My Sager Ownership Experience
When I originally purchased my Sager 9860 three years ago, I was thrilled to be buying the "best of the best". There were a few headaches initially. The machine was practically Dead On Arrival (blue-screens galore, ended up being a motherboard problem) and was replaced.
To my dismay, it was replaced with a used machine. After much discussion with the reseller, the used machine was swapped for a sparkling, wonderful new machine - I finally had my system.
The first year of ownership was uneventful. But then, shortly after the manufacturer's warranty expired, my nose was greeted with the scent of burnt electronics and a machine that no longer powered-up. Thankfully, I had purchased a 3-year warranty from Warrantech. After settling some paperwork issues, I received a box to send my computer back in.
The box was too small. So, I requested another box. It was also too small. I requested a third box, the biggest one they could find, and yes, it was too small. Mind you, they send the box by ground shipping, so there's essentially a week between boxes. So, after having a dead computer on my desk for a month, the repair company (Anew Business Solutions) finally agreed to let me send it back in the factory box (I suggested this early on, but apparently there is some issue about them insuring a box that isn't theirs).
Three months of phone calls, excuses, "awaiting approval from the warranty company", and two motherboards later, my computer was finally repaired and back in my hands. Again, the system was still performing admirably, and having it back quickly assuaged the anger I experienced trying to get it fixed.
The system continued to chug away happily until September of 2007 when it suddenly refused to boot (hanging in the RAID bios). Awash in dread over having to deal with Warrantech again, I hoped dearly that my previous experience was merely bad luck and that this time would be better.
Sadly, that was not the case. The repair company (tCyber Test, Inc) sent me a box... and predictably, it was too small. I didn't ask for a second box, but packed it up in the last box I had received it in and shipped it.
After a couple of weeks, I call to check on the status - and for the next two months, the only thing they'll tell me is that they have a motherboard ordered and it will be coming in on X day (X changing depending on who you talk to). All told, I understand they went through three different motherboards (each requiring a week to ship, plus more shelf-time before being installed) before they finally gave up and shipped the machine to Sager to be fixed.
After the two-month ordeal, I was happy to see the UPS man delivering my system back. However, when I opened the box, I found extensive damage to the machine. Much was cosmetic (deep gouges in the aluminum lid, dirt caked on the power supply and screen, and several scratches on the plastic case), but other damage was not (the divider between the PCMCIA slot and the card reader was broken clean through and the PCMCIA eject button was broken off).
The warranty company said the damage was not their responsibility. After many exchanges of pictures and words with Cyber Test, they agreed to repair the PCMCIA damage and as much of the other damage as possible - once again, the system was shipped back.
After another month, my system has been sitting on a shelf, untouched, while entities try to figure out who is paying for the damage. As of today, it is supposedly on its way back to me, unrepaired (at my request).
The system was a great one, and when it works, it's a champ. But the drama surrounding it has turned me off from the brand completely.
When I originally purchased my Sager 9860 three years ago, I was thrilled to be buying the "best of the best". There were a few headaches initially. The machine was practically Dead On Arrival (blue-screens galore, ended up being a motherboard problem) and was replaced.
To my dismay, it was replaced with a used machine. After much discussion with the reseller, the used machine was swapped for a sparkling, wonderful new machine - I finally had my system.
The first year of ownership was uneventful. But then, shortly after the manufacturer's warranty expired, my nose was greeted with the scent of burnt electronics and a machine that no longer powered-up. Thankfully, I had purchased a 3-year warranty from Warrantech. After settling some paperwork issues, I received a box to send my computer back in.
The box was too small. So, I requested another box. It was also too small. I requested a third box, the biggest one they could find, and yes, it was too small. Mind you, they send the box by ground shipping, so there's essentially a week between boxes. So, after having a dead computer on my desk for a month, the repair company (Anew Business Solutions) finally agreed to let me send it back in the factory box (I suggested this early on, but apparently there is some issue about them insuring a box that isn't theirs).
Three months of phone calls, excuses, "awaiting approval from the warranty company", and two motherboards later, my computer was finally repaired and back in my hands. Again, the system was still performing admirably, and having it back quickly assuaged the anger I experienced trying to get it fixed.
The system continued to chug away happily until September of 2007 when it suddenly refused to boot (hanging in the RAID bios). Awash in dread over having to deal with Warrantech again, I hoped dearly that my previous experience was merely bad luck and that this time would be better.
Sadly, that was not the case. The repair company (tCyber Test, Inc) sent me a box... and predictably, it was too small. I didn't ask for a second box, but packed it up in the last box I had received it in and shipped it.
After a couple of weeks, I call to check on the status - and for the next two months, the only thing they'll tell me is that they have a motherboard ordered and it will be coming in on X day (X changing depending on who you talk to). All told, I understand they went through three different motherboards (each requiring a week to ship, plus more shelf-time before being installed) before they finally gave up and shipped the machine to Sager to be fixed.
After the two-month ordeal, I was happy to see the UPS man delivering my system back. However, when I opened the box, I found extensive damage to the machine. Much was cosmetic (deep gouges in the aluminum lid, dirt caked on the power supply and screen, and several scratches on the plastic case), but other damage was not (the divider between the PCMCIA slot and the card reader was broken clean through and the PCMCIA eject button was broken off).
The warranty company said the damage was not their responsibility. After many exchanges of pictures and words with Cyber Test, they agreed to repair the PCMCIA damage and as much of the other damage as possible - once again, the system was shipped back.
After another month, my system has been sitting on a shelf, untouched, while entities try to figure out who is paying for the damage. As of today, it is supposedly on its way back to me, unrepaired (at my request).
The system was a great one, and when it works, it's a champ. But the drama surrounding it has turned me off from the brand completely.
