Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
I am loosely in the market for a gaming laptop, to replace my current Dell. When it dies, i want to have a replacement lined up as it is our only PC at home.
One thing I am struggling to accept is spending £1000 on something with only a Year warranty. The thought of it dieing in months 13,14,15 etc, having forked out such a large sum of money up front seems madness to me.
I actively dropped LG phones due to their 1 year warranty, which caught me out badly on my LG G3 a few years ago. Now it is Samsung (2 year warranty) or equiv only.
I now find myself instantly dismissing laptops with only the 1 year warranty as Laptops especially with the heat/regular carting round makes me worry they are prone to inbuilt weaknesses more then most products.
The issue is, so many of them only offer the 1 year. Short of forking out for aftermarket cover (which it looks like I may have to do) it looks like I have no choice.
Is it just me? Does anyone else prioritise a good warranty before parting monies on anything high value?
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
I do for LED lightbulbs... but I should do for everything really. Cars is what wind me up the most. 3 year warranties are pathetic.
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
Yes, it does seem that warranties are getting worse and I never want to have to rely on the 'consumer law' claims.
There are some bank accounts (like FlexPlus) that extend the warranty on some items purchased through them, but there tends to be a monthly fee for the accounts. Having one of these may work out as better value than paying for one-off warranty extensions, depending on how many items you purchase that would be covered (and whether the other benefits of the accounts would be of use to you).
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
Bear in mind that just because the warranty has run out doesn't mean you have no comeback if it dies. But crucially, it matters WHY it died, if you then rely on "reasonable life" under your consumer rights.
But I agree, a good warranty is a major factor in an exoensive purchase. Almost as good is a retailer's reputation for customer service, for which my favourite is John Lewis. That said, the 'word' is that JL are toughening up quite a bit, and that comes from an insider. But even if they do, they'll still be better than some.
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
By contrast, stuff is getting cheaper, so I figure they're using cheaper parts which are bound to fail sooner, so the expected lifetime of the device is shorter which is reflected in the warranty.
Not so many years ago, a laptop with a DVD drive already built in and that could actually play films (wow!!!) cost £2-3,000. Now you're looking at something, what, ten times as powerful for a third of the cost without adjusting for inflation and wondering why it only has a short warranty?
I guess if you don't like the terms, shop elsewhere and help drive the market by voting with your wallet?
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Saracen
Bear in mind that just because the warranty has run out doesn't mean you have no comeback if it dies. But crucially, it matters WHY it died, if you then rely on "reasonable life" under your consumer rights.
Regardless, sometimes companies set themselves up to make it impossible to raise a warranty repair for something that is 13 months old and costs £1000+....just because no one will talk to you about it (Yes Samsung, I am looking at you!)
Leaving you with the only choice being the courts.....
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
For electronics, I find that if they fail, it's often in the first year so usually it's not a deal breaker (though it can be a deal maker all else being fairly equal).
Though laptops, I kind of understand because the fans are, in my experience, one of the first thing to fail, and are mechanical in nature.
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Andehh
I am loosely in the market for a gaming laptop, to replace my current Dell. When it dies, i want to have a replacement lined up as it is our only PC at home.
One thing I am struggling to accept is spending £1000 on something with only a Year warranty. The thought of it dieing in months 13,14,15 etc, having forked out such a large sum of money up front seems madness to me.
I actively dropped LG phones due to their 1 year warranty, which caught me out badly on my LG G3 a few years ago. Now it is Samsung (2 year warranty) or equiv only.
I now find myself instantly dismissing laptops with only the 1 year warranty as Laptops especially with the heat/regular carting round makes me worry they are prone to inbuilt weaknesses more then most products.
The issue is, so many of them only offer the 1 year. Short of forking out for aftermarket cover (which it looks like I may have to do) it looks like I have no choice.
Is it just me? Does anyone else prioritise a good warranty before parting monies on anything high value?
If I recall correctly, when I last looked at laptops via Dell, they were offering 1 yr as standard, but then more years available as an additional service.
I appreciate that no-one wants to pay if they can get something for free, but at the same time if you want that extra coverage there will naturally be a cost attached to that. Or are you saying that it's not even possible?
I presume by aftermarket you mean third party?
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jim
I appreciate that no-one wants to pay if they can get something for free, but at the same time if you want that extra coverage there will naturally be a cost attached to that. Or are you saying that it's not even possible?
Come to think of it, Dell definitely offered extra coverage when I bought my laptop (and I think I received an extra year or two free as part of some promotion). It's probably only an option if you buy directly from them, but I think that most re/e-tailers offers their own extended coverage.
One might argue those should come as standard, but I suspect that if it came as standard, they'd just make -every- customer absorb the price whether they want it or not. As I understand, this isn't a particularly high margin business.
And while £1000 may not be pocket change, it's not exactly the super premium model where they try to throw the best of everything. Things might have changed but when I last bought my laptop, it was still on the lower end of mid-range for a gaming laptop, and at best (but probably not) on the upper end of a laptop without a gaming GPU. And the low pound probably ain't helping.
Re: Expensive Products, Short warranties!?
It's what businesses do. They are all out to make money! That's why they make you fork out on extended warranties.
