Geek Squad vs SquareTrade Extended Warranty. Which is better ?

[ahmadka]

Hi guys. I recently purchased a new Dell XPS 9550 for $2300 from Best Buy and want to purchase a 3 year Extended Warranty with ADH for it. Best Buy sells theirs 3 year Extended Warranty $320, while SquareTrade sells the same for $420 (after a $40 discount). Both's Term & Conditions seem to be the same, in fact lot of points actually seem like they were just copy-pasted. SquareTrade however doesn't show you the specific T&S for YOUR product until after you purchase their policy, so that could be different. What they show you before purchase are just 'sample' T&S.

With the above said, I don't know which to purchase. Does anyone have any opinion regarding which might be better, or what points to think about, etc ?

 

[Newbian]

First off make sure the parts themselves do not come with a warranty as they should come with them or the laptop on it's own as they should come with a decent one.

Also if you bought it with a credit card most will give a decent warranty also.

Finally you are gonna get made fun of for buying a laptop from best buy when sites like amazon / newegg would had been much cheaper.

 

[ahmadka]

First off make sure the parts themselves do not come with a warranty as they should come with them or the laptop on it's own as they should come with a decent one.

Also if you bought it with a credit card most will give a decent warranty also.

Finally you are gonna get made fun of for buying a laptop from best buy when sites like amazon / newegg would had been much cheaper.

Well, the laptop does have a 1 year warranty but my last laptop taught me to not trust this. My last laptop was a Lenovo Y50 which I purchased in January last year. One month after the warranty expires, the laptop died and Lenovo (b******s) said they can't do anything about it. So now I want to buy a 3 year ADH warranty so that for the next 3 years I don't have to think of buying another laptop at least.

I don't have a CC which offers warranty for purchases. Lastly, the laptop I bought was ONLY sold by BB, so I had to buy it at that price (i7, 4K Touch screen with 1TB NVMe SSD) .. The only other seller was Dell, selling it for $500 more

 

[NoTine42]

A "dead" laptop for a tech forum member?

Is anything really beyond a few Google searches, buy a part on fleabay, then following a YouTube video on how to install the part?

 

[ahmadka]

A "dead" laptop for a tech forum member?

Is anything really beyond a few Google searches, buy a part on fleabay, then following a YouTube video on how to install the part?

Entire motherboard had to be replaced if I went with that option, so I decided to buy a new laptop anyway.

Hope you guys don't mind but I would appreciate if people stayed on topic

 

[deadlyapp]

Well, squaretrade warranties you'll have to send it in to them to be repaired/replaced as far as I remember, so the Geek Squad one right off the bat seems more attractive to me.

 

[ahmadka]

Well, squaretrade warranties you'll have to send it in to them to be repaired/replaced as far as I remember, so the Geek Squad one right off the bat seems more attractive to me.

That's true, however I don't have a Best Buy close by any way, so I would have to send it to them too (they also provide free two way shipping)

 

[NoTine42]

I'd probably lean Geek Squad
It's cheaper and with local drop off you probably don't loose 2 days shipping (there and back) if they are repairing it.

(But my only Best Buy extended warranty service was on a TV, which went well because they contracted out to a cool, local TV repair shop)

 

[NoTine42]

That's true, however I don't have a Best Buy close by any way, so I would have to send it to them too (they also provide free two way shipping)

How does either place's shipping work?
Does a carrier bring a box to your house? Or does a FedEx/UPS store have them ready to go?

 

[ahmadka]

I'd probably lean Geek Squad
It's cheaper and with local drop off you probably don't loose 2 days shipping (there and back) if they are repairing it.

(But my only Best Buy extended warranty service was on a TV, which went well because they contracted out to a cool, local TV repair shop)

Nice. What happened to your TV (what kind of damage) ? How was your experience with BB GeekSquad team overall ? Were they cooperative in getting everything taken care of ? Also, did you have to pay for anything during the whole repair process ?

 

[ahmadka]

How does either place's shipping work?
Does a carrier bring a box to your house? Or does a FedEx/UPS store have them ready to go?

They ship the box to you which has a prepaid label attached for sending it back to BB/SquareTrade.

