3 years Warranty really needed?

if you spend more then 2500 then yea, less don;t bother

I bought it for my dell It craped out right out of the box I know it will crape out in the near future for sure. If you buy a Dell buy the extra warranty or do not buy a Dell!!!!!!

Quick answer... NO.

If you have a homeowner's insurance policy, you can use it to cover a computer purchase (new or used). I believe renter's insurance will provide coverage, too. Save that extra $$ for upgrades to your computer, or for beer money!

You might want to think twice about using your homeowners policy!
In some markets it dose not take much to get canceled and sent to a third rate or worst outfit

I went 3 yrs on mine simply because I could get the complete care free after mail-in rebate. I will most likely buy a new one after 2 yrs. so I could have gotten warranty up to 2 yrs only. Anyway, with a laptop, it is subjected to more wear & tear than a desktop due to its mobility. I'm using laptop at work for years and you can drop it, mishandle the screen, cd-drive going bad, etc. It's just an assurance that you don't have to worry about spending too much on repairs... peace of mind for the > $2K spent. This is my reason for getting an extended warranty and my 2 cents. Hope this helps you.

By the way, I have a 61" TV I bought 3 yrs ago (very expensive at hat time) and I did not buy extended warranty... why? It stays in one place & no moving parts. So it is not subjected to wear & tear.

I would implore anyone who purchases a new or refurbed system to consider the longest possible warrenty. Most systems regardless of the manufacturer will begin to experience problems a year after purchases and with dells case I couldnt advise you anything less than 3 years unless your intent on replacing the system in 1 year. Those on a budget should consider the cost of replacing a systemafter a year or the absurd repair costs (ie LCD, Motherboard, CPU) which manufacturers like Gateway or Dell will not cut down for you. In some cases parts that are not available for fixing usually end up with dell giving you a new or refurbed system of greater value than your current system.

I only went with one year + home and complete care with mine. I ordered with a Visa platinum card so its extended another year by them with there extended manufacturers warranty.

I may end up buying another year later on.

Waranties are a waste for MOST.

If Dellmachina actually beleives you will NEED service in a year on a Dell..Why would you even consider the brand? I for one have never purchased an extended contract on anything ever and am way ahead. It would not have paid for itself with my cars, home electrnics including a big screen. All home appliances....I have had repairs but in no way equal to the combined cost of the warranties. MOST laptops? desktops/ refridgerators/TV's and so on DO NOT need warranty service in three years. I had a Toshiba laptop for 5 years and would have wasted the warrenty doolers on that. AND THAT WAS 5 years ago technonlgy. LCD's were not as hardy and way more expensive.
It is misleading to suggest MOST notebooks will NEED warranty service during the first three years. Maybe with Dell it's true, but I doubt they would be seling so many if their failure rate was that high...or even 50%!

Gateway (three years) Dell (One year) Hundai (10 years) Toyota {3years)
It makes no difference. there are WAY more moving parts in a car and they operate under EXTREME heat and cooling conditions. All the electonic computing systems under the hood exposed to heat and weather. Yet MOST cars run fine for years way past their warranty period. And a car's extended warraty cost only amounts to approx 5% of the total cost of the car vs 20-30% for a Dell 2 year warrenty (only an extension of two years for that cost).!

No a puny Laptop should not NEED warranty sevice in a year or three. If it did as a rule and not the exception..the cost would be more extreme then it is and Dell would be out of business in a hurry for shoddy workmanship and a terrible reputation for reliability. to match their service!. Rarely does any warranty pay for itself. If it did they would not offer them. The price point is researched and set up for extreme profit and you can take that to the bank!!

Extended warranties are sold based on fear. Like water softners, air purifiers, and vacuum cleaners ,and most everthing we really don't need. Electronics either work or do not! You will know in the first 90 days of use if you have any weak components. After that, You should get YEARS of trouble free use on any electronic item (except for stupidity. But now they offer "Complete Care' for those folks as well!
I would like to know how many people here have ever received their money''s worth on the purchase of extended warranties. If 5 out of 100 that would be a lot! I'll side with the odds. Companies are not stupid. They would not offer warranties if THEY EXPECTED TO LOSE MONEY! Even Hundai!

Hell VISA gives an extra year away!! If it were hurting them Im sure thay would not offer it. And Wal Mart is in the game now offering a $5 extended warranty on headphones!

