I’m probably going to be investing in a laptop. The store wants me to buy a 3 year extended warranty, with prices ranges from about $300 - $400 (for the 3 years).
I know that extended warranties for most appliances aren’t generally considered worthwhile, but I’d like some opinions with regards to a laptop.
A laptop is a pretty expensive investment. They are also difficult to fix compared to a desktop - most things might not be a do-it-yourself task. Get some quotes on typical laptop repairs (e.g., keyboard, display screen) and decide for yourself if it’s worth the price to you.
Anything with an LCD screen should have an extended warranty, IMO.
It’s a tough call, but laptops are finicky creatures – they have a lot of electronics crammed into a small space, they run very hot, and they’re portable, so they undergo a lot more vibration and g-forces than your normal appliance. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a laptop that made it to the three year mark without developing some malfunction ranging from mildly annoying to incapacitating.
In the Olde Days ™, three years was about the expected lifetime of a laptop anyway, because by then it would be an obsolete and useless paperweight. But that’s not really true of today’s laptops, so if you’re buying a high-end laptop, I’d say go for it just for the peace of mind.
You might also consider adding a rider to your home or renter’s insurance to cover accidental damage or loss.
Well, could I ask what laptop this is?
Try your credit card website, alot of them offer longer guarantees that are far cheaper than what the store offers…Visa has a double guarantee for free, but that might not include computers, but you can get their additional three year guarantee for it based on price.
I got one for my laptop, I don’t feel comfortable working on it. I really wish I would have gotten an extended warranty for my desktop, too, it cost me over $300 (new drive + labor to get my old stuff off) after the hard drive failed. The tech couldn’t even get all the stuff off, he wanted to clone it for me but it was too far gone. 
Seems like a high price for the warranty, but perhaps I’m out of touch. I didn’t get one for my *&%#! Compaq laptop, but quickly opted in near the end of the original warranty because of some problems that started cropping up. Right after that, the hard drive crashed. Saved me bunches of money. Lots of electronics packed in a tiny space=potential for lots of heat and other problems.
I got the one that came with mine (a Dell) in 2000. It’s still running pretty well. Of course I had to reformat back in February. But the warranty was only about $150 for 3 years. I don’t know if it would be worth it to get a store warranty as opposed to the manufacturers. Dell sent a repairman to my house for any hardware issues that needed a repairman. Also they have pretty good software support over the phone.
I highly recommed it and it’s the only extended warentee I recommend. They are just too expensive to repair and too delacate. If the $ is a problem, get a lower class laptop and get the full 3 (or 4) years.
The laptop I have breaks down if you look at it crosseyed. Interestingly, it’s behaving better since the warranty ran out. All I’ve had to fix since then is a battery that won’t recharge any more. In the 4 years it was covered under warranty though, I had the screen fixed twice, the power cord replaced twice (once was a recall on one that burst into flames though, so that’s different), the connection the cord went into fixed 2 or 3 times, a couple of other loose wire somewhere problems handled, and the cd drive fixed. Not everyone will have that much trouble, but I sure got my money’s worth out of that extended warranty.
Better check the fine print on the extended warranty. You may find that most of the things that kill a laptop won’t be covered.
I would not buy an extended warranty for anything, preferring to self-insure. Extended warranties are a very high margin purchase, which of course is why the computer store is pushing it so hard.
And BTW, our company office has probably fifty laptops, and they get sold at employee auction every three years or so so we can upgrade. The vast majority of them sell in perfect working order, having never been sent to the shop. In fact, the only ones I can think of that don’t work were dropped, and extended warranties almost never cover drop damage.
There’s a section on extended warrranties on this page:
Clark Howard
FYI: I bought a fairly nice machine about six months ago ( a Toshiba 5205-S503 ) and took a pass on the extended warranty. If you decide to do the same be prepared to do combat with the sales people, their managers, and everyone else at the store. They just love to sell those warranties.
I’m with Clark Howard: you should never buy an extended warranty. Laptops are no different - the warranties are always priced at a level that makes a huge profit for the retailer - that is why they push them so hard. And for $400, you can probably buy a new laptop in 3 years time, the way prices are falling.
Note that Dell is currently charging only $129 for a 3 year at-home service on their laptops.
I think my warranty was like 50 bucks or something. I got it from Best Buy on my HP laptop. Since then, well over a thousand dollars of equipment and labor have gone into this laptop without me having to spend a dime. IMHO, it’s worth the peace of mind.