Dell XPS Laptop - Warranty

[GMFan]

I get good discounts from my work at Dell. Looking at ordering a new Dell XPS 15 9560 Laptop. Right now as configured I'm looking at $1,508. It comes standard with a 1yr warranty. Dell is offering a free 4yr "Premium" support warranty upgrade for the same price as 3yr warranty for $235. According to Dell they will come on-site to fix any issues. Worth it?

 

[CarbonSteel]

We have 14,000+ Dell machines--totally worth it vs. having to ship it in for a repair. Dell does not break any more often than HP, Toshiba, or Lenovo but their on-site repair is a huge plus at a modest cost.

 

[jimbrewer]

Yes. It's good protection at a fair price. Still probably a money maker for Dell In a roundabout way, it's a legal requirement that Dell make a good faith effort to sell warranty at a profit. ( Deliberately selling below cost warranties in order to push product out the door is really a way of overstating current profit and a form of securities fraud.)

 

[danez_yoda]

In general I don't get extended warranty on items. My some visa cards will double the 1 year warranty to 2 years. If its still working after 2 years, its going to last until it is obsolete. Does the warranty come with a maintenance program to clean the dust out of the cooling system? This is a common problem with Laptops. It makes the heat problem much worse. If not get a can of compressed air and shoot through the fan holes periodically to keep it clean.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted By: GMFan

I get good discounts from my work at Dell. Looking at ordering a new Dell XPS 15 9560 Laptop. Right now as configured I'm looking at $1,508. It comes standard with a 1yr warranty. Dell is offering a free 4yr "Premium" support warranty upgrade for the same price as 3yr warranty for $235. According to Dell they will come on-site to fix any issues. Worth it?

Look at Costco they give you an extra year on your warranty you get two rather than a one year. At no cost!

 

[Mackelroy]

Originally Posted By: jimbrewer

Yes. It's good protection at a fair price. Still probably a money maker for Dell In a roundabout way, it's a legal requirement that Dell make a good faith effort to sell warranty at a profit. ( Deliberately selling below cost warranties in order to push product out the door is really a way of overstating current profit and a form of securities fraud.)

Don't understand , Dell is a private company, how is that securities fraud? Even if they were public, don't see the issue. They offer a warranty, what ever price they want, as long as they fulfill the agreement. Who's gonna complain?

 

[raytseng]

the answer depends on how you see yourself using the laptop. if you are putting it in a backpack and movong it to several locations per day like a stydent taking it to classes the warranty can be worth it. if it pretty much stays stays at home and maybe goes from the couch to the desk then maybe you pass

 

[GabrielPintea]

I've always bought more years of warranty whenever I had the chance. You never know when they break, and you don't even realize how much you need that laptop until it's gone!

 

[jimbrewer]

Originally Posted By: Mackelroy

Originally Posted By: jimbrewer

Yes. It's good protection at a fair price. Still probably a money maker for Dell In a roundabout way, it's a legal requirement that Dell make a good faith effort to sell warranty at a profit. ( Deliberately selling below cost warranties in order to push product out the door is really a way of overstating current profit and a form of securities fraud.)

Don't understand , Dell is a private company, how is that securities fraud? Even if they were public, don't see the issue. They offer a warranty, what ever price they want, as long as they fulfill the agreement. Who's gonna complain?

You are right: Dell is private now. Best Buy got into trouble for this years ago. They sold el cheapo warranties, sales went through the roof, they posted great financials---then the chickens came home to roost. The people who bought stock during the good times argued that Best Buy had been deceptive. If you sell a complicated electronic gizmo for $600 and then sell an extended warranty for $20-$30 bucks, when you can reasonably expect your warranty cost per unit to be say, $75, What you've really done is overstate earnings by $40 per unit. Plus, you reported a lot more volume than you should have had you been accurately pricing the product. My recollection is that Dell made about 12% or so on the warranties according to their financials back when they were a public company. OK, but not a real profit center. Not like the computers themselves. If you look at Ford's financials they are very careful to say that they price their ESP warranty based on their claims history and cost--no guesswork and hidden deferred discounts.

 

[GMFan]

My laptop arrived today. After unboxing, setting up windows I got to toying around. Not soon after putting the laptop through its paces, I realized my headphone jack didn't seem to be working when I decided to test out the audio. Worried about a brand new laptop not working 100%, I figured I'd better give the "premium" support a try. I'll admit I was skeptical and expected a long phone call and headache to fix my issue. After entering in my Service Tag into the automated phone machine directed me to "premium support." The phone rang and someone answered after 3 dial tones. Impressive so far. The service tech who answered made sure to drop the "premium" word multiple times and thanked me multiple times for my purchase, etc. OK, they kiss butt which I don't really care about, but can they actually deliver? The tech person who took my call was easy to understand, patient and quickly able to solve my problem by following a few troubleshooting steps followed by having me uninstall the driver and rebooting the machine. In 10 minutes it was fixed. The tech asked for my email and after I hung up followed up with a personal email with his contact information for me to get in touch with him should I need anything else. Ok, I'm kinda impressed. Based on this single smooth experience and the 4yr warranty / on-site service (if needed) I'd say the cost may actually be worth it for peace of mind and avoiding headaches. And the "premium" support actually seems premium. Most importantly this laptop rocks.