If you have to spend up to 30% over the purchase cost for whatever you buy just to "sleep well" or have "peace of mind" for ONLY a couple more years of 'protection'. I would suggest you find another product who's manufacturer claims their product will be in MOST cases trouble free for at least three years instead of those who "recommend you purchase an extended warranty....to rest easy!!!

Another scam is Complete Care ( "idiot" insurance"}. Gee I dropped my machine. Gee I spilled coffee all over my machine. A truck ran over it.
Thanks I'll insure myself and pay myself the $400 for all that nonsense!!!!!

I didnt reccoment Complete care but ive seen enough sudden malfunctions in every latop brand (toshiba, ibm, sony, dell, gateway) no one is an exception. you have to ask yourself if the risk is worth it? worst case scenario a part becomes defective. soe you could replace on your own at its current cost or have the warrenty replace it for you. Im not putting a gun to everyones head but its one of those things which can potentially save you a couple thousand dollars or give you good peace of mind knowing that if something did go wrong its going to be taken cared of.

My dad leaves his old Inspiron on ALL the freaking time, and so far he hasn't seen any problems, save for about ten dead pixels that are his own fault. I forget what model it is, but it's about four years old. Just from that, I would trust dell in a heartbeat.

You should see how my manager treats the laptops at my workplace (RadioShack).. we have a Gateway, a Toshiba, and a Compaq all running in a locked plexiglass display case, running 24/7.. the Compaq has an Athlon XP-M and, due to the lack of ventilation, I think the BIOS was showing the CPU temp at around 60 degrees. Jesus, my XP 2200+ DESKTOP runs at 57 normally, and the XP-M is a low-voltage model. I put them all on standby one night after airing out the case, and he *yelled* at me the next day for it.. and still, all three units are running fine, *so* far. Even the LCDs don't have any dead pixels, and the Gateway and Compaq don't even have screensavers set up, so people can "see the desktop"... as if they haven't seen one before, or we couldn't demo it to show things like the LCD response time, which is more important than just staring at the screen. When you open the case, so much heat escapes that you instantly sweat.. I'm not joking, it's literally a sauna.

In short, if my dad can put his Dell, and if my neandertholic manager can put three laptops through two and a half months (and counting) of constant Hell, then I wouldn't have any worries about your laptop dying, say, two years down the road, so long as you don't block the vents, etc. Any problems will show up in your original warranty period, or, better yet, immediately.

In fact, if Dell dropped the automatic three-year warranty from the M60, I'm sure a lot more people would flock to it. It would be nice to see Dell offer mobile workstations to regular consumers without the next-business-day ewp forced down your throat. Yes,m the 8600 is basically a workstation, but maybe they can redesign the chassis? I happen to think the new style is a little new-age plasticy.. childish. Apple got it perfect, why can't anyone else?

</rant>

Typically a lot of people complain about warrenty no tbeing provided and its my understanding that the less warrenty that comes with a system the more likely one is to think it will malfunction

IMHO if you’re going to keep the notebook get a warranty that matches its intended lifespan. I don't care what laptop you get Dell, Gateway, Sager, etc… odds are if it is truly used as a “mobile” device it will need some service. Also a notebook is not a car, it is not like you can just go buy a new part at the local auto parts store or go to one of a thousand repair shops. It is also not like a TV, or other consumer electronics, that just sit in one spot. Notebooks are highly complex and even somewhat fragile and for those of us that move theirs back and forth “every” day things break just from the wear and tear. Ok, before people say the warranties don’t cover wear and tear I have yet to get turned down by dell on any warranty issue I have had in the years I have dealt with them. Not to mention parts for a laptop are not cheap, the cost of one lcd replacement alone pays for the warranty and then some. So if you plan on keeping it then get a warranty.

I’ll bet if we do a poll and ask how many people have needed service on their notebook, any brand, after the first year the %s will be fairly high that they did. Just look at the similar poll in the sager forum, it is about 50/50 on returns in just the first year.

But again this is just my opinion but over the years I have gotten my moneys worth on all PC warranties I have bought.

Have a good day,

Well Said Moe

I second that Moe. One thing I regretted about extended warranty is for my 4 yr old desktop which I never used. I just brought my 3 yr old progressive scan dvd player to Bestbuy for repair... tray loading mechanism is failing for the 2nd time... it has a 4 yr warranty. I got my money's worth and then some and who knows, they might get me a new one instead. My printer head mechanism died 1 yr ago (after 2 yrs of service) and Bestbuy gave me the latest model since the model is obsolete... it has a 3 yr warranty. So if that does not say anything good about extended warranties, I don't what else will.

