Travel Technology - Would you buy a laptop without accidental damage coverage?

I was wondering how many people here on FT pay the extra money for a CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service policy like Dell offers on their notebooks when making their purchases? IMHO, it is well worth the money after you hear some of the horror stories told by people that travel with laptops.

Laptops are extremely vulnerable to any number of potential hazards. I especially love the reports where the TSA geniuses knock them off of the table during their inspection process, but please do not go off topic here and turn this into a TSA rant.

After being the owner of probably over 50 notebooks, I have never purchased any kind of service plan or insurance. And have never needed it.

I never buy Accidental Damage plans or Extended Warranties for electronics. I takes my chances, and over the years I've saved way more than enough to replace any item if anything should happen to it that might have been covered by such plans.

I've never purchased it, and at our companies we have always extended the warantee on the business machines to three years if it wasn't already, but never the accidential damage.

Only once in my years in IT have we ever had something that would have fallen under the accidental damage, so in the long run, we saved a ton of money by not getting it.

On an individual machine though, it may make sense to have it, though I don't carry it on my personal laptop either.

After being the owner of probably over 50 notebooks, I have never purchased any kind of service plan or insurance. And have never needed it.

That's because you don't keep them long enough for anything to happen to them...

I'm pretty tough on laptops, so its paid off for me. The cappucino in the keyboard was a good one. I've also had Dell cases replaced. With Dell, its not too much more too add the accidental damage coverage., than the service plan you can purchase. I've had keyboard failures, case problems, cover latch failures, and rear connector failures on different computers. I've found that the cost of the service contract is less than the cost of individual repairs. YMMV.

By comparison--I never purchase these types of warranties for other electronics.

I've purchase when using Dell coupons where the discount goes up as the purchase price goes up--trying to leverage

Never had such coverage, never needed it.

Never have had it either and I have never kicked myself later for not getting it.

Never had and never needed the accidental coverage.

I would check and see what exactly is covered in the fine print.
If it doesn't cover really expensive parts like the screen it is not worth it.

I would also determine cost versus how long I will be using the machine and decide from there. If I am only using the system for email and other road warrior stuff (DVD playback on flights etc.) then just about any laptop will do that at this point. These types of machines are almost at the throwaway level (I saw an HP for 799 yesterday that had great specs). If I had specific needs (like the 7 LB dell behemoth that I carry around for demos) that required things like extra memory or faster drives (you can get 7200 RPM laptop drives now) then I would consider something like this.

As for the dell service contract, you get at least the first year for free, and I would recommend it if it was a marginal incremental cost.

I couldn't afford it on my Dell Inspiron 8200 in 2002. I worried about it but here in 2005 it is still working great. I have another laptop (Business) made by Sager that is warranted for 3 years. i have had that one fixed 4 times under warrannty and I have saved quite a bit. 2 different examples, one with, one without, you decide which way is better.

I have a Personal Computer Equipment rider on my State Farm Homeowner's policy. It is inexpensive and appears to completely cover damage or loss.

Never had it and never needed it. I don't get service plans or extended warranties either.

I've had "laptops" since the Osborne and Compaq suitcases, at about 18 lbs. I don't think I've ever had an incident where an "accidental damage" policy would had helped.

I spent $2k a year ago (was $3k before discounts) on a totally loaded Dell 700m, including 4yr full warranty with accidental damage. Spending that much and with all the traveling I do, it gives me peace of mind that if it gets dropped anywhere, or some FA/seatmate (or me) dumps a drink on it, I'm covered.

I plan to keep the notebook for the 4 years.

like most extended warranties/coverage, etc., never worth the extra money.

I spent $2k a year ago (was $3k before discounts) on a totally loaded Dell 700m, including 4yr full warranty with accidental damage. Spending that much and with all the traveling I do, it gives me peace of mind that if it gets dropped anywhere, or some FA/seatmate (or me) dumps a drink on it, I'm covered.

I plan to keep the notebook for the 4 years.

Never bought one. My current primary traveller, a 12 inch G4 powerbook as dents and bulges in the titanium from being dropped and smacked but it runs fine.

I never buy the accident coverage. Thankfully I am not a clumsy person so my machines have been fine.

