Should I buy the store's extended warranty? Opinions, please.

[FigmentSpark]

My DS is off to university in the fall. He's taking Game Design, which meant I had to buy him a state of the art gaming laptop. We got him a great deal, but I had to upgrade the memory (from 16gb to 32gb) and I added an extra SDD in it (came with 512gb, I added another 1tb).

So here's the question. Normally, I don't buy those extra warranties (and they did do a wonderful hard sell!), but I got to thinking... this is his computer for school. I've added things that I'm worried could increase the heat within the laptop (although I've heard that it shouldn't), which could cause overheating, which would be covered by an extended warranty. Also, because we have added stuff, someone else thought the manufacturer's warranty might voided, even though it was put in my an authorized seller.

Do I spend the extra money this one time? I mean, he'll be programming and using it to put his code through it's paces. The store warranty does not cover breakage or dropping or anything that could be construed as "intentional" damage, so that means it essentially only covers the parts failing and the cost is between $200 and $400, depending on how many years I buy.

Any thoughts?

These are the original specs, but I've changed the 16gb memory to 32 gb (2x16) and added the extra 1tb SDD beside the original 512 SDD.

Original Specifications:
Memory - 16GB
Screen Size - 15.6"
Operating System - Windows 11 Home
Maximum Resolution - 1920x1080
Refresh Rate - 240Hz
SSD Capacity - 512GB
CPU - i7-12700H
GPU - GeForce RTX3070TI
LAN - Gb LAN
WLAN - Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201(2*2 ax)
Bluetooth - BT 5.2
USB - 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1
- 1x USB 2.0
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen1
HDMI - 4K @ 60Hz​

 

[Miffy]

Have you already purchased this? I'm asking because it's my impression (and I could be wrong) that Best Buy's Geek Squad offers much better coverage than what you're describing.

How much does the coverage cost compared to how much the computer costs? For example, if you spend $1,000 on the computer and the coverage costs $400, then it seems not worth it to me. But if the computer costs $2,500, then another $300 in coverage seems not unreasonable.

And . . . how does your DS generally treat his electronics? Is he tough on them? Easy on them? Careful? Careless? These factors weigh in as well.

 

[teller80]

Do you have a credit card that doubles the manufacturer's warranty? Otherwise I might buy third party insurance protection thru Amazon depending on the price the store wants. Oh, and my daughters college offered some kind of insurance for all of her electronics for like $75 when she moved in.

 

[tvguy]

Well, they would go bankrupt if they didn't know what they charged for the extended warranty on average was more than they would ever have to pay out.

 

[_19disnA]

Stores mostly sell extended warranties as a money maker for themselves. Make sure to read the warranty to see exactly what is/isn't covered. Likely there are coverage exclusions. Don't take the word of the salesperson who is probably pushed by the store to sell these warranties. Verbal promises mean nothing when it comes time to make use of the warranty.

Electronic devices tend to come with a 1 year warranty since electronic components are most likely to fail in that timeframe or last a long time. If it only covered failed parts, I think it is a waste of money.

 

[GreatLakes]

None of your upgrades will make the laptop run any hotter than it was going to already. The rendering for game design will work the laptop and I'm a bit surprised they didn't recommend a tower that can have larger fans for him.

Personally I wouldn't get the warranty.

 

[fla4fun]

I never bought an extended warranty for a desktop, but I did buy one for my first laptop, mostly because of the drop risk. I never dropped it, but I did have to make an emergency stop in my car and the padded case flew off the seat onto the floor. It survived that just fine. My last two laptops have been gently used hand me downs, so no extended warranty. I did end up with a failed hard drive in one of them after several years, but my BIL is in IT, and recovered everything on an external drive for me so I could copy it into my new laptop.

When it comes to extended warranties, you have to weigh the cost of the warranty against the cost of a covered repair, and whether or not the item is likely to be damaged in the first place. I do buy them occasionally, but not always. He might be better off with an external back up drive so he wouldn’t lose any of his work (even if he can do cloud backup, it never hurts to have a second point of recovery when it comes to something important like school). You can replace a laptop, but having immediate access to a school project due in an hour? Priceless!

 

[barkley]

None of your upgrades will make the laptop run any hotter than it was going to already. The rendering for game design will work the laptop and I'm a bit surprised they didn't recommend a tower that can have larger fans for him.

no computer expert here but i get pulled into it for my son's gaming system purchases-he has a gaming tower vs. a laptop for this reason as well. after comparing multiple purchasing options we went through costco b/c it comes with a 2 year warranty out the door PLUS an additional year if you use a costco credit card. we've used their warranty service in the past-it is excellent for the portion that is handled by costco, a bit more cumbersome but still effective through the credit card. ds previously purchased a tower through xidax which has served him well for YEARS. they have a lifetime warranty and when we had an issue they were prompt in resolution. i understand it's become more difficult to get replacement parts and repairs through them with all that's going on which is why when ds wanted to upgrade he opted for costco b/c they have the brick and mortars near us which which has expedited warranty issues for us in the past.

p.s. you might want to check on renter's insurance for your son while he's at college. our homeowner's would have covered our oldest's higher end electronics during college but we have a very large deductible (to save on premiums) and no one ever wants to put in a homeowner's claim if they don't have to so our agent suggested a policy of about 10K in coverage with a couple of hundred dollar deductible when the eldest was at college (college textbooks are very prone to theft-and those suckers cost allot to replace). still in force at the post college apartment and only runs a couple hundred per year.

 

[Southernmiss]

We bought the warranty for our oldest when he started college.

