[kgle]

Hmm the laptop I am buying through Dell is costing me around $600 and that's only because I am buying a flash drive and messenger bag along with it. You don't need the extended warranty or anything extra on it. Buy it factory and you should be absolutely fine.

[mrs.frog]

I would highly suggest the extended warranty on any computers. The usual warranty is only good for 1 year. Our laptop was purchased Nov 05 and we paid 68.88 for an extended warranty for 2 extra years after the original manufacture warranty expired.
It came in mightly handy last week when the hard drive went kaput! ( 2nd time in three years)
Saved me approx 300.00 both times. Bought it at WM and we have had an excellent experience with them in regards to their service providers.
My son bought a Dell 4 years ago and bought the extended warranty also. It was pricey but it has paid for it 5 times over! After the third time of sending it in to replace the hard drive, they sent him a new one........with an option to purchase another 3 year warranty for 50.00.
Even if you buy it factory direct, that is no guarantee that you wont have problems with it.
Buying extended warranties in the past on appliances/electronics has saved us literally thousands over the years.

Brenda

[kgle]

I have asked our IT guy at work, my father (who is a computer genius), and a good friend who is also a master on computers. All three have told me to forgo the warranty simply because the price you pay for it is a good chunk of the cost of a new computer. You might as well buy a new one. The laptop I was looking at definitely cost more than 70 bucks to extend the warranty!

And I didn't say factory direct, I said buy it factory, meaning buy it the way its sold without adding ANYTHING to it. Buy it how it comes. You don't need all that extra memory, RAM, hard drive space etc if you are only using it for school.

[mrs.frog]

I am lookng at the WM service plan here in front of me. States All computers only 68.88 for a 2 year service plan. ( which would then be 3 years total)

So I don't see why they would say forgo the warranty when a new hard drive on day 367 when your warranty is over and your computer is dead would cost you approx 2-300.00 to be installed if it went bad.
Mine is a basic. Nothing fancy, didn't need or want it. Its a plain Jane.

Makes that 68.88 look pretty darn good unless of course you want a disposable laptop and buy a new one every 1-2 years.
Microsoft even states the hard drives in comps are only good for an average of 1-2 years.
500.00 every 2 years for a new laptop vs 500.00 + 68.88 for a three year protection plan that can be renewed for a fee of 50.00 for another 2 years.

My son paid 179.00 for his waranty through Dell for 3 years and like I mentioned in my previous post, it has saved his butt many times because the hard drive has gone back 3x and he was sent a new one....................much cheaper than the cost of a new laptop.

[mrs.frog]

Anyhow, on the subject of the original thread.............I spoke with the IT people at Ivy Tech and they said they have no idea about any extra FA for a laptop. They said you can go ahead and buy one and then when and if you get enough money from your FA, then pay the laptop off.But they stated they have no plan in place for extra FA.
The only deal they have is with Dell, which is on their main webpage ( Ivy Techs) in which Dell offers a 12% discount.

[Ginger Vitus]

That is because Ivy Tech just gives you the amount of financial aid you want up to your maximum without making serious inquiries into how much you expenses are. Schools that do the proper audits verify this, and if you want over a certain percentage of the costs of your tuition and books, you need a reason. Add the cost into your loan amount and hopefully you won't go over your max.


"Anyhow, on the subject of the original thread.............I spoke with the IT people at Ivy Tech and they said they have no idea about any extra FA for a laptop. They said you can go ahead and buy one and then when and if you get enough money from your FA, then pay the laptop off.But they stated they have no plan in place for extra FA.
The only deal they have is with Dell, which is on their main webpage ( Ivy Techs) in which Dell offers a 12% discount."