Warranty extension for Thinkpads

[wearetheborg]

Looking at a few posts by Johan, there are two P/Ns mentioned for 5 year extended warranties: 69P9201 and 41C9180.
What are the differences between these ? Do they apply to all thinkpads ?
Finally Johan, how did you come up with these P/Ns ? I could not find warranty extensions on the Lenovo website.

Finally any reputable sellers which give a good deal on these warranties ?

EDIT: Found this by sktn77a in http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=46947

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 (?!)

[ajkula66]

Couldn't tell you about the first one, but the second one (41C9180) is still in use, and can be purchased for under $200, I've just bought it for my T43p.

What is the machine in question, since that is the key to the warranty code?

[wearetheborg]

Couldn't tell you about the first one, but the second one (41C9180) is still in use, and can be purchased for under $200, I've just bought it for my T43p.

What is the machine in question, since that is the key to the warranty code?

Purchased it from where ?
The machine is question is a T42p/T43p /T60p

[ajkula66]

Model number (2687 in my case) is what determines the warranty type, and hence the extension type.

If the machine is still in warranty, it's $199.99 direct from Lenovo.

[Johan]

Looking at a few posts by Johan, there are two P/Ns mentioned for 5 year extended warranties: 69P9201 and 41C9180. What are the differences between these? Do they apply to all thinkpads ?

As to the difference between 69P9201 and 41C9180 as far as I recall/believe the former is the one previously sold buy IBM (and no longer available, I believe?) while the latter is the existing 5yr EZServ these days offered by Lenovo (and sold cheaper by misc. distributors - all the way down to $150!). See the thread Warranty extension and the post by TimM of Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:38 pm about how/where to get it for $150. Wow, do we save you big money on this forum?!

If you review the thread T60p 5-Year Onsite Upgrade Refused By Lenovo (incl. the post of Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:33 pm), and get the psref mentioned, you will find warranties offered for T60's. The newest - current - "psref", being this one gives information about warranty upgrades for ThinkPad's currently in production - see e.g. a random T61 page (say, page 40!), and there you will find (in the lower, right corner) the "ThinkPlus 5-year P&L P/U Depot 41C9180" which is also available for T42/3's.

OK? I almost ought to become an IBM/Lenovo warranty-reseller!!

Johan

[wearetheborg]

Thansk Johan, your posts are so well researched, and written, its insane

I have one more question, what if the original laptop had a three year onsite warranty, and I upgrade it using 41C9180 ? will I lose the remaining "onsite" warranty ?

[Johan]

Eeh, uum... (I'm just completely flattered - and all blushing!) Thanks very much, Mr. W (or Ms. W?); your kind words are certainly appreciated - you have just fueled my next 100 posts!

As to whether you will loose your existing on-site warranty, if you extend it with a "regular EZServ", I was recently faced with somewhat the same question: I had bought (via this forum) a T42p which was still covered by a 3-year EZServ warranty but which also had a warranty upgrade, this being the "ThinkPlus" Protection plan (covering spills, drops, damage, etc). Both the EZServ and the ThinkPlus upgrade covered the same 3-years (both with expiration date being 2-26-08 ). OK, well ahead of this date I purchased the 41C9180 (5-year EZServ, but with no accidental damage coverage), and I had a lot (lot!) of troubles getting it registered and put into effect. Fortunately, and through the very kind help of a forum friend in the USA (thanks, Sharon!), "we" (mostly her!) finally managed to get the registration go through, and the extended 5yr warranty (41C9180 ) finally put into effect. This however required substantial help of Mark A. Hopkins (he is in Durham, USA and is in the "Lenovo Customer Satisfaction Dept." - he is very active over at the Lenovo forums). The reason for all the trouble was, using Mark's explanation (about my case), that:

There is a "rule" about not being able to "stack" warranty upgrades. One upgrade must be removed before another is applied. What seems to have happened with your T42p is that the original 3yr EzServ depot warranty was upgraded with a TP Protection plan (covering spills, drops, damage, etc) for the same 3 yrs (both expire 2-26-08 ). That upgrade, which is still intact, is preventing the 41C9180 warranty from taking effect. Mark believes you will have to remove this TP Protection in order to apply the additional years of warranty although he is checking into it further and will get back to me.

This was what finally happened; Mark contacted the IBM warranty dept. (located somewhere in Brazil, I believe?), and had them first remove the (short) remaining amount of existing warranty; my EZServ + my ThinkPlus upgrade - and then they applied/activated the 41C9180. All this took significant (!) effort of me, Sharon and Mark - so be prepared that you may run into similar problems. Fortunately, now you know what to do - owing to this fanstastic forum!

About existing warranty upgrades, I just saw that the 41C9180 is also mentioned in the Lenovo TopSeller WEB Guide, June 2008 (see the last page).

Good luck with your warranty upgrade - now you're all set!

Johan

[wearetheborg]

Oh crap.
BTW, was there talk of Lenovo stopping to sell 41C9180 ?
Once 41C9180 is bought, is there a time limit within which it must be applied ?

PS: Its Mr W

[Johan]

Oh crap.

Eeh, what?? Are you unsatisfied with my reply??

BTW, was there talk of Lenovo stopping to sell 41C9180?

See this post. Strange however that 41C9180 still is offered by Lenovo, in their newest TOPseller guide? What/who to believe the most??

Once 41C9180 is bought, is there a time limit within which it must be applied?

Yes, I think it is 30 days after purchase - see e.g. the thread Online Warranty Lookup (the post of Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:04 pm).

Johan

[ajkula66]

You're buying the extension for a specific machine if you're going directly through Lenovo, and it will be applied immediately, although it may take up to two weeks to show in the system.

When buying through a reseller, you can pretty much wait until you feel like it to the best of my knowledge, but I'm missing your point here:what are you trying to accomplish?

[wearetheborg]

When buying through a reseller, you can pretty much wait until you feel like it to the best of my knowledge, but I'm missing your point here:what are you trying to accomplish?

Johan mentioned that I'd have to remove the "on-site" warranty to upgrade to a 5 year depot warranty.
I'd like to keep the "on-site" part as long as possible.

Eeh, what?? Are you unsatisfied with my reply??

I did not like the bad news, but as usual your reply was well referenced and very detailed.

[ajkula66]

Well, splurge a little more and extend the warranty to one that has on-site coverage, it will be a different part number, though.

On-site is really not a big deal IMHO, accident protection is, but you can't add that if it wasn't originally there...

[Johan]

You're buying the extension for a specific machine if you're going directly through Lenovo, and it will be applied immediately, although it may take up to two weeks to show in the system.

When buying through a reseller, you can pretty much wait until you feel like it to the best of my knowledge, but I'm missing your point here:what are you trying to accomplish?

George;

I agree with you on the former, but (just for the record!) about the latter point, the below is what was said in the mail I received from Lenovo after having purchased the 41C9180 mentioned above:

Thank you for purchasing ThinkPlus/Lenovo Care Maintenance Services.

The ThinkPlus/Lenovo Care Maintenance Services must be registered within 30 days of purchase for your ThinkPlus/Lenovo Care Maintenance Service coverage to be recognized and entitled.

PLEASE READ: IF Lenovo HAS PLACED THIS ORDER ON YOUR BEHALF, YOU CAN DISREGARD THIS E-MAIL AS YOUR ThinkPlus/Lenovo Care Maintenance Service REGISTRATION WILL BE HANDLED SEPARATELY.

I think that this thread has now been sufficiently well covered.

Johan