T42 and T43/ Extend warranty or not extend warranty

[dejola]

I have two Thinkpads in my family. One is a T42 and the other is a T43. Warranties on both are about to expire and I'm considering whether to extend with Pickup Depot Service on both. Cost for each is $150 for one year and $260 for two years.

I'm thinking that with all the talk of the flexing motherboard, GPU, and fan problems that seem to be so inevitable that I should go for two year extensions on both.

What do you think?

Thanks.

[Johan]

First, I would kindly point your attention to the thread Warranty extension where you will learn (e.g. from the post by TimM dated Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:48 am) that a two-year warranty extension only cost $148 (and not $250 as you claim!). The IBM/Lenovo part-number to order is the 41C9180 - which is available at only the mentioned $148 e.g. from Affinity Systems, Inc.. Some time ago, I Google'd around (quite a bit, I tell you!), and I didn't find it any cheaper..

Next; extend or not? Well, I am very happy about my T42's (both their design and performance!) so for $75/year I wouldn't hesitate, but your priorities and budget may be different etc. But, anyway, things may look different in your case now that you know the true (much cheaper!) warranty-extension prices...

If you Search this forum for e.g. "warranty extension" (and remember to check "Search for all terms") then many, many user's points of view will come up... you might benefit from browsing them, if you haven't already?

Johan

[SteveS]

T42 is susceptible to the GPU attach problem, so an extended warranty may be advised, even if you keep it docked on the desk all the time.
GPU attach failures have been reported with T43, although they are very rare. I have experienced two T43s that needed to be sent back for repair, although either was covered by warranty (liquid spill, physical damage). So the T43 is a toss up. However consider this – well equipped T43 machines are routinely going on e-bay for $350-$400 now, and even a bit less on some local craigslist pages. So if you figure your odds of having a warranty covered failure is probably less than 1:3, then you might just want to take your chances.,

[underclocker]

For $300, to cover both machines for two years, I'd pass on the warranties. You can buy a lot of parts, even another used T42 or T43, for $300.

[dejola]

Many thanks to Johan, SteveS, and underclocker for their useful information and suggestions. I have lots of food for thought.
I may just warranty the T42 and wing it with the T43.

The SOS2000 deal for a 5 Year Depot extended warranty (41C9180) seems like a great deal at $175. Are these warranties actual Lenovo documents that are just being sold by third parties at lower prices than Lenovo itself sells them. Is the procedure for getting a computer repaired the same, e.g. You call Lenovo > Lenovo sends box > You send box to Lenovo > Lenovo fixes the computer and sends it back to you?

Thanks again.

[sktn77a]

My T40 had a failed backlight at 4 years; My T41 had a bad GPU at 4 years. My T42 had a bad GPU/USB at 2.5 years and a failing backlight at 4 years. If you are going to keep the T42, definitely get warranty for 1 or 2 years. At 5 years, you should get a new computer!

As for the T43, they don't appear to have the GPU problems but will probably suffer the same backlight issues. However, this represents 1/2 the risk of the T42 so you could go either way with the T43.

Of course, this represents a small sample (statistically speaking). But the only sample of the T40/41/42 population that interests me is ME!

[dejola]

Thank you, Thinkpadder.