Warranty extension

[sktn77a]

When my T40 and T41 went out of warranty, I was innundated with mailings from IBM/Lenovo to extend the warranty at a reasonable price (about $100, if I recall correctly, or about the same as it is when you extend it from new). I have received no such mailings about my T42, which is also now about to go off warranty. I looked up the web page for warranty extensions and they want $170 for 1 year now.

Has anyone had recent experience with their warranty extension program and pricing?

[Johan]

If you see this thread (the post of Wed Jul 04), you will find links to various ThinkPad warranty upgrades and extensions. Checking the second link IBM Maintenance Services - ServicePac for Warranty and Maintenance Options and searching for T42 (see page 31), you will find a number of options.

A few months ago, I bought a ("remanufactured") T42p via this forum. It came with the default 3-year IBM depot service (EZServ), which would expire in February 2008. As I was interested in extending the IBM warranty to the maximum, before the ThinkPad was shipped to me (I am in Denmark), I was very fortunate that the outstanding helpful seller, noetus, was also extremely helpful in arranging this. What I ended choosing was the IBM part number 69P9201 "5 YR depot repair", which amounted to $ 220,- The 5 years counts from the original ThinkPad shipment date, meaning that the T42p is now covered until February 2010. You may see this as a two-year extension of the carry-in warranty, so the cost per year is ("only") $ 110,-

If in stead having waited until the original 3-year warranty was about to expire, and then having chosen the 1-year "post-warranty" (IBM P/N 69P9380), this would cost $ 169,- per year according to this page, page 8, a somewhat poorer deal.

I would appreciate very much to hear what you choose, and how you experience IBM's service - and what their recommendation and suggested options might be in your case, if you explain your details. Thank you in advance for sharing this.

Best regards,

Johan

[sktn77a]

Thanks for all the info, Johan. Yes, I saw your previous posts and the information was extremely helpful in getting me a great deal. IBM's first offer was for $169 per year for the warranty extension. I pointed out the link with the $110 per year rate but he was able to find a "special" even better - $99 per year!

So I got the warranty extension for 2 years, by which time the T42 will be a relic and ready for that big ol' recycling dump in the sky!

[Johan]

Thanks for all the info, Johan. Yes, I saw your previous posts and the information was extremely helpful in getting me a great deal. IBM's first offer was for $169 per year for the warranty extension. I pointed out the link with the $110 per year rate but he was able to find a "special" even better - $99 per year!

So I got the warranty extension for 2 years, by which time the T42 will be a relic and ready for that big ol' recycling dump in the sky!

You're very welcome - I'm happy to hear that you made big savings!

Could you be kind to disclose what IBM warranty extension part number you ended up buying - was it the 69P9201? If not - which? Would others also be able to benefit from the $ 99, and if so, what P/N to request?? Sharing this information might be helpful to other users of this forum, like the information I pointed you to was helpful to you. Sharing is the keyword here!

Best regards,

Johan

[underclocker]

IBM's first offer was for $169 per year for the warranty extension. I pointed out the link with the $110 per year rate but he was able to find a "special" even better - $99 per year!

I went through this in June trying to extend a warranty on an R50. I "bought" the $99 one year extension. I received an electronic receipt from Lenovo that seemed to indicate my credit card was charged. After 2 weeks of the warranty status page not showing the new expiration date, I called Lenovo to find out that the order was canceled. Apparently, that rate was not a valid one for the R50. No call, no email, no warranty. At least I wasn't charged the $99.

Anyway, I let it go and let the warranty run out. It wasn't worth the hassle to call back or find out what it really would cost.

Good luck. Let us know if it works for your T42.

[sktn77a]

Part number was 41C9180. Says it's for a T61 but when I queeried this he said they are pretty much all the same now. The 69P9201 he said was an old business code that they no oonger use (?!)

We'll see!

[Johan]

I went through this in June trying to extend a warranty on an R50. I "bought" the $99 one year extension. I received an electronic receipt from Lenovo that seemed to indicate my credit card was charged. After 2 weeks of the warranty status page not showing the new expiration date, I called Lenovo to find out that the order was canceled. Apparently, that rate was not a valid one for the R50. No call, no email, no warranty. At least I wasn't charged the $99.

Anyway, I let it go and let the warranty run out. It wasn't worth the hassle to call back or find out what it really would cost.

Good luck. Let us know if it works for your T42.

