Protection / Warranty for High-end Laptops, with special considerations

mike_302

I'm in the middle of identifying which laptop I will buy. It will be a moderately expensive one with a fancy stylus for really good drawing capabilities. Something like the Surface Pro 6, Surface Book 2, or a Lenovo Yoga 2-in-1 model.

I want piece of mind in 3 years that the fancy tech in this unit will still work, or that if any of it starts to go sour, that I don't have to shell out £500 for a repair, or £1000 for a new unit altogether.

Furthermore, I have the slight concern that I may be abroad in 2 or 3 years. That means most typical insurance providers and extended warranty plans don't extend beyond borders...

So what options do I have, really?

Is there another way to look at this situation? Take the manufacturer's extended warranty for 2 years (to balance uncertainty of where I'll be living in the long term), and --- self-insure after that? Are the serious issues only likely in the first couple years?

Frozen_up_north

Apple products bought from Apple Stores in the UK have a 2 year warranty in the EU, possibly further afield. A friend had a UK purchased iPad repaired by replacement free of charge when 18 months old at an Apple Store in Spain.

Maybe an Apple extended warranty offers the same? If Apple offer such Warranty, maybe Microsoft direct purchases compete, and offer that too.

Many warranties across the EU are for two years as standard, sadly UK ones are excluded for some odd reason and are often only 12 months for the same item!

Zandoni

I never buy any form of extended warranty, they are just not worth it. I do try to buy from stores that have good customer service, that includes John Lewis who give a two year guarantee.

mike_302

I should've added: The only make I'm not keen on is Apple -- literally everything about them is too expensive, therefore you MUST buy an extended warranty.
As for not ever buying an ext. warranty, I would point to the rising challenge of manually fixing computers these days. In fact, it's impossible to open the Surface Pro 6 without damaging something, so basically any failure means it's trash. I expect it to be similarly expensive and challenging to fix any touchscreen elements.

Zandoni

mike_302 wrote: »

I should've added: The only make I'm not keen on is Apple -- literally everything about them is too expensive, therefore you MUST buy an extended warranty.
As for not ever buying an ext. warranty, I would point to the rising challenge of manually fixing computers these days. In fact, it's impossible to open the Surface Pro 6 without damaging something, so basically any failure means it's trash. I expect it to be similarly expensive and challenging to fix any touchscreen elements.

If you don't buy extended warranties on things you buy, you'll be able to afford a new one if it goes wrong.

mike_302

Hmmm, £300 extended warranty on a £1150 tablet? I don't know how that one works out better to not buy the extended warranty.

Zandoni

mike_302 wrote: »

Hmmm, £300 extended warranty on a £1150 tablet? I don't know how that one works out better to not buy the extended warranty.

Simple, rather than buy extended warranties on everything you buy, just keep the money you would have spent and do your own insurance.


Mind you, people who pay for these warranties do help keep the prices down for others.

mike_302

Apologies, but you are glossing over the complexity of "risk", and "rish tolerance". Many consumers are not so lucky to be able to tolerate the risk of a complex tool failing within 2-3 years, which would require a substantial saving.

DoaM

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

Apple products bought from Apple Stores in the UK have a 2 year warranty in the EU, possibly further afield. A friend had a UK purchased iPad repaired by replacement free of charge when 18 months old at an Apple Store in Spain.

Maybe an Apple extended warranty offers the same? If Apple offer such Warranty, maybe Microsoft direct purchases compete, and offer that too.

Many warranties across the EU are for two years as standard, sadly UK ones are excluded for some odd reason and are often only 12 months for the same item!

Ignoring the fact that the OP doesn't want Apple anyway ... given that Brexit is about to happen (or is it?), we can't be sure that manufacturer EU-wide warranties would apply post-Brexit.

(Also, OP doesn't say they may be going to the EU - merely that they may be going "abroad").

JJ_Egan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6056017/laptop-insurance-or-extended-warranty-service

that

personally would definitely buy second hand. something, light cheap and robust. Probably not high power - nicer devices get stolen easier and have more envious eyes on them. Definitely not a speciality type of device - pick up another stylus or batter in another country, or even in this country after a few years could be difficult, but rather something which is common everywhere.

If you are travelling then a place to where a replacement, or cheque can be sent could be hard.

You are a tourist? Even if the device gets recovered then chance of you going back to collect it or go to court is slim.???

those surface pros are heavy, battery life is apparently not great either