 

[NoTine42]

Nice. What happened to your TV (what kind of damage) ? How was your experience with BB GeekSquad team overall ? Were they cooperative in getting everything taken care of ? Also, did you have to pay for anything during the whole repair process ?

After a nearby lightening strike, the TV started acting like the menu button was being constantly pressed.

It was rather easy, they even looked up my warranty, then contacted the TV repair guy. He called me to diag over the phone, then ordered the main board. He came over to repair it after the part was in.(it was in-home service)
The TV guy showed the TV was basically 3 parts, main board, power supply and panel)

 

[ahmadka]

I had another idea about possibly getting the extended warranty through Dell directly (since they're the manufacturer of the laptop), so I called them up. The rep first said its about $340 for just the ONE year, WITHOUT ADH ! When I told him what Best Buy is offering (THREE year WITH ADH), he matched that after talking to his supervisor ... I find this quite odd. They probably offered me like $400 ~ $500 discount altogether, which is weird.

Second, when I asked him to send me the full terms & conditions document relating to this extended warranty, he failed to do that, and instead got angry that Dell is a much more known brand than BB, etc., and that I should trust them. I mean he failed to share with me a full terms & conditions document. That's a red flag, right ?

 

[KeithP]

If you are going to go with Geek Squad you are betting that Best Buy will remain operating and honoring warranties for the length of the warranty period. IMHO, that isn't a safe bet.

I wouldn't buy either.

-KeithP

 

[ahmadka]

If you are going to go with Geek Squad you are betting that Best Buy will remain operating and honoring warranties for the length of the warranty period. IMHO, that isn't a safe bet.

I wouldn't buy either.

-KeithP

So what do you suggest I do. I really want to get extended warranty so that I know I don't have to worry about laptop failures for at least 3 years.

 

[Captante]

Squaretrade hands-down.


And a laptop is one of the few things I would say its not a bad bet for.

 

[KeithP]

So what do you suggest I do. I really want to get extended warranty so that I know I don't have to worry about laptop failures for at least 3 years.

I shouldn't have been so dismissive. My apologies.

I have purchased SquareTrade warranties in the past but I never found myself in a situation where I needed to make a claim. SquareTrade would be my choice over Geek Squad.

I understand not wanting to worry about paying for failures. Hope you won't ever need to use it.

-KeithP

 

[ahmadka]

Squaretrade hands-down.


And a laptop is one of the few things I would say its not a bad bet for.

I shouldn't have been so dismissive. My apologies.

I have purchased SquareTrade warranties in the past but I never found myself in a situation where I needed to make a claim. SquareTrade would be my choice over Geek Squad.

I understand not wanting to worry about paying for failures. Hope you won't ever need to use it.

-KeithP

So you'd pay the additional $100 over GeekSquad's cost to go with SquareTrade ?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Manufacturer doesn't have an option for a 2-3 year extended warranty?

The third party warranties usually take longer to process and involve sending them the broken thing so they can either fix it or send you a visa gift card with the purchase price on it. Takes a long time. Dealing directly with HP/Dell/Lenovo/Apple (etc.) support is usually faster/easier.

 

[ahmadka]

Manufacturer doesn't have an option for a 2-3 year extended warranty?

The third party warranties usually take longer to process and involve sending them the broken thing so they can either fix it or send you a visa gift card with the purchase price on it. Takes a long time. Dealing directly with HP/Dell/Lenovo/Apple (etc.) support is usually faster/easier.

SquareTrade actually promises to resolve all claims, one way or another, within 5 days.

However yeah I did think of getting it directly through Dell, however they have their own issues. Their website is extremely hush-hush when it comes to extended warranty plans. They don't mention anything on their website, regarding what specific extended warranty options they offer, what their prices are, etc. All their site says is that you call a number to get those details.

I tried calling that number several times yesterday, and every time was connected to foreign sales reps in India (based on the accent). They seemed pretty vague about the details and every rep I talked to gave me a different price for the same 3 year service that I was asking for. Secondly, the more troubling issue was that when I asked them to provide me with a terms & conditions document which details exactly what will be covered in the extended warranty, they failed to provide me with one. When I said that GeekSquad and SquareTrade have their T&S documents available for customers, they kept saying that 'Dell' is a respectable brand that's 'better than others', and that I should just 'trust them'. I told them that I need to read the T&S document to know things like what classifies as an accidental damage (as I wanted ADH as well), through what procedures will Dell carry out the repairs, replacement or reimbursement, under what conditions can the warranty service get terminated, will I have to pay any deductibles or any type of other costs, what kind of damages are NOT covered, etc ... When I said things like this, they got angry and sarcastic, and told me to "search Dell's website for *whatever* it is that I'm looking for". One of them even made a sarcastic joke that maybe I'd like Michael Dell to directly call me and explain the terms and conditions .. ! YES, this really happened !