When (as discussed in my post above) noetus back in May ordered the extended warranty on behalf of me, we went through the same strange "cancelled" issue. After having paid the warranty (the money had been drawn from the credit card), IBM sent an e-mail with a link where the order processing status could be followed. Soon after the order was placed, the "Status" on the IBM page however said "Cancelled" for the order status. Calling the IBM sales rep, who had sold the extended warranty, we were informed that the order "goes into another system and is therefore displayed as cancelled on the status page". Well, OK about that - but after waiting further two weeks, the order was still cancelled, and no activation mail had been received from IBM (when purchasing a warranty extension or -upgrade, it must be electronically "activated", within 30 days of the purchase, as far as I recall - and an e-mail will be issued from IBM with misc. activation information etc.). Hmmm... called IBM again and again, and long explanation and called several times again, until the issue finally had to be escalated (!) to a superior, who finally (after a few more phone calls!) took care of the activation himself. Not too convincing order handling, in this case.

Bottom line: When the order gets "cancelled", I think it pays off to wait for a while, and then call the seller; what you have paid for, you are entitled to receive (in my opinion!), so it must be up to IBM to fix this.

Best regards,

Johan

[Johan]

Part number was 41C9180. Says it's for a T61 but when I queeried this he said they are pretty much all the same now. The 69P9201 he said was an old business code that they no oonger use (?!)

We'll see!

Wow - the 41C9180 (5-year parts and labor, "Pick-up and return") shows up as only $161 here and here!! I want an immediate $60 refund!!

Thanks for sharing this information, Keith. I wish IBM's warranty was a little bit more "transparent"... to mee, it seems sooo complicated as if IBM's own sales reps are not even fully capable themselves (at least not all of them) of guiding the customers though this wild jungle!

Best regards,

Johan

[alanx]

REMOVED EXCESSIVE NESTED QUOTING

REMOVED EXCESSIVE NESTED QUOTING

What does "Pick up and return" mean? Is it the same as Depot service? 5 years for this price is a VERY good deal. Has anyone tried to extend a warranty through this FRU?

I just received a T42p with less than 4 months warranty left, and I want to extend its warranty. Do you just give the FRU# or even just order on those websites? If it's the same as Depot service, I'd do it asap!

Note from Moderator: Trim your quotes, please.

[sktn77a]

"Pickup and Return" is Depot Service. And the cost is for an additional 2 years warranty, which brings the total factory warranty duration (if you had the three year factory warranty) to 5 years.

[Tsuioku]

REMOVED EXCESSIVE NESTED QUOTING

REMOVED EXCESSIVE NESTED QUOTING

If I order from those sites... is there actually anything to "ship"... Kinda stupid if I were to be charged shipping when it's not even a physical product....

Note from Moderator: Trim your quotes, please.

[Johan]

If I order from those sites... is there actually anything to "ship"... Kinda stupid if I were to be charged shipping when it's not even a physical product....

No, the is no physical thing to ship - you will place your order, and you will receive an e-mail containing "activation information". When following the activation instructions in that mail, your extended warranty will be put into effect.

BEWARE however that IBM in your country MIGHT NOT (!!) honor an extended warranty. If you check the thread Certified Used T42p - Very disappointed (and see the post of Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:00 pm, and the links pointed to therein), you will learn how I have been... well what to say... "extremely disappointed" by buying such an extended warranty, and at the time of the purchase (and also subsequently) have been informed by IBM that the extended warranty would cover in Denmark (where I live), just to learn very recently that this is absolutely not the case. So, check with IBM in your country if they will honor an extended warranty purchased outside your country - before you place your order. If they wont, you still have the option of shipping your laptop for an extended-warranty-repair in the USA, but this is slightly annoying...

All the above just a word of caution - experienced "the hard way".

PS: If everything is OK in relation to the above, you may find a slightly cheaper shop selling this extended warranty if reading the thread FS Flexview heaven T60P and T42P's (see the post of Sun Nov 25, 2007 1:41 pm).

Best regards,

Johan

[ncalsurfer]

Has anyone here actually purchased and used a warranty for a t series machine that was already out of warranty (expired)?

I have a T42 with the "planar flex" "lead solder" problem which would love to be revitalized if I could actually purchase one of these warranties and IBM/Lenovo would fix it.

TIA.

[Tim M]

Has anyone here actually purchased and used a warranty for a t series machine that was already out of warranty (expired)?

I would imagine if the computer is anything more than just out of warranty, IBM/Lenovo would not allow this. Otherwise, an unscrupulous person could buy a junker and have it fixed at IBM/Lenovo's expense.

Reading Johan's excellent posts, I notice this third-party vendor offers the 41C9180 2-year warranty extension that I desire for $150. Has anyone purchased one of these? How does one ensure that the additional warranty is activated if not purchased from IBM/Lenovo itself (for which I was quoted $199 on the telephone). I will be getting the warranty paid for by work, so I guess it ultimately doesn't matter, but it would be nice to save money if possible.

