Laptops warranty - Is 12 months acceptable?

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zANavAShi

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#782523 15-Mar-2013 22:09

Well I did actually cave in and get the extended warranty on both consumer goods I purchased from HN and BOTH of them developed a fault within 3 weeks of purchase...

The 55inch TV, which I noticed had a cluster of pixel distortion in the centre of the screen, they sent a guy out the day after I phoned to complain with a brand new replacement TV and full reinstall.

The toshiba laptop, which I discovered had a dud usb port, I took to the store, the fault was verified and logged by the inhouse tech, and they would only offer to send it back for repair which would take about 3 weeks.

The laptop still remains unrepaired cos I could not afford to be without a computer for three weeks at any time, and their only response to my protest was "Oh well, you should have got it on flexi-rent like we told you in the first place, then we could have given you a loaner while yours was away for repair".

Grrrrrrrrrr

I'm out of my mind right now... please leave a message after the shriek...

A5X

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#782528 15-Mar-2013 22:33

zANavAShi:
MurrayM: ....and the assistant told me that if I tried to claim under the CGA then HN would make it difficult for me by requiring me to get a specialist report that proved what the fault was (i.e. prove that the camera wasn't water damaged) and that would cost me way more than their extended warranty. Whether this is true or not I don't know but I still refused the extended warranty.

Sodding heck, so that's the specifics of what he meant by "costing more". I assumed he was referring to the small claims court fees + the personal costs of my time spent. If this is the HN company policy I think it would make good fodder for a Fair Go investigation.

Any other folks here have similar stories to share? Sorry if this is hijacking your enquiry A5X - f you would prefer me to move my question to a new topic I will happily do so.

Understandable, I guess that the topic is realivant to everything.

I am aiming at targeting laptops, since I buy so many by being a geek, and to have to something new all the time or whatever I see what is going on special at the time, but at the same time I still own a few laptops after 12 month warranty period is up, therefore they become more of a liability.

When a laptop goes, to repair it usually means motherboard replacement, which mean the manufacturer charging more than the laptop is worth for a replacement board.

I dont usually buy any low end laptop either, I aim for the high end. I get a little worried about my 4.5k Alienware out of warranty, having no come back. Even worse, when my Apple MacBook Pro Retina falls out of warranty.

With all shops pushing extended warranty, refusal will be the most plausible option when/if having to try and get an out of 12 month term warranty honoured. What can we really do to protect ourselves, or to actually go in and get especially a laptop repaired out of date, without major hassle or embarrssment?

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richms

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#782533 15-Mar-2013 22:43

I have only ever claimed on manufacturers warrantys for laptops. HP with a horrid experiance at visual somebody, and excelent results with onsite dell, and an ok thinkpad service from a place in penrose who replaced the mobo on an almost warranty expring T43 but not the cracked case that caused it.

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Dunnersfella

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#782535 15-Mar-2013 22:46

zANavAShi: Well I did actually cave in and get the extended warranty on both consumer goods I purchased from HN and BOTH of them developed a fault within 3 weeks of purchase...

The 55inch TV, which I noticed had a cluster of pixel distortion in the centre of the screen, they sent a guy out the day after I phoned to complain with a brand new replacement TV and full reinstall.

The toshiba laptop, which I discovered had a dud usb port, I took to the store, the fault was verified and logged by the inhouse tech, and they would only offer to send it back for repair which would take about 3 weeks.

The laptop still remains unrepaired cos I could not afford to be without a computer for three weeks at any time, and their only response to my protest was "Oh well, you should have got it on flexi-rent like we told you in the first place, then we could have given you a loaner while yours was away for repair".

Grrrrrrrrrr

You've just discovered the difference between the computer and electrical franchises in a Harvey Norman business... different owners of each franchise, different cultures, different results.
None of this should be your problem, ask for a loaner and you should be fine... surely?

zANavAShi

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#782551 15-Mar-2013 23:24

Dunnersfella: ...difference between the computer and electrical franchises in a Harvey Norman business... different owners of each franchise, different cultures, different results.

Wow, I had no idea about that. Thanks for the info. It explains a lot.

I'm out of my mind right now... please leave a message after the shriek...

A5X

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#798709 13-Apr-2013 09:42

Purchases my first ever extended warranty last week. From Warehouse stationary for a product that is $999, the warranty was reasonable enough to justify the extra $90 for 2 years, therefore giving the total warranty period 3 years.

