Asus G51 Reliability / Extended Warranty Feedback

Hey there folks,

I have been considering the G51 at my local Best Buy. I haven't pulled the trigger yet since the new Windows 7 version is coming in a few days, but I got into a conversation with the sales rep about Asus reliability and whether or not to purchase an extended warranty for the laptop. My question for him was particularly in regards to how often they get returns or repairs due to defects. He said that they get fewer Asus laptops back than any other brand, but he also admitted that they sell more of the other brands.

So, I figured I'd ping you guys here and see what you had to say about what I should expect from Asus in terms of reliability and whether or not the warranty is a good investment and if so, for how long of a term I should consider.

Thanks!

 

If you have the money for an extended warranty, buy one of the models from Newegg that come with the two-year Asus warranty and 1 year accidental damage. When you add the cost of the Best Buy G51, taxes, and an extended warranty, you will probably be above the price of the G51vx-x1a that's on sale for $1299 (and you can get Bing cashback as well).

 

That's an interesting alternative.

But how is the reliability of Asus laptops, this model in especially? The last two laptops I've purchased (A Dell and a Gateway FX) have never needed their warranties, so I'm not sure if it's a good investment or not.

 

Manufacturers don't produce their products for them to fail, as that means that they have to pay to repair them . Warranty coverage is an insurance policy, nothing more, so the question is whether you are someone who wants the peace of mind should something go wrong later on.... and the fact is that the majority of customers never end up using their coverage (which is why these are high profit products for sellers).

That all said, there are plenty of horror stories around about the quality and service of the extended coverage from GeekSquad. Asus notebooks purchased at BestBuy have slightly lower prices to accomodate a combination of lower specs, components and warranty coverage. For the money, consensus around here is that if you're looking at buying extended warranty then you really should look at the reseller versions of Asus as these are then near-comparable pricing along with added benefits.

The G50/51 series has suffered from no real frequency of poor reports on the forum here since it's introduction a couple of years ago. The color scheme etc can be debated, but the series itself appears solid.

 

hehe...

Ya, you are going to pay tax when bought in the store...Go for the online version...That will save you close to $100 right there! Buy the time you pay tax, and buy the warranty....You will be almost at the same price of the g51 with a 2.5 C2D...I would say it makes more sense if you want an extended warranty...

However, I would buy the Best Buy laptop from their online site if I was not going to buy the extended warranty...

 

Just looked at Best Buy. Laptop is $999. Geek Squad 2-year plan is $279. Then add tax. Using my location, that's 7% or $89.46.

Newegg G51 is $1299. Shipping to my address is $17.09. Bing Cashback is 2% for $25.98 off.

BestBuy with Extended Warranty: $1367.46
Newegg price: $1290.11

 

X1A FTW! definitely the way to go.

 

KimoT, I made the same calculations a month ago. I have a BestBuy just over a mile from my house but opted to go with the X1A from Newegg. Just the increase in screen res is worth it, never mind the much faster CPU.

 

and the bluetooth and extra .7mp in the camera.

 

and the fact that you don't have to deal with Geeksquad?