[Johan]

<snip>

Reading Johan's excellent posts, I notice this third-party vendor offers the 41C9180 2-year warranty extension that I desire for $150. Has anyone purchased one of these? How does one ensure that the additional warranty is activated if not purchased from IBM/Lenovo itself (for which I was quoted $199 on the telephone). I will be getting the warranty paid for by work, so I guess it ultimately doesn't matter, but it would be nice to save money if possible.

Thanks for the kind words, Tim - such kind feedback is exactly what fuels further effort to remain active on this fabulous friendly forum!!

Well, to comment your question about if anybody has purchased an extended warranty from IBM/Lenovo and/or from the "third-party vendors", as you call them, I have been sort of "involved" in doing business with both. This spring, I purchased an used T42p via this forum, and the seller (who was in the USA) was very helpful to arrange an extended warranty be purchased (directly from IBM/USA), before shipping the T42p to me (an additional explanation being that this extended warranty is not offered in Europe, where I live). OK, so the IBM P/N 41C9180 ("5 year depot, 5 years parts and labor depot warranty") was ordered directly from IBM, but it took forever to get it activated, and many phone calls had to be made before it finally went through - some details is given in the thread Warranty extension (see the post there of Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:33 pm). That was the "genuine-IBM warranty extension experience". Slow, lengthy, painful - but eventually successful.

Then, more recently, I have bought another T42p (I'm an addict to FlexView T42/p's!), also via this forum --> FS Flexview heaven T60P and T42P's (see my post from Sun Nov 25, 2007 1:41 pm). Also in this case, I wanted an extended warranty, and also in this case the seller was very kind and helpful in accepting to arrange that (= buying this ext. warr. in the USA, before shipping me the T42p). Again, the 41C9180 was ordered, but this time from the CostCentral site. Order date was 30. Nov. 2007, Lenovo registration authorization was received via CostCentral on 13. Dec. 2007, the registration was then activated on Lenovo's site, but today (Jan. 12, 2008) it has still not been registered as "Successful" (!?!). According to a mail received today from the very, very helpful seller, positive he wrote this: "I have called IBM on many occasions, the last time was yesterday. I left my number for their registration dept to call me back, and they never did. I spent much time before the holidays; I also spent much time with costcentral to finally acquire the auth. number + passcode. I am very frustrated with costcentral and Lenovo. I don't have an answer as to why it has not been updated, but they said it could just be a small error." That was/is the "third-party-vendor" ext. warr. experience: Slow, lengthy, painful - and not even yet successful.

Bottom line? Seems that the whole (extended) warranty sales/registration process is quite difficult in the USA... before Christmas I extended the warranty of a couple of T42's here in Denmark, and that went without problems.

What is very strange is that CostCentral no longer offer the 41C9180; I just did a search on their site (a lot of other ThinkPlus warranties are still offered, but no longer the 41C9180) - and I wonder why it has gone?? The 41C9180 is still available from Affinity Systems, Inc. at still at only $150.

Perhaps you should really rush in getting the 41C9180, because according to this Lenovo-page (which I just discovered, thanks to you!): Hardware withdrawal: Selected Think-branded offerings — Replacements available the 41C9180 is listed (under "Services") as "Product withdrawals" and Effective December 18, 2007 (!!). As it says in the top of that page: "After that date, you can no longer obtain these products directly from Lenovo. You can obtain these products through authorized remarketers or Lenovo Authorized Personal Computer Dealers while supplies last." So, run and get the 41C9180 anywhere you can while still being offered!!

I know the above was perhaps a bit "In excess" of what you asked, but now you are prepared for the troubles...

NOTE that all I address in the above is extending the warranty on ThinkPad's which ARE STILL covered by the warranty. The above may, or may not, also apply to extending warranty on out-of-warranty ThinkPad's.

PS: Beware of (the immense!) difficulties associated with having IBM/Lenovo to honor an extended warranty claim outside of the USA - as evident through the thread IBM/Denmark deny to honor warranty confirmed by IBM-Support.

Best regards,

Johan

[Tim M]

Perhaps you should really rush in getting the 41C9180, because according to this Lenovo-page (which I just discovered, thanks to you!): Hardware withdrawal: Selected Think-branded offerings — Replacements available the 41C9180 is listed (under "Services") as "Product withdrawals" and Effective December 18, 2007 (!!). As it says in the top of that page: "After that date, you can no longer obtain these products directly from Lenovo. You can obtain these products through authorized remarketers or Lenovo Authorized Personal Computer Dealers while supplies last."

