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    Can someone suggest a way to get Lenovo to give me the warranty I want?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by NecessaryEvil, Jul 29, 2009.

  1. NecessaryEvil

    NecessaryEvil Notebook Evangelist

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    I recently purchased a Lenovo W500 off the outlet, on July 8th. It was a redistributed model, as I didn't want a refurbished model.

    I originally had been looking at purchasing off the CPP, as I have the past half dozen Thinkpads I've bought, but ended up finding this W500 for $150 less, with twice the video RAM (didn't care about FireGL vs. Radeon), more RAM (which I pulled for a 2nd 2gb stick), a 5350 (which I only wanted a 5300) than a comparably configured T500.

    I called up the CPP phone number to ask about a warranty, as there wasn't an option to buy one in the checkout process, and was told by the customer service person on the phone that once I had the notebook in hand and could give them the serial number and product number, I could go there and buy a warranty.

    So, when my laptop arrived, I called them up, and placed an order for the 3 year accidental depot warranty that I had on my T61p. A week later (today), I got a call saying that the warranty I purchased (41C9334) was not compatible with my notebook.

    This isn't a matter of the wrong socket type, the wrong voltage, or wrong interface, how can it be incompatible?

    So, I called them back, and figured I'd just have it knocked down to the 3 year on-site 9x5 next business day warranty (41C9168) I had with my T61, T60, 2 R60s, T43, T42P, T42, T41P, T41, T40, X31, X30, as I have an HP that I take out and about with me, and the W500 could be used at home.

    I was told that wouldn't work either, that any warranty I purchased would not take place until after the outlet warranty (1 year depot) was up. So, if I tried to buy the kind of warranty I wanted on this, I couldn't use it until July 2010...and by that time, I'll have probably moved on to the Calpella platform and given this notebook to my dad (and my old T60 he's using now would move down to mom).

    Now, this just pisses me off. If I had been told this, I wouldn't have wasted my time looking on the outlet for a week and a half before buying the W500. But, they didn't tell me this, they said I'd be fine going for the CPP warranty after I bought the notebook. Now I'm stuck with a notebook that I'd either have to return to purchase new (and they won't match the pricing for the configuration, which means I'd spend and additional $340 + tax if I wanted the same configuration or $240 + tax for a suitable configuration, BEFORE THE WARRANTY), or a notebook that isn't covered in the manner that I want and expect for my primary system.


    Who can I talk to to convince Lenovo to take my hard-earned money?
     
  2. pipspeak

    pipspeak Notebook Deity

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    Try escalating it with Lenovo support and talk to a manager to try and get a straight answer.

    Warranties are kinda screwy now because Lenovo seems to contract its warranty service out to a third party, which can cause all sorts of issues when doing a warranty lookup for a new machine. My 3-year warranty is not yet registering in Lenovo's system three weeks after I received my T400.
     
  3. NecessaryEvil

    NecessaryEvil Notebook Evangelist

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    I tried that with no avail...the person I spoke to talked with their manager, or so she said.

    someone PM'd me to forward this to Mark@Lenovo, which I've done.
     
  4. Mark@Lenovo

    Mark@Lenovo Company Representative

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    NecessaryEvil

    I responded over on TPF too...

    But, each family of systems have a number of possible service upgrades that can be valid for them. As only one upgrade can be associated (enabled / entitled) with a particular system model type and serial number at a time, we release a unique part number for each combination of services.

    For example, a system has a 1 year base warranty with depot service.

    There would be different part numbers for 2, 3, 4, 5 year depot
    More part numbers that would bundled 2, 3, 4, 5 year depot + ThinkPad protection, and still more part numbers for onsite, and even more for onsite + Thinkpad protection.

    Here is a link to a page listing these various combinations and part number. I don't see TPP as a combo listed, so it may be best to call sales if you don't see the P/N for the bundle of terms specific to your system that you want.

    If you are still stuck, please send me a PM with your MT & Serial # and confirm the bundle of terms you are trying to purchase (3 yr depot + TPP).

    Mark


    Mark
     
  5. NecessaryEvil

    NecessaryEvil Notebook Evangelist

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    Figured I'd post to wrap this up and let everyone know what the conclusion was.

    The Thinkpad I have, a 4063CTO, comes factory with a 3 year warranty, that got reduced to 1 year on the outlet. Unlike the 4058 which comes with a 1 year warranty standard, the 4063 apparently isn't eligible for a 3 year warranty, as it shows up as already having one.

    Luckily, Mark was able to point me towards a site that would look at my laptop's warranty, and offer warranties based off of that. The end result was I got a 4 year 9x5 NBD warranty for roughly the price of a 3 year 9x5 NBD warranty. So, basically, a free extra year to whomever buys this laptop off of me when I upgrade to the Calpella platform in 2010, as I'll probably have had 2 or 3 (Primary) Thinkpads before this W500 expires in July of 2013.