being available long after their expected lifetime. For example, I just recently replaced internal fan assemblies on a Thinkpad T41p (about 5-6 years old) and even a Thinkpad 600x (12+ years old). Usually I find these parts on Ebay for quite cheap, and then find the maintenance manual online, and videos on YouTube explaining how to do it. Of course, I've done the same with other non-IBM/Lenovo laptops too, so not sure Thinkpads are any better/worse in this aspect. I also upgraded memory in these laptops recently to bulk them up to run Windows 7 - I believe at least one of them had an older specialized type of memory, which was, again readily available on Ebay. I would say it is a testament that I have a 12+ year old Thinkpad 600x that is still up and running reliably with relatively little maintenance over that time.