Interesting. I spoke with a Lenovo representative on the phone earlier this week and was quoted $199 for the 41C9180 warranty extension. So, either the representative was in error (possible) or the product withdrawal is not going ahead as planned. I suppose it is also possible that Lenovo is simply selling off its remaining "stock" of warranty extensions with no intention to offer more in the future.

[underclocker]

Just a thought, warranties, a.k.a. insurance, may not be worth the cost if the replacement part costs roughly the same or the device isn't likely to break during the coverage period.

Additionally, if you have multiple ThinkPads, and buy insurance on all, your costs for insurance will almost definitely exceed any parts costs for broken down items.

Using a T4x as an example, the expensive trouble areas are 1) motherboard, 2) LCD, 3) hard disk. Replacment parts for all there routinely sell for less than $150. Therefore, over the course of one year, unless you have multiple failures and/or aren't willing to do your own repair, you'll come out ahead by not buying the extended warranty.

On "p" models, where the motherboard is slightly more costly, you have more exposure, but how much? Maybe $50. A recent eBay sale for a T42p motherboard was $188 -> http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-ThinkPad-T42p-M ... 0188689954

Personally, I generally have 7+ ThinkPads around, there is no way I'm going to pay $1K plus for extra warranties per year. I'll never need that much replaced.

You could even take it one step further, why buy extended warranties on anything? I do not and I consider the savings like my own little insurance pool. If my refridgerator breaks, I pay to get it fixed. At least I don't have annual warranties on my cooktop, ovens, dryer, washer, fireplace, car, TV's, etc.

Like I said, just a thought...

[Tim M]

You could even take it one step further, why buy extended warranties on anything? I do not and I consider the savings like my own little insurance pool. If my refridgerator breaks, I pay to get it fixed. At least I don't have annual warranties on my cooktop, ovens, dryer, washer, fireplace, car, TV's, etc.

That is generally my philosophy as well, but as my employer has offered to reimburse my cost of a warranty extension (I use my personal machine for work purposes), I have altered my philosophy in this instance.

[Tim M]

The 41C9180 is still available from Affinity Systems, Inc. at still at only $150.

I have placed an order for the Affinity Systems warranty extension; I will let everyone know how the process goes.

[Johan]

Perhaps you should really rush in getting the 41C9180, because according to this Lenovo-page (which I just discovered, thanks to you!): Hardware withdrawal: Selected Think-branded offerings — Replacements available the 41C9180 is listed (under "Services") as "Product withdrawals" and Effective December 18, 2007 (!!). As it says in the top of that page: "After that date, you can no longer obtain these products directly from Lenovo. You can obtain these products through authorized remarketers or Lenovo Authorized Personal Computer Dealers while supplies last."

Interesting. I spoke with a Lenovo representative on the phone earlier this week and was quoted $199 for the 41C9180 warranty extension. So, either the representative was in error (possible) or the product withdrawal is not going ahead as planned. I suppose it is also possible that Lenovo is simply selling off its remaining "stock" of warranty extensions with no intention to offer more in the future.

Just a comment/update to what I posted above (a few days back):

... the update being this spooky thing: Today I discovered by coincidence that Lenovo in their Lenovo TopSeller WEB Guide, January 2008 still (?!?) offers the 5-year EZServ exteded warranty (P/N 41C9180) - see page 13.

Looking back on all the troubles I had with having my first ext. warr. arranged (and knowing all the troubles I am still having to have the second ext. warr. coming through), I have just learned through an exceptional helpful friend here at the forum that the following shop is highly recommended; kind, efficient, fast and very reasonably priced ($175): SOS2000 Computer Systems - call Fred Thiergartner (ph. 513-821-2280). The product is seen at their web-site --> here.

NB, and to clearly emphasize: I have no connection of any kind with the "SOS2000" company; all I try here is help anyone who wants to purchase this ext. warr. and in particular wants to have it with the MINIMUM hassle (as mentioned: In contrast to what I unfortunately have to go through, again). Mods: Kindly remove this specific information if against forum rules.

Best regards,

Johan

[Robm]

At the speed of which technology is increasing and software demands are getting, it almost seems like a waste to extend warranty as the machine will pretty much be useless in the next iteration of whatever os and supporting software comes out.

[Tim M]

The 41C9180 is still available from Affinity Systems, Inc. at still at only $150.

I have placed an order for the Affinity Systems warranty extension; I will let everyone know how the process goes.

My new warranty is now active; the process was surprisingly painless. The only hiccup is it took a week and a reminder email to the merchant (Affinity Systems) before I got Lenovo's "maintenance service registration" email. The next day (today), I received confirmation of successful registration and have verified an extended active warranty.

So, at least one person in the US was able to purchase a warranty extension without difficulty.