He spilled pickle juice on it the 2nd week he had it. (He was drinking pickle juice after a run.)

With 4 kids, several cracked their laptop screens during their college years. The laptops go everywhere with them.

 

[MillauFr]

Just buy the laptop at Costco. You get free warranty coverage.

 

[Mysterian]

If you mean, say, Walmart's Protection Plan (Allstate), no.

I go by the manufacturer when it comes to warranties. Walmart has a 90 day return policy, but a 30 day rule when it comes to returning electronics, I believe.

From Walmart's site:
"Most products come with a manufacturer’s warranty that lasts 90 days to one year from the date of purchase. If there is an issue during this time that is covered by the warranty, you will be referred to the manufacturer for service."

So correct me if I'm wrong, I don't see the incentive in the Protection Plan.

Not to mention, Walmart offers protection plans on the stupidest stuff. I wish I can recall the example, but on one purchase, even the cashier scoffed when prompted for a protection plan for something so completely out of the realm of protection plans.

 

[DisneyHardin]

My DH can be talked into any extended warranty anyone ever offers - I swear the man would buy an extended warranty on a garbage bag if they offered it.

We have cashed in pretty well on some of these warranties over the years - Once our smart TV needed a new mother board, my Kindle quit working and they just gave me a new one, one of our ARLO security cameras quit a they just swapped it out - all of these were through Best Buy - their warranty is generally just for a swap out if it's something that isn't too expensive. For the TV, they did send Geek Squad out to fix it.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Just buy the laptop at Costco. You get free warranty coverage.

Already bought the computer, so that won't work, but I'm going to look into that for the future.

The company is a chain, but not a big well known chain. They have several stores across the country, but aren't like a Best Buy or Staples. They are exclusively electronics, mostly computers and their accessories.

We bought the warranty for our oldest when he started college.

He spilled pickle juice on it the 2nd week he had it. (He was drinking pickle juice after a run.)

With 4 kids, several cracked their laptop screens during their college years. The laptops go everywhere with them.

That would be great, but they explicitly told us that their warranty doesn't cover any "intentional" (read user caused) damage. So pickle juice or cracked screens are not covered.

My first thought was that was the highest risk for a laptop going to classes every day in a backpack, so I had asked about it. Glad I did. I wouldn't want to find out the hard way that this was not covered.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Maybe you can find a reddit about the coverage from this chain?

We did renters for our students to cover electronics and other expensive college stuff & to separate their liability from our homeowners. I didn't want increases to my policy premiums because of their experiences so they got separate policies and we paid them. These were cheap, maybe $11 a month and I'm glad we did it even though homeowners tried to talk us out of it, I supposed they wanted us to get dings to justify higher premiums. No regrets, we kept the deductible low & it was totally worth it to cover all their stuff for things like dropping a drink in it, slipping and it hitting the ground. Renters does not, however, cover a phone and that was a surprise so you should know that the phones need to be covered separately - fun memories

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I haven’t read all the responses. But we did get 3 yr warranties on both kids’ computers that we bought as HS graduation gifts, for college. Both were used and paid for themselves, one with just a week or so left on the warranty.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I haven’t read all the responses. But we did get 3 yr warranties on both kids’ computers that we bought as HS graduation gifts, for college. Both were used and paid for themselves, one with just a week or so left on the warranty.

Where did you get your warranties from? The store or somewhere else?

Maybe you can find a reddit about the coverage from this chain?

We did renters for our students to cover electronics and other expensive college stuff & to separate their liability from our homeowners. I didn't want increases to my policy premiums because of their experiences so they got separate policies and we paid them. These were cheap, maybe $11 a month and I'm glad we did it even though homeowners tried to talk us out of it, I supposed they wanted us to get dings to justify higher premiums. No regrets, we kept the deductible low & it was totally worth it to cover all their stuff for things like dropping a drink in it, slipping and it hitting the ground. Renters does not, however, cover a phone and that was a surprise so you should know that the phones need to be covered separately - fun memories

He has Applecare for his phone, but that's good to know. Also, renter's insurance is a good idea, although, he'll be in the dorm for the first year.

 

[LYSE]

Unless your covering accidents don't do it, it's not likely to fail enough to make the warranty useful and ontop of that as a power user he is likely to want to replace it before the 3 or 4 year extended term is over.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Where did you get your warranties from? The store or somewhere else?

We bought both computers through B&H Photo online and got the warranties through them. They were great.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Where did you get your warranties from? The store or somewhere else?


He has Applecare for his phone, but that's good to know. Also, renter's insurance is a good idea, although, he'll be in the dorm for the first year.

Renters is ok with a dorm, they will cover any rented space and a dorm checks the box even though we don't think of it like that. Consider how easy it is for a roommate or a roommate's guest to ruin something with a careless movement or maybe the sprinklers to go off due to a fire in a distant part of the building because of a curling iron. To my knowledge dorms have a "use at your own risk" sort of attitude, unless they have an add on which neither of my kids schools offered.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Renters is ok with a dorm, they will cover any rented space and a dorm checks the box even though we don't think of it like that. Consider how easy it is for a roommate or a roommate's guest to ruin something with a careless movement or maybe the sprinklers to go off due to a fire in a distant part of the building because of a curling iron. To my knowledge dorms have a "use at your own risk" sort of attitude, unless they have an add on which neither of my kids schools offered.

We don't often think of renter's insurance for dorms because kids don't take a lot of expensive stuff to school with them, but, you're right, the computer is an expensive item.