Electronic devices will either fail prematurely or run a long time. Therefore, I use the standard 1 year warranty period to find out the reliablity for the long run. If any major part had to replaced during this year, I will spring for factory extended warranty. I did this with Toshiba which was no problem at all. That Toshiba computer did have many visits to the repair depot during year 2 and 3, and now junked.

Another source of warranty is the credit cards' buyer assurance program. Most will double your warranty up to 1 additional year on products purchased with the credit card. It appears not many people know about this perk. Does anyone have any experience to share with this program?

Never had it, never needed it, and never even heard of it until reading this thread.

Screens break all the time and usually by accident. Especially if your lid/screen has a lot of flex, the accident protection is worth the peace of mind. Replacing the screen can approach $700-1000. A 3-year total protection from HP is $350.

Never had it, never recommended it.

Replacement Keyboard is about 30-35 bucks and a fifteen minute job. DIY

Replacement Screen is about 75-100 and a thirty minute job. DIY

Just about any laptop you can buy has replacement instructions for these online. (IBM actually has videos.)

Screens break all the time

I have NEVER had a screen break on me so to claim they break "all the time" simply can't be true. I'm sure there are some people that treat their notebook like crap, but with a little TLC a notebook will last many years.

I have NEVER had a screen break on me so to claim they break "all the time" simply can't be true. I'm sure there are some people that treat their notebook like crap, but with a little TLC a notebook will last many years.

Agreed. I've never had one break and the only break in the whole company looks far more like a deliberate act than an accident.

I spent $2k a year ago (was $3k before discounts) on a totally loaded Dell 700m, including 4yr full warranty with accidental damage. Spending that much and with all the traveling I do, it gives me peace of mind that if it gets dropped anywhere, or some FA/seatmate (or me) dumps a drink on it, I'm covered.

I plan to keep the notebook for the 4 years.

About 2 years ago I watched as a FA opened an overhead and a passenger's laptop fell to the floor. Apparently the screen was damaged as a result of the fall and a heated discussion took place. IMHO, the bag that the laptop was in was one of those inexpensive models with very little padding inside to provide adequate protection against shock.

I have no idea how it was resolved as I try to mind my own business while on a plane. :)

About 2 years ago I watched as a FA opened an overhead and a passenger's laptop fell to the floor. Apparently the screen was damaged as a result of the fall and a heated discussion took place. IMHO, the bag that the laptop was in was one of those inexpensive models with very little padding inside to provide adequate protection against shock.

I have no idea how it was resolved as I try to mind my own business while on a plane. :)

They always warn about the baggage shifting--it seems to me that the airline should pay.

I've never bothered. I used to import and sell laptops. Often they just simply go wrong rather than through accidental damage. Screens stop working, USB ports fail, keys get sticky. Often by the time this happens you're probably thinking of getting the next one and using the old one as a backup with external screen etc.

And of course people just get them stolen or "forget" them in restaurants. You will probably be excluded if you are negligent - but when I've been sleepy after a long journey, a little drunk or am in an unfamilar place I've often done stuff that could be regarded as "negligent".

A hotel I work out of in Saigon I have known for 8 years has never given me a problem. I often now leave the laptop out in the room when I leave for a short time. One insurance policy I read defined a notebook as a valuable that would not be covered if not in my possession or locked away. Understandable I suppose. But you see my point? You might take risks which you think are reasonable given all the circumstances, or simply take a risk through mistake and find you are not covered. (Eg you "forget" the laptop is left out, or you lend it to a colleague who then drops it - are you covered if you've given it to someone else?)

The one time I had something nicked it was a digital camera belonging to my company. It was gabbed by a guy passing on a motorbike near my hotel. I had the now-discontinued "Amex Gold Card for Business Travellers" which was very proud to trumpet insurance cover for those expensive business essentials such as laptops. I wasn't covered because the camera belonged to the company and not to me personally. I wasn't particularly bothered as I had had the card for other reasons.

Frankly the paperwork hoops that some insurance companies will make you jump through if you do come to make a claim leads me to the conclusion that you should never take insurance unless you really can't stand the risk yourself.

Avoid buying the most expensive laptops. Just buy the cheapest that will do the job and reckon to replace it more often.

If you do take out insurance, be absolutely sure that the risk you anticipate is covered.