>> The 15 inch Toshiba notebook (Celeron 2.4, 512, 40, Combo drive, XP
>> Home) that I bought a while ago could have a 3 year extended
>> warranty from Circuit City for $233.19. Should I get it?
Pete, I wouldn't buy that. What you want is a 3-year *manufacturer's*
warranty. IBM's medium and high-end Thinkpads, for example, all come
with a 3-year manufacturer's warranty. These warranties are honored
in all IBM's dealers and certified service centers worldwide.
I wouldn't touch a notebook that didn't come with a 3-year warranty
from the manufacturer. OTOH, what you're looking at here is a
borderline-scam that all consumer advocate groups I know repeatedly
advise to avoid. Those 3-year extended warranties are invariably
overpriced and, moreover, if you need to bring it in you are never
guaranteed prompt service, and certainly that service will be farmed
out somewhere else, so you'll be 2-layers removed from the actual
repair service. Also, think of those "sales rebates" they offer: mail it
in, wait six-months, maybe eventually get your rebate. It's totally
bogus. There's little difference between these two add-on schemes...
**--** Steve
©2004 Steven Black |
