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Are free laptop deals worth it?

Chef1980uk
Posts: 226 Forumite


in Mobiles
Hi all, my mum has asked me to help her find a laptop for a Christmas present and i came back with the idea why not get a contract phone that has a free laptop in with it. She liked the idea and was hoping to not have to pay any more than £30pm
Having checked around i didn't realise there were so many deals lol so just to make sure i'm looking at the best deals for the price, i have found:
Samsung Tocco Lite:
Your Plan 600 (24 months)
600 minutes + Unlimited Texts with Vodafone Passport
Free Asus X5DC
Any thoughts?
Having checked around i didn't realise there were so many deals lol so just to make sure i'm looking at the best deals for the price, i have found:
Samsung Tocco Lite:
Your Plan 600 (24 months)
600 minutes + Unlimited Texts with Vodafone Passport
Free Asus X5DC
Any thoughts?
0
Comments
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Invariably all these free things have not only a cost but also an internal interest rate, which is not that good. However, the internal "price" can be lower because of volumes. Then again, would you really purchase the laptop they offer ? Probably not.
With extended contracts on phones, SIM only deals with large cashbacks and a decent second hand market for used phones, the "get a contract and free phone" argument doesn't always work. The same goes for laptops.
In insurance, it is nearly always advisable to separate savings and insurance and I class laptops with phones as the endowments of the modern era. To be avoided in nearly all cases.
A tocco lite is a cheap phone. You can pick them up regularly for £60 or so. What is the laptop worth ? just say £240 for this example. That gives you £300 over 24 months or value of £12.50 a month. If you paid £30 a month, then your phone deal has to be worth £17.50 a month and I can tell you now, this deal is not.
So you refuse the deal and buy the phone. Get a 12 month (not 24 month !!!) SIM only deal with more for about £10 a month net of cashback and you have and effective £480 (though only £240 in year 1 I agree) for a laptop.
Your deals will vary as will the prices but you have to ask whether you really want to be tied into 24 months ? Look at what has happened in the last 24 months or even 12 months ? No, get is all separate unless there is an utterly compelling and money saving (not just saving in money terms but saving on something you would have bought at full price) reason why to bundle them together.0 -
Chef1980uk wrote: »Hi all, my mum has asked me to help her find a laptop for a Christmas present and i came back with the idea why not get a contract phone that has a free laptop in with it. She liked the idea and was hoping to not have to pay any more than £30pm
Having checked around i didn't realise there were so many deals lol so just to make sure i'm looking at the best deals for the price, i have found:
Samsung Tocco Lite:
Your Plan 600 (24 months)
600 minutes + Unlimited Texts with Vodafone Passport
Free Asus X5DC
Any thoughts?
over the 24 months contract you will pay a lot more than what you will if you bought the laptop separate and the mobile. beter to buy the laptop from one of the shops on its own without a contract. shops make it look attractive to make you think you will be saving money but really yor not.0 -
Thanks for the explanations, much appreciated0
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