To Warranty or Not

Snowcone

I've never owned a laptop before. I've always had one from my employer. That is likely to change as I might be switching employers and won't have a real reason to have one at the new place. That said, I'm probably about to spring for a new C2D laptop and I'm staring at these warranty options and getting irritated.

On one hand I want to get the longest warranty possible to make sure I am covered. On the other, I know how rarely stuff breaks, but I can't repair a laptop like I can a desktop so I don't want a $1000 doorstop.

What's your experience been with laptop warranties? Worth it of waste of money?

In case it matters, I'm looking at HP.

Raslin

Get the warranty

HP's are pretty sturdy in my experience, but when your laptop goes down, and all you can do is stare at it... you hate life

(Luckily, all I need is a new AC adapter. You may not be so lucky )

mastman

computing has reached a little platform and any computer you buy today will probably still kick ass at documents, emails, and internets in 3 years. Laptops are subject to bad things. If you think you'll use it that long, rock it.

But realize it's a gamble with the company makes it who has all the facts. They're betting you whatever amount that it's repair cost will not exceed that amount in the time frame.

urahonky

Sometimes the warranties provide a new battery if the old one needs replaced. This helps the cost of the warranty a lot. I recommend it, just in case. It's definitely worth the peace of mind, in my opinion.

RandomEngy

If you can't afford to replace something, buy a warranty for it. If you can, don't get the warranty. They wouldn't offer you the warranty unless they came out ahead in the long run. And this is true not only for laptops but any product with a warranty.

Daedalus

Every time you buy a piece of electronics, take an amount of money equal to however much the extended warranty costs and put it in the highest interest savings account you can find.

When something breaks, take the cost out of that account.

Nearly guaranteed to come out ahead.

That said, get a cheaper laptop than that. I mean, really.

Snowcone

So I've settled on an $820 model at Costco. The upside here is that Costco extends the warranty to 2 years. For the price, the extra year of warranty saves a ton of money versus purchasing elsewhere.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, its been a long time since I had to buy something like this.