CompUSA warranty experience

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Although I don't usually recommend extended warranties, laptops are an
exception.

I totally concur with your comments about the Toshiba Systemguard
warranty. This warranty does, EXPLICITLY, include "no fault" screen
breakage protection. In my view, if you buy a Toshiba, it's the only
warranty to get.

Note, however, that this only applies to the Toshiba "Systemguard"
warranties. It does NOT apply to other extended warranty plans that
Toshiba sells. Not all Toshiba extended warranty plans have this
coverage, so be aware of that.

As to the plans sold by the stores, they generally do NOT cover actual
LCD breakage. On the other hand, the Best Buy plan does cover a
replacement battery, which is a $200 item, and which will often be dead
before the expiration of a 3-year warranty (and, sometimes, you can go
through 2 or 3 batteries in 3 years).

There is no substitute for reading the fine print, and for getting an
explanation IN WRITING of any sections that seem questionable. It's
very likely that, BEFORE the sale, you can get a store manager to
hand-write in language that covers accidental breakage. My experience
is that they will do almost anything to make the sale "BEFORE the fact".


Kamal wrote:

> Thanks everyone for your advice. I just wanted to post my experience
> with CompUSA warranty purchase.
>
> I recently bought a Toshiba laptop at CompUSA and as expected, the
> salesperson was all over me trying to make me buy the warranty. One of
> the major advantages he touted was that accidental screen damage/hard
> drive damage etc. was covered. I bought the warranty for $350 for 2
> years. Since I have heard about the sleazy sales tactics of CompUSA,
> BestBuy, CircuitCity folks, I decided not to open the warranty package
> and check up more on this online, in case I need to return it.
>
> What I found was very vague language that could be twisted anyway that
> the store wanted and NO SPECIFIC MENTION of accidental damage
> coverage. Here is an excerpt from the 2 year laptop repair plan +
> screen protection plan from the link (the CAPS used are mine. Theirs
> is written in regular case)
> http://www.compusa.com/products/mi [...] ode=296934
>
> "Purchase of this kit includes protection for your laptop's most
> fragile part, the screen. IF IT SHOULD FAIL, bring it to a CompUSA
> service center near you and we'll repair it."
>
> Details of this plan at http://www.compusa.com/media/tap_terms.pdf
> says-
>
> "The Laptop Screen Upgrade will pay for labor and replacement parts
> necessary to replace your laptop computer screen SHOULD IT BECOME
> INOPERABLE"
>
>
> Note the words "should it fail" and "should it become inoperable".
> Generally these would refer to the failure due to inherent screen
> problems and not due to accidental damage. This can of course be
> twisted to mean accidental damage as well. But this type of vague
> language made me uneasy.
>
> I looked up Toshiba SystemGuard warranty and to my relief, it
> specifically mentions "Accidental Damage Coverage provides a repair or
> replacement service in the event of accidental screen breakage or
> other damage caused by accidents such as drops or liquid spills."
>
> Guess how much it costs- $199 for 3 years. Beats CompUSA for sure.
> That being said, there are couple of limitations. Toshiba will cover
> extend warranty for 3 years for standard failures or problems. The
> additional accidental coverage will only cover one accidental damage
> per year. Note that the standard failures or problems are covered
> unlimited number of times. Only accidental damage is covered once a
> year. Secondly, Toshiba does not cover the battery after the first
> year. That was easily remedied by buying the computer using the credit
> card. The credit card company automatically doubles the standard
> warranty, for FREE. So Toshiba will cover the battery for the first
> year and my credit card company will cover it the next year.
>
> To be fair, I should mention that CompUSA promises to cover 2 screen
> failures and 2 battery replacements through the life of the 3-year
> warranty. Do the math and it still doesn't make sense to buy through
> CompUSA.
>
> End result: I bought the warranty from Toshiba. When I went to CompUSA
> to return their warranty, 2-3 salesperson and the manager converged on
> me, trying to convince me how their warranty was sooo much superior.
> When I asked them about the accidental coverage they said it was
> covered. I asked them to show me in writing and they could not produce
> any document that specifically mentioned the accidental damage
> coverage. I flatly told them that I had decided and I didn't want the
> warranty. I think the store guys were pretty upset and someone even
> remarked "ouch" when the manager walked away ;-)
>
> I have heard good things about Toshiba warranty and I hope they are
> true.
>
> p.s. If some of you do decide to buy the CompUSA warranty, make sure
> you ask them to give you some free stuff. They will generally give you
> something worth $40-50. Why would they do that ? Because warranties
> are pure profit center and overpriced warranties are more so. I don't
> know for sure but I think BestBuy or CircuitCity would probably do the
> same.