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Thread ID: 117264	2011-04-10 21:28:00	Good stories about out-of-warranty laptop repairs	Rich D (16332)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1193427	2011-04-10 21:28:00	Hi - I'm doing a bit of investigation before I spend money on a new laptop. I can work out specs for myself, and can probably roughly figure out build quality, etc. But what I can't tell is how these companies will treat me after I've bought the thing... I've just had a conversation with Dell and they don't seem to know about the existence of NZ's consumer protection laws, so that doesn't bode well. They just want to sell their legally worthless extended warranties. (OK not worthless, but certainly covering a lot of the same ground as our existing rights (www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz).) So... does anyone have any positive stories about laptop manufacturers who take out-of-warranty complaints seriously and honour their legal obligations to repair/return/refund a laptop that doesn't last a "reasonable" amount of time? e.g. Replacing a screen or motherboard that fails after 2 years.	Rich D (16332)
1193428	2011-04-10 22:13:00	The CGA is more for the retailer to worry about and not the original manufacturer of the laptop. If anything went wrong with your machine out of warranty then it is up to the retailer to do something about it, or not, and if not then it is up to you if you will take it further. While buying an extended warranty is probably not needed it just depends on how quickly you want any issues resolved if the laptop fails soon out of the standard warranty. Just buy a decent brand of laptop like, Asus or Toshiba, from a reputable company like Ascent or Computer Lounge and you should be good.	CYaBro (73)
1193429	2011-04-10 22:42:00	Just buy a decent brand of laptop like, Asus or Toshiba, from a reputable company like Ascent or Computer Lounge and you should be good. +1. Dell don't have a good reputation for after sales service.	pctek (84)
1193430	2011-04-10 23:09:00	I've had good experiences in all cases with Ascent, except in one case where they did not want to refund some hardware that was recently out of warranty. They did come through in the end even in this case but I lost quite a bit of faith in them when they sent me a long canned email that ended with the line: "Unfortunately, both the distributors and manufacturers strictly adhere to the one year [warranty] cutoff point, and as a result we are bound to do likewise." i.e. Their default policy is to reject out-of-warranty claims, and you'll need to escalate if you want anything done. I'm not giving the whole story of course, and they did have some reasonable concerns about other issues, but the content of that canned email was disappointing to me, as I thought it misleading. Therefore I would not like my chances of asking for a replacement motherboard after 2 years if a laptop was out of warranty, even though most people would probably expect even a cheap laptop to at least survive for that long. I think you're right though. I was hoping for some concrete examples of success with out-of-warranty repairs, but I should probably forget too much about proof at this stage and just go with reputation, and then just deal with problems if they happen. Despite one disappointing situation I'm sure Ascent are still the best of the bunch (no experience with Computer Lounge). And I will stay away from Dell: www.consumerblogs.org.nz www.consumerblogs.org.nz	Rich D (16332)
1193431	2011-04-11 00:01:00	Ascent is pretty good if nothing goes wrong, they are prompt answering emails, and sending stuff out . . most of the stuff gets to you overnight, the other an extra night . BUT . . if you buy something and you get issues within the day you get it or what . . . they follow thru the procedure . So they won't even allow you to do exchanges . So you either return and take a hit of 10% or you let them send it off for testing and if they cannot fault it . . . they send it back to you . . . . . I had it with a ADSL modem, couldn't be on diaup for another 2 or 3 weeks so . . I just took the 10% hit . I prefer Computer Lounge . They could do exchanges happily . They also do their own testings and calls you back on the day of the tests which is generally the next day from the day you send it off (by courier) .	Nomad (952)
1193432	2011-04-11 00:41:00	I did get a laptop screen replaced when it was some months out of warranty . Initially, DSE argued that it was out of warranty and they could not do anything about it . I reminded them of the CGA and insisted that the screen should last longer than it had (permanent vertical yellow line on the screen) . The manager rang Toshiba and argued on my behalf and managed to get them to agree to fix it . All good in the end BUT . . . Toshiba noted that they were doing the replacement under 'goodwill' rather than them being legally bound under the CGA so they (and DSE) were still trying to wriggle out of their legal obligations . If I were less persistent, I would not have succeeded .	user (1404)
1193433	2011-04-11 00:59:00	I did get a laptop screen replaced when it was some months out of warranty . Initially, DSE argued that it was out of warranty and they could not do anything about it . I reminded them of the CGA and insisted that the screen should last longer than it had (permanent vertical yellow line on the screen) . The manager rang Toshiba and argued on my behalf and managed to get them to agree to fix it . All good in the end BUT . . . Toshiba noted that they were doing the replacement under 'goodwill' rather than them being legally bound under the CGA so they (and DSE) were still trying to wriggle out of their legal obligations . If I were less persistent, I would not have succeeded . OK good to know . Ascent also said they were doing my replacement to make me happy, not because they felt they had to . I just rang around three laptop repair places and got some helpful info . This is all from the perspective of repair and service . Toshiba - uniformly recommended as most reliable, first pick of everyone Acer - favourite of one, one didn't like, one hated Sony - good, but expensive to service due to complex build HP/Compaq - bad x 2, not too bad x 1 Dell - OK for parts only (if slow), but bad service, hard to deal with I didn't ask about Apple or IBM . The info above is just what they volunteered .	Rich D (16332)
1193434	2011-04-11 00:59:00	I have found Toshiba to be brilliant. Dove are also good with Acer and Vaio.	wratterus (105)
1193435	2011-04-11 01:09:00	Toshiba - uniformly recommended as most reliable, first pick of everyone Acer - favourite of one, one didn't like, one hated Sony - good, but expensive to service due to complex build HP/Compaq - bad x 2, not too bad x 1 Dell - OK for parts only (if slow), but bad service, hard to deal with Reliability: www.engadget.com Acer use ECS motherboards which are the pits. As for out of warranty. One thing the CGA covers the customer. It does not cover the retailer. You return a part out of manufacturer warranty to a shop and they are the ones stuck with the bill. They have to replace to you, but they will not get a replacement from the wholesaler. Always did think that was a bit unfair.	pctek (84)
1193436	2011-04-11 01:16:00	Only trouble with those 2 yr stats is the fact that HP business and consumer are stacked together and HP sells the most laptops in the world...They are probably always going to have worse stat figures for the simple fact they have twice as many units sold!	SolMiester (139)
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