I'll be in the market for a new laptop soon with my tax return and am wondering if those here think the extra extended warranties are worth it? Most laptops come with a 12 month warranty. The place I am looking at offer a 1 year extension beyond that for $169 and a two year extension for $179 (of course at those prices if I got one at all it would be the two year). They also offer a 2 year accidental damage policy as well but I won't be getting that as my renter's insurance covers that. But what do people here think? Is it worth it? I currently have a Toshiba laptop that has worked fine for 2 and a half years. If it were a desktop, I wouldn't even be considering it. I prefer to build my own of those anyway and also prefer to fix my own problems. For reference, i am looking for something with a dual core processor, 1 to 2 gigs of RAM, a DVD burner and a dedicated video card.

Which brings up another interesting question, are there places I can buy the components to build my own laptop? Could I do it cheaper than buying one? I seem to remember seeing an article about this a few months ago but you couldn't build everything just add the processor, video card, and ram. Even then it wasn't much cheaper than buying a brand name. Has that changed any?

Also, what brands do you prefer for laptops and why. Thanks.

Building your own laptop is pretty much out of the question; there is no way to do it cheaper than the manufacturers. As for the warranty, I usually dont go for them, but when I boaght my last one I was offered a warranty that covered everything, even droppage and the like. It was 149.00 on a 700.00 laptop which seem like a lot, but I went for it and I am glad I did. I usually use my laptop in my recliner and one day my cat decided to use it as a bed. when she jump of the computer slipped down and landed on the area where the plug goes into the back of the laptop. It would have been 200.00 to fix it, but they covered it and overnighted it to me after it was fixed(it took 3 days).

The current one I have is a Toshiba and a gateway(not my favorite maker), but it was a demo that I got for 485.00 which is a nice system and has worked well.

Most things I don't do the extended, but in theis case I would if it covered a lot of the common issues...

Well, if you were in Oz, I would suggest getting the extra warrinty.
That would have nothing to do with the fact. however, that at the moment the current mode is to "get a free ipod nano with any extended warinty purchased".
No, not at all..

I hope you find something...I'm in hte market as well, but perhaps something a little low-key.

Thanks for the very prompt and complete reply. That's the way I was thinking too. For most things like appliances, I would not get the extended warranty because it is usually cheaper in the long run to pay for the fix if it even breaks but a laptop is much more delicate. I was thinking about spending around $1000 and $179 really isn't that much extra for 2 more years to extend it to 3 total. Since I won't be paying tax either that helps too. Do you have any favorite brands? I don't want to get a Toshiba again (no particular reason, just not exceptionally satisfied with the current one) and I'm looking at some Acer models that offer what I'm looking for at a decent price. What do you think of Acer?

A warranty for a PC, yes. A Mac, no.

I agree with the others who said get the warranty. I passed on mine, but I can fix most problems cheaply myself, unless I break the screen then they'll really get me. Not sure if I made the right decision but I don't move it around much so I can always plug it into a monitor.

I've only worked on a couple of Acers, and only replaced hard drives and taken them apart for cleaning, so I can't really tell you much about them. I can say that we haven't seen alot of them in the shop which is a very good thing. I definately don't have anything bad to say about them, if that helps.

Sony: They don't release service manuals so if you want to repair anything yourself you are on your own! This makes me go BLECH!

Dell: I love em! Service manuals available sometimes right online or sometimes you have to ask on the online chat. Easy to work inside. Parts are reasonably priced (except ram, but that's what newegg is for!). Like many companies they offer vista upgrades when it finally comes out for a $10 shipping cost.

HP: Pretty good. Service manuals done the same way as dell. Usually easy to work inside but some newer models are more difficult, not a problem when you have the manual. Parts are slightly higher than Dell but still well within reason.

Lenovo (IBM): I've been itching to get my hands on one of these (Lenovo, not IBM) and finally got one the other day. Service manuals available online. I haven't had to order any parts, but from the reviews I've read I haven't seen any complaints.

Dell and Acer make good laptops. Dell is good because you can pick what you want in it. I'd also go for the warranty. If you fight with them long enough you can get anything.

I purchased the Acer over the weekend after I filed my taxes. I did not get the extended warranty. I could still purchase it at a later time (up to a certain point that I'm not sure of when) but I don't think I will. On another board somebody mentioned that most problems would usually occur during the initial warranty and I still have the accidental damage clause in my renter's insurance too. That covers any damage to computers up to $3000, cost us less than $4 a month and has no deductible.

For reference, this is the laptop I purchased. It should be here tomorrow.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...p;Sku=A180-1386

Go dell....they have a three year thing for 180...

As I said before, I did not get the extended warranty and now I am very glad that I didn't. I found out when I registered the laptop on Acer's site that they also offer a two year extension to the warranty for only $99 as opposed to the place I purchased which was $179.

Wow, I bet you were glad you checked Acer's website! That's a big difference.

Nice laptop, I like the little camera. What will they think of next?

Yeah. The only real difference is that through Acer I have to get the extended warranty within 15 days of purchase while with the company on Tigerdirect's site I can get it up until right before the original warranty runs out. I haven't bought the one from Acer yet but I think I will.