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by: John Roth
Word Count: 704
Date: Mon, 4 May 2009 Time: 11:37 AM
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Laptop warranties from the manufactures are very deceptive to say the least. It always amazes me when I purchase a new laptop what type of warranty hog-wash the computer manufactures are willing to print and distribute to the consumer.

Lets go over a warranty from a laptop I purchased last week. In the warranty the manufacture claims that the laptop is free from defects in workmanship for a period of 12 months. But goes on to say in the same paragraph that the warranty does not include failure caused by improper operation or normal wear and tear; does this mean that my teenager, who is a known abuser of the T.V., car, and stereo, who is very hard on the computer keypad will absolve the warranty?

The next issue is the battery. Most warranties plans for laptops have no warranty coverage for the battery. This particular laptop warranty covered the battery for 6 months. What happened to the 12 month warranty? Is the battery not part of the laptops main components? I know I could not use the laptop without the battery. What type of wishy-washy nonsense is the manufactures trying push down our throats?

The next paragraph of the warranty states that if you ship your laptop to the manufacturer, the warranty may be voided if the manufacturer believes the laptop was damaged due to improper packaging of the laptop. I consider myself an expert in the field of laptops, but I can never get the laptop back (perfectly) in the original box the laptop came in.

Its estimated that people who return their laptop (within 30 days) after purchase only account for 4 percent of the over-all refurbished market. The other 96 percent of refurbished laptops re-sold are between two and three years old, which the standard and extended manufactures warranties have expired.

The people who have purchased refurbished laptops are very happy with the over-all condition of the refurbished laptop, and are very happy the significant cost savings over a brand new laptop.

You send the damaged laptop back to the distributor at your expense, and then distributor sends back a check for $246.50. But the total price to buy the laptop was $400 dollars. What happened to my money?

Lets take a look. The price of the laptop was $290 dollars; they then charged a restocking fee of 15%, which brought the value down to $246.50 dollars. But you lost $110 in additional shipping costs to ship the laptop to you, and you spent another $110 dollars to ship the computer back to the distributor.

Its also very sad to see laptop distributors lying or bending the truth concerning warranties on refurbished computers. Most often I will notice a statement on their webpage that their refurbished computers come with a 30 day or 60 day limited manufacturers warranty"when in fact when you speak directly to the manufacture, they will quickly point out the manufacturers warranty has expired on a majority of the laptop series for a specific model.

But there are some very honest laptop distributors willing to tell you the truth concerning warranties, but they are few. Make certain if you buy a refurbished laptop; that it comes with a minimum of a 30 day money back guarantee, with a 100% store credit for 90 days so you can get a new laptop"just in case your computer breaks down.

If you want piece-of-mind when you buy a laptop, youre going to need a warranty service outside of the manufactures warranty. Its the only way youre going to protect yourself when buying a laptop. If you want a free 30 day, 100% money back guarantee, with a 90 day store credit to purchase a new laptop (if youre computer breaks); then our going to need a laptop distributor who is willing to stand behind their products.

And again, always get a warranty through the laptop distributor, beyond the manufacturers warranty"just in case youre refurbished laptop breaks (or any computer for that matter). Laptops are machines, and all machines break down sooner or later, so you might as well have a warranty that is on the consumer side versus the manufacturers.

Sincerely, John Roth

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