In comparison Noel Leeming charges $329.99 for a extra 2 years to extend to 3 years.

For piece of mind without having to deal with CGA specially after a couple of years of owning it, $90 is fairly reasonable.

btw. I have ever only taking something in for CGA once in my entire life, I had to sign a ridiculous long contact that I had no time to read at the counter. Once reading it 3-4 time when home, there was clauses in there saying if they lost my item or damaged it at anytime in their hands then they will take no responsibility for it. That store is Noel Lemming, a great deal more. Also the guys the counter said "if it comes back", I ask them what do you mean by that and they said nothing almost if they let something slip for their mouths. Is this legal even though they made me sign a get out contact for them, any thoughts on this?

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#798721 13-Apr-2013 10:23

zANavAShi: I agree, and when I quoted the CGA to the sales guy at Harvey Normam who was enthusiastically trying to sell me an extended warranty package with the last laptop I bought, his response was "Good luck with that. You would have to take us to the small claims court and it would end up costing you more in the long run than the cost of our extended warranty"

Good luck to this guy. Falsifying your rights is a crime in itself.

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networkn

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#798731 13-Apr-2013 11:13

I consider the whole 5 years thing to be a complete load of nonsense. How is it reasonable for a consumer to buy an $500-800 laptop and then be protected by a 5 year warranty?

It should be dictated by value, not label. It simply is NOT reasonable for an $800 laptop to last 5 years. They are cheap for a reason and if you got it cheap you should understand it's not reasonable to expect the same benefits as someone who spent $1500 on a higher quality bit of kit.

The consumer guarantees act is too one sided in NZ.

Same thing applies to TV's. If when the average cost of a TV is say $1500 and Transonic sells junk for $500 SHOULD you get a 5 year plus warranty on it? Of course not.

gregmcc

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#798737 13-Apr-2013 11:41

networkn: I consider the whole 5 years thing to be a complete load of nonsense. How is it reasonable for a consumer to buy an $500-800 laptop and then be protected by a 5 year warranty?

The consumer isn't setting the price, the retailer is, and if they arn't factoring in enough of a margin to cover their obligations under the CGA then it's tough luck for them and more power to the consumer

tchart

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#798738 13-Apr-2013 11:44

networkn: I consider the whole 5 years thing to be a complete load of nonsense. How is it reasonable for a consumer to buy an $500-800 laptop and then be protected by a 5 year warranty?

It should be dictated by value, not label. It simply is NOT reasonable for an $800 laptop to last 5 years. They are cheap for a reason and if you got it cheap you should understand it's not reasonable to expect the same benefits as someone who spent $1500 on a higher quality bit of kit.

The consumer guarantees act is too one sided in NZ.

Same thing applies to TV's. If when the average cost of a TV is say $1500 and Transonic sells junk for $500 SHOULD you get a 5 year plus warranty on it? Of course not.

I call bs on that. Why do transonic etc offer 2/3 year manufacturers warranty but Sony don't? Nothing to do with price in my opinion. In fact I got a not cheap Sony Bluray player a few months back and the warranty was 6 months. I'd say that's pretty unfair. In fact if I bought it at the Sony store the warranty is more (normally an extra year).

Fact is that if I bought a $500 Tv I would expect a decent lifetime from it but would feel less likely to claim cga if it died.

networkn

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#798740 13-Apr-2013 11:48

Fact is that if I bought a $500 Tv I would expect a decent lifetime from it but would feel less likely to claim cga if it died.

Well on the surface you are self regulating which is very good, however what do you consider a reasonable life?

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pctek

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#798743 13-Apr-2013 12:00

12 Months? Not all laptops have only 12 months, ASUS are generally 2 years, some laptops are 3 years.
It depends on quality too, even the CGA takes that into account.

tchart

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#798750 13-Apr-2013 12:10

networkn:

Fact is that if I bought a $500 Tv I would expect a decent lifetime from it but would feel less likely to claim cga if it died.

Well on the surface you are self regulating which is very good, however what do you consider a reasonable life?

For a Tv, I'd expect to upgrade every 2-3 years, that's been the pattern for the last 10 years. However I would expect a Tv to last 5 with no issues. BTW my first flat screen was a warehouse brand, it was handed down to a mate. Still going strong 7 years later.

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