All those horror stories are the EXCEPTION not the rule guys. extended warranty is BIG business and a huge profit center for the seller.

Most laptops do not fail MOST DELLS will NOT need service after a year.
If Dell MAchina can provide me with Dell statistics PROVING in Dell's case that IS true..I would LOVE to see them and so would many would be buyers of the product.

With proper care and cleaning of ANY product a waranty is not needed "to sleep better at night" ha!

There are a few cases where it pays off and those buyers are warranty buyers for life! There are many more cases where it does not...many many more cases.

As a former service rep for Dell )under a XEROX contract) I can assure you , I was not very busy in that part of my Xerox job considering there were Hotels Casinos here in Las Vegas who'd computers. lappys and desktops were ALL DELL! I mostly went on user error calls.

Why do you think Dell makes you jump through soooo many hoops and calls and techs after you pay for the warrarty.... BEFORE finally sending out a rep. Even they know most of the calls are NOT HARDWARE RELATED!!!

You are playing way way against the house when you buy a warranty..But then again sometimes a jackpot is won even in Vegas!

To answer the question. Yes the risk is worth it..In fact if i could I would sell extended warranties myself. Bet I would make a ton of money after the few issues. Manufacturers are not stupid. They know just how much to charge based on repair stats. and those repair stats are there and still profit from the program. Dells problem with the warranty is actually getting the repair done after the call.

I agree with the actual problem being solved but the idea is not most users can care for there systems as some of th emore careful ones can. Its true on the large ratio aspect of sold vs problems you will note although small there are serious hardware issues. why should anyone have to pay for a repair off a system after a year when the hardware is defective? ive seen that disaster too many times. Extended warrenty heps th ecompany also build a reputation wheather its good or bad. Sony is an example of a company who offers basic warrenty and then wont honor most repairs because of a user related problem. This is probabalya policy thing however. In the end sure the company makes money but some people cannot take risks and unless you could garuntee everyone who buys a system that there system wont fail after a year i cant see how you can firmly stand by your suggestion.

"unless you could garuntee everyone who buys a system that there system wont fail after a year i cant see how you can firmly stand by your suggestion."

I would like to turn that around..Unless Dell or any manufacturer can prove to me that a warranty is an abosolute neccessity and will be benificial to me...why would I buy one based on a maybe! Dell cannot do that because it is not in their interest to do so, instead they use words like "peace of mind" to sell the paper...hoping that we will (and in many cases do) become frightened that our investment WILL IN ALL LIKELY FAIL and only the lucky will manage to escape that inevitable conclusion within the first three years. Not a great way to sell product!l.

If the customer service issue is as bad as it now is pubically acknowledged and most of the laptops with or without warrantees were failing after the first year. Well with the amount of machines Dell sellls worldwide there would be a huge groundswell of publicity about the QUALITY of the machine, Much like the brewing Customer Service issue which is causing Dell to rethink their "indian" connection. With the relativly small amount of calls in relation to sales that issue has come to the forefront on the Net and will to the general public. If the machines UNDER warranty or not were failing ienmass as you suggest, this would indeed eclipse the customer service issue and become deadly for the business Dell or any manufacturer of anything is in.

What you don't understand is I and most people buy a Dell BECAUSE of the reliability as the TOshiba has as well. Like Toyota. (unquestionable reliability) Certainly not the service!

My other issue with Dell in particular is after one buys the warranty...seems he or she has a real difficult tim in getting what they paid for promptly and with the minimum amount of sterss. The RELIABILITY of the service does not mach the product or the price paid for that service.

I paid $1268 for a refurb , I paid with a Platnum card which extends the warranty another year anyway. Most lappys are still running well when replaced due to obsolecense, not disrepair! Offer a warranty against obsolecence! Maybe I'll bite!

Im sure Toshiba would love to hear a Dell rep implying the absolute need for an extended warranty. The "commission" spiff sales people in retail make on extended warrantees is not minor either.

Very good points there, tombo. But I think in the end, some things do break within that time period. I have had 2 Dells in 7 years. The first one I had to get its touchpad's buttons replaced because they broke again and again. Very bad design that has since been improved upon. The second one I replaced its AC adapter many times because that wire is too thin and it just broke again and again. I don't think Dell has made the wire sturdier yet.

In that sense, it was worthwhile to get the 3 year warranty for both of my laptops.