Do I need breakdown care for X box ?

cef66

I bought an X box for my son yesterday from Argos and was persuaded to buy their 3yr breakdown cover on top. Initially I declined as I know they're generally a waste of money but the lad who served me said X boxes are notorious for breaking down and he mentioned the ring of death which I remember a friend's son having a problem with. The price was £47.99 and I used the £10 giftcard towards it and I'd saved £20 buying the box and a game together so the additional cost seemed OK. I've got 45 days to cancel and I'll no doubt be in Argos again next week.
Any advice please ?

chib

cef66 wrote: »

I bought an X box for my son yesterday from Argos and was persuaded to buy their 3yr breakdown cover on top. Initially I declined as I know they're generally a waste of money but the lad who served me said X boxes are notorious for breaking down and he mentioned the ring of death which I remember a friend's son having a problem with. The price was £47.99 and I used the £10 giftcard towards it and I'd saved £20 buying the box and a game together so the additional cost seemed OK. I've got 45 days to cancel and I'll no doubt be in Argos again next week.
Any advice please ?

The original Xbox consoles did indeed suffer overheating issues which caused the Red Ring of Death (RROD) that many people know about. My friend is a UPS driver and was picking up at least 10 a day.

Later consoles had a different setup and whilst not immune from the problem, I don't know of many people who experienced these issues. My 20GB Premium from 2008 suffered it (And I fixed easily for less than £5) but my friends 2010 60GB (Which I just bought) hasn't had the problem and I don't know of many who bought the 60GB that have had it.

The most recent slim consoles I don't know of anyone who has had these issues with it. It's a lot quieter and given the console history, I think Microsoft have worked hard to correct this problem.

I don't think you need the care, but if you want piece of mind - it may be worth hanging onto.

DCFC79

cef66 wrote: »

I bought an X box for my son yesterday from Argos and was persuaded to buy their 3yr breakdown cover on top. Initially I declined as I know they're generally a waste of money but the lad who served me said X boxes are notorious for breaking down and he mentioned the ring of death which I remember a friend's son having a problem with. The price was £47.99 and I used the £10 giftcard towards it and I'd saved £20 buying the box and a game together so the additional cost seemed OK. I've got 45 days to cancel and I'll no doubt be in Argos again next week.
Any advice please ?

I had the white xbox 20GB which decided to go rrod twice but both times got it replaced either at the shop or by phone xbox support. The black 120GB ive got now I think has had rrod just once but it was at least a few years ago now.

As chib says Ive not heard of any faults like I did with the white xbox's.

Its not bad, £16 a year. You can minimise the chances of it going faulty by following the guidlines that come with the xbox.

Lum

For reference, even if it does break, Microsoft charge £62+VAT for an out of warranty repair. Local independent repair places will likely be cheaper. A guy I work with fixes them as a sideline and I think he charges something like £40.

There's also the sale of goods act option if you feel up to a fight with Argos.

Tyler_Du

Under the sale of goods act aren't goods supposed to last a reasonable time, up to 6 years I think. I'd be cancelling that policy myself.

Nigel555

just wondering if anyone could help me I brought a 3 years argos breakdown cover for my sons Xbox but is it 1 year plus 2? or is it 1 year plus 3? just want to know before i chuck it out as the 3 years is up now last month????...Regards Nigel

Fifer

DCFC79 wrote: »

Its not bad, £16 a year. You can minimise the chances of it going faulty by following the guidlines that come with the xbox.

Is it £16 or £24 a year? Depends if it is 3 years beyond the manufacturer's warranty or 3 years including it.

Nigel555

I paid Argos £44.99 when i brought our sons X-Box for the 3 year cover but i dont know if they include there first year in it or if its 3 years after the first normal year of cover

OGR

These things are usually 3 years from purchase so it is basically a 2 year warranty on top of the 1 year manufacturers warranty but I would check the T&C's.

Had a quick browse but couldn't find anything concrete.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/StaticDisplay/includeName/productBreakdowntandc.htm

Tropez

The modern Xbox 360S(lim) models are all around better than the previous models and have a much lower failure rate. I bought one soon after they were first introduced to the market in 2010 and have had no issues with it, although I will say that I don't use it frequently and currently it is more common for me to use it for streaming video services as opposed to gaming.

The 360S also has a few measures designed to counter the issues caused by overheating, such as warning users of shutdown to prevent damage to internal components, and better airflow inside the system to prevent overheating in the first place.

Personally, I wouldn't regard the breakdown care as "necessary" given the improvements to the console and that the 360 is entering the end of its cycle (although games will still be released on the 360 after the launch of the next Xbox, and Microsoft will continue to support the 360 for some time to come, the 360 is now in its twilight years) but if you feel that it gives you peace of mind then it might be worth it. Faults may still occur with the 360S but they're much lower in frequency.

OGR

Tropez wrote: »

The 360S also has a few measures designed to counter the issues caused by overheating, such as warning users of shutdown to prevent damage to internal components, and better airflow inside the system to prevent overheating in the first place.

The biggest change is the move from a pair of 90nm process chips (Xenon and Xenos) to a single combined die and a shrink to a 45nm process. This means that the 360S runs cooler and uses far less power than the old model did. The old model had 2 power hungry chips, bad cooling design and was likely rushed onto the market to beat the launch of the PS3 and Wii, it was never going to last.