Which warranty option would you choose? On site or depot?

[desidude]

Hello,

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad Laptop that needs repairs. I am out of warranty, but am able to purchase a 'post warranty' warranty.

I have two options:

1) A depot warranty - Lenovo sends me a prepaid UPS box, then I send it back to them (need to drop it off at UPS or schedule a pickup) and then they fix the computer and send it back to me by UPS. No shipping charges.

this is priced at $150 for 1 year and $225 for two years

Alternatively, I have the option to buy a on site warranty, i.e. a technician comes to my site, I presume within 1 or 2 days, the fees for this is a bit higher

$180 for 1 year and $269 for two years.

I am concerned however, does the on site warranty lead to delays if the technician does not have the replacement hardware?

I have had 3-4 issues with that unit when it was in warranty, i.e. within months of operation, so, think I will take the 2 year option but not sure which one I should get...depot or on site?

Any thoughts please?

Thank you very much,
desidude

 

[corkyg]

In this instance, my choice would be the on site option. If there is a parts delay, it would be no more than the shipping time to depot. It gives you more control, and the cost delta is not that much.

 

[Fardringle]

With the on site warranty only costing $30 more I say definitely go with that, especially if you need the computer to be fixed in a reasonable amount of time. It's not uncommon for a mail in/depot repair to take weeks to be completed.

This is the main reason why I suggest Dell Small Business computers (3 year onsite warranty) for small businesses and home users. With the onsite warranty, they rarely have to wait more than a day or two to get problems fixed, and I don't have to deal with calls from a friend's neighbor's Grandma in the middle of the night because her computer broke so she can't Skype/email/Facebook/Pogo Games.

 

[Elixer]

What model laptop is this exactly?
It might not even be worth it to purchase that 'warranty'.
Do note that they also do NOT cover lots of things on these warranties, so, it is best to tell us what exactly is wrong with the laptop.

 

[desidude]

Thank you for your replies. @Elixer Here is the issue:

I have a Lenovo Yoga 12, Machin type 20DL, model 0036US laptop, which is just about 8 months old. It however just went out of warranty, since the original purchase (brand new in box) was made just about 12 months ago, but I was gifted it for the holidays.

When I turn it on, I am getting a blank screen, not even a mouse cursor. I have tried to attach it, via the mini HDMI to an external screen but nothing. The external screen goes into power saving mode, I guess because it is not getting transmission from the laptop?

When I turn on the laptop, I get the red power light, and the keyboard back light comes on, and I can hear a sort of acceleration sound, maybe the fan coming on and off?

But nothing else.

I have tried pressing the various function keys, e.g. to project it on a screen, to open the BIOS, but I do not see anything.

Does anyone have any suggestions please?

 

[Elixer]

Are you using a dongle converter or a mini HDMI cable? Have you tried a different cable?
If still the same issue, I would do a CMOS reset (haven't used one of those, but, I assume it tells you how in the manual), and if that don't work either, then, yeah, seems like a hardware problem.

Since it is still fairly new, I would get the on-site warranty, and I can't check anything on Lenovo's site at http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/services-warranty/ as to the details of the warranty (since it requires a serial #), you would have to read it yourself, and see what it doesn't cover.
If panel or mainboard/motherboard is listed as 'not covered', then, the warranty would be worthless for you.

You might also be eligible for an extended warranty depending on how the person paid for the laptop, since lots of credit cards offer more warranty coverage (Amex, some Chase cards, and so on) so you may want to look at that as well.