Well, I just told my parents why I wanted to build my own computer and what I would use in it, etc.
They said it's fine except my mom says "But why can't you just have a Dell? You get like 3 years of on-site support for $250." and I say: "Because Dells don't let you configure EXACTLY what you want".
Then my dad says "It's all fine except we want somebody to be here when it breaks, and you can get that with a dell."
So, I found a local computer store that will do an on-site diagnostic test for $15. They'll find out what's wrong but will ask you if they should fix it and tell you how much it'll be. I think this is great, I can just put my desktop in the car and take it over there it's not far. They also have a "WinCare Package" that will fix everything like new but keep all your data, for $45.
Now I presented this to them and said "How many times do you think it'll break causing me to have to get a "Wincare" package in three years?"
Our desktop (Dell XPS 410) has had problems I think only two times and we've had it for two years. That would total to $90 (two WinCare Packages), yet the three year of on-site service with a Dell costs ~$250 I believe.
This means that my computer could have to have the WinCare thing FIVE TIMES and that would only be $225. Besides, I could probably fix it myself if I just got the $15 diagnostic.
Well, that was a slight rant but here's my question:
What can I do to make them understand that:
1. Dell does not offer all the things I want.
2. I don't NEED the 3 years of on-site support. I've had my laptop for 3 years, very few problems.
Full Version: One Thing About Building A Computer..
QUOTE (Mikey @ Jul 13 2008, 08:41 PM) 
Well, I just told my parents why I wanted to build my own computer and what I would use in it, etc.
They said it's fine except my mom says "But why can't you just have a Dell? You get like 3 years of on-site support for $250." and I say: "Because Dells don't let you configure EXACTLY what you want".
Then my dad says "It's all fine except we want somebody to be here when it breaks, and you can get that with a dell."
So, I found a local computer store that will do an on-site diagnostic test for $15. They'll find out what's wrong but will ask you if they should fix it and tell you how much it'll be. I think this is great, I can just put my desktop in the car and take it over there it's not far. They also have a "WinCare Package" that will fix everything like new but keep all your data, for $45.
Now I presented this to them and said "How many times do you think it'll break causing me to have to get a "Wincare" package in three years?"
Our desktop (Dell XPS 410) has had problems I think only two times and we've had it for two years. That would total to $90 (two WinCare Packages), yet the three year of on-site service with a Dell costs ~$250 I believe.
This means that my computer could have to have the WinCare thing FIVE TIMES and that would only be $225. Besides, I could probably fix it myself if I just got the $15 diagnostic.
Well, that was a slight rant but here's my question:
What can I do to make them understand that:
1. Dell does not offer all the things I want.
2. I don't NEED the 3 years of on-site support. I've had my laptop for 3 years, very few problems.
They said it's fine except my mom says "But why can't you just have a Dell? You get like 3 years of on-site support for $250." and I say: "Because Dells don't let you configure EXACTLY what you want".
Then my dad says "It's all fine except we want somebody to be here when it breaks, and you can get that with a dell."
So, I found a local computer store that will do an on-site diagnostic test for $15. They'll find out what's wrong but will ask you if they should fix it and tell you how much it'll be. I think this is great, I can just put my desktop in the car and take it over there it's not far. They also have a "WinCare Package" that will fix everything like new but keep all your data, for $45.
Now I presented this to them and said "How many times do you think it'll break causing me to have to get a "Wincare" package in three years?"
Our desktop (Dell XPS 410) has had problems I think only two times and we've had it for two years. That would total to $90 (two WinCare Packages), yet the three year of on-site service with a Dell costs ~$250 I believe.
This means that my computer could have to have the WinCare thing FIVE TIMES and that would only be $225. Besides, I could probably fix it myself if I just got the $15 diagnostic.
Well, that was a slight rant but here's my question:
What can I do to make them understand that:
1. Dell does not offer all the things I want.
2. I don't NEED the 3 years of on-site support. I've had my laptop for 3 years, very few problems.
A company will only sell additional warranties if they make money off of it. That's the simplest part of it--they love making money off of you. With intelligence, logic, and some knowledge, you can fix it just as well and at a lot cheaper a price. While true, those warranties COULD save you money, statistics say you WILL lose money overall. Also, if you figure out what's shot, you can usually get a quick RMA from the manufacturers. Most hardware problems are found rather quickly--meaning a bad motherboard will show the signs for a long time. If a cap bursts, that's a problem and it's usually easily RMA-able. Don't buy extended warranties on everything--but you can still save money by purchasing it on shorter-warranty products so you can get an RMA through the retailer for a few years. Even so, it's not worth buying a warranty on single items.
That--and good luck getting Dell on-site!!
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