When I talked with them the second time yesterday and then hung up, the rep actually called me back to say that I should not call back as there are only 3 reps currently present in their team, so chances are I might talk to the same person again.

So a company that treats potential customers like this, I don't even WANT to know what they'll do after you've paid ! I'll trying calling on a weekday again in the hopes of speaking with an AMERICAN sales rep, but if I can only speak with those Indian dudes, no way am I dealing with Dell.

By the way, I'm a student so spending $300 ~ $400 on a warranty is serious money for me, so I want to be sure what service am I buying. This is why I wanted to read their T&S document so that there are no surprises later on if I ever need to make a claim.

 

[pontifex]

If you are going to go with Geek Squad you are betting that Best Buy will remain operating and honoring warranties for the length of the warranty period. IMHO, that isn't a safe bet.

I wouldn't buy either.

-KeithP

wait, so a best buy warranty is only good at the specific best buy you bought the item from? you can't take it to ANY other best buy store in the world?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Wait wait.... Are you guys telling me there are actually suckers that agree to those extended warranty offers they try to sell you when buying an expensive computer / appliance?









Bwahahahahahahahahaha. Seriously, do a little research in knowing that extended warranties are a _CASH_COW_. They make shitloads of profit off of them for a reason.

 

[TwiceOver]

SquareTrade actually promises to resolve all claims, one way or another, within 5 days.

However yeah I did think of getting it directly through Dell, however they have their own issues. Their website is extremely hush-hush when it comes to extended warranty plans. They don't mention anything on their website, regarding what specific extended warranty options they offer, what their prices are, etc. All their site says is that you call a number to get those details.

I tried calling that number several times yesterday, and every time was connected to foreign sales reps in India (based on the accent). They seemed pretty vague about the details and every rep I talked to gave me a different price for the same 3 year service that I was asking for. Secondly, the more troubling issue was that when I asked them to provide me with a terms & conditions document which details exactly what will be covered in the extended warranty, they failed to provide me with one. When I said that GeekSquad and SquareTrade have their T&S documents available for customers, they kept saying that 'Dell' is a respectable brand that's 'better than others', and that I should just 'trust them'. I told them that I need to read the T&S document to know things like what classifies as an accidental damage (as I wanted ADH as well), through what procedures will Dell carry out the repairs, replacement or reimbursement, under what conditions can the warranty service get terminated, will I have to pay any deductibles or any type of other costs, what kind of damages are NOT covered, etc ... When I said things like this, they got angry and sarcastic, and told me to "search Dell's website for *whatever* it is that I'm looking for". One of them even made a sarcastic joke that maybe I'd like Michael Dell to directly call me and explain the terms and conditions .. ! YES, this really happened !

When I talked with them the second time yesterday and then hung up, the rep actually called me back to say that I should not call back as there are only 3 reps currently present in their team, so chances are I might talk to the same person again.

So a company that treats potential customers like this, I don't even WANT to know what they'll do after you've paid ! I'll trying calling on a weekday again in the hopes of speaking with an AMERICAN sales rep, but if I can only speak with those Indian dudes, no way am I dealing with Dell.

By the way, I'm a student so spending $300 ~ $400 on a warranty is serious money for me, so I want to be sure what service am I buying. This is why I wanted to read their T&S document so that there are no surprises later on if I ever need to make a claim.

I've had the same experience with them. Sadly enough, their best support now is through facebook messenger... I no longer buy Dell products.

 

[zinfamous]

Buy with an AMEX. don't be scammed

 

[zinfamous]

wait, so a best buy warranty is only good at the specific best buy you bought the item from? you can't take it to ANY other best buy store in the world?

he's suggesting that Best Buy, the company, may not be in business throughout the duration of the warranty.