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Square Trade Warranty--any good?

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MZB

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Apr 26, 2009, 11:52:57 PM4/26/09
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I recently bought an Acer Aspire One Netbook via Buy.com for $349.99.
I just got an email from Buy.com trying to sell me a 3-year warranty via
Square Trade. It looks pretty good -- covers everything.

A 3-year warranty would be $59.99. They claim it is the cheapest around.

I had a Dell Warranty for my Inspiron 2200 laptop. It was good for 3 years
after my regular warranty expired I think and it did pay off.

Frankly, my netbook currently works great and I probably will not be giving
it the heavy use my Inspiron now has, unless my laptop goes kaput.

Does anyone know about this company and also any opinions on whether I
should even get this warranty?

(Actually, reading their fine print, they may call it a 3-year warranty but
it is really a 2-year warrantly, lasting 2 years beyond my Acer one-year
warranty!)

Mel

Fixer

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Apr 27, 2009, 3:34:32 AM4/27/09
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"MZB" <m...@noway.prudigy.net> wrote in message
news:u_9Jl.114477$qO1....@newsfe13.iad...
>The very nature of what a net book is or laptop come to that, I believe you
>should always take out the extended warranty, I can only vouch for Dell but
>think what you do with a netbook/laptop Pick it up put it down open the
>lid close the lid, put it in a bag take it pout of the bag, Pick it up put
>it down open the lid close the lid, put it in a bag take it pout of the
>bag, plug the ac adaptor in unplug it put it on your knee , put it on the
>floor blah blah blah ad finitum, now compare to a desktop. Take out of box,
>put it on a desk, connect everything switch on and off. Period full stop
>end of.

When considering warranties on laptops there is really only one thing to
think about, if it breaks after the manufacturers warranty expires can i
afford to get it repaired or throw it away? without it affecting my
spending, or having to get it repaired on credit. If they answer is yes then
fine don't get it but if your not sure or it will then certainly bite their
hands off AFTER you have read the T&C's


MZB

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Apr 27, 2009, 11:19:20 AM4/27/09
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Good point.
For me, I could just buy another netbook without blinking an eye. Maybe that
answers my question.

But I still wonder about the company, Square Trade, and I wonder if anyone
has had experience with them

Mel

"Fixer" <ram.s...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
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William R. Walsh

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Apr 27, 2009, 11:28:41 AM4/27/09
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Hi!

> A 3-year warranty would be $59.99. They claim it is the cheapest
> around.

They are not an impartial third party. Claims like that need to be
researched by canvassing information found on the web and other
places.

This much is true--SquareTrade has been around for a while. They have
had a long running affiliation with eBay. Sellers there have been able
to offer that for as long as I can remember in the time I've used eBay
(since 2000).

I trade in vintage computers and related hardware. More than once I've
purchased some vintage item and the seller offered SquareTrade
purchase protected on the item. Had I been a little more curious, I
might have opted to "protect" my purchase, just to see what they would
have done on the odd chance that the item broke down. I suspect they
would have simply covered the purchase cost as opposed to trying to
repair it or find another one.

Most of the time, I don't find these warranties worthwhile. On laptops
and portable computers, however, they can be a reasonable purchase.

I'd check around and see what else you can find. Places to look
include other warranty providers and your insurance company. Given a
chance, an insurance company might offer a very competitive deal that
covers the machine no matter what happens to it. (The extended
warranty will almost certainly have exclusions against "accidental
damage" and other things.)

William

Christopher Muto

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Apr 27, 2009, 8:44:36 PM4/27/09
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right. consider that the warranty does not cover the most likely causes of
a notebooks demise (theft or accidental damage). that the credit card you
purchased the machine with likely doubles the original factory warranty
anyway. that the squaretrade warranty costs 17% of the cost of new
($60/$350 = 17%) today for something that you only might benefit from in a
year or two (they have your money today, and only might pay you pay in year
2 or three). and who knows how much of a hassle claiming warranty service
might actually be with this company.. and that computer only get better and
cheaper. the value of the extended warranty just doesn't add up in my mind
to be of any value. warranty's are typically only valuable on mission
critical machines that would be costly to have out of commission for
extended periods of time - like a network server. most other machines are
such commodity items today that it is far easier to purchase new than to
repair. for instance, the most likely problem with any computer is hard
disk failure, and the warranty only would replace the hard disk, and not
compensate you for your time to reload an operating system - which probably
means it would actually be cheaper for you to buy a new machine with an os
already loaded.

"MZB" <m...@noway.prudigy.net> wrote in message

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RnR

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Apr 27, 2009, 11:09:05 PM4/27/09
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I agree. $59 sounds too cheap for a 3 yr warrantee tho I guess it
depends what it covers or does not cover. Likely you are right on
and he should save the money and put it towards another. At least
that's been my opinion for the last 5 yrs or so.

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