Your computer needs some love so you’ve decided to take it in for some surgery. That’s great, but what kind of computer repair service warranty should you expect?
Well, first of all, open up your mouth, and ask! Typically, a standard repair warranty is between 30 – 60 days. But, don’t be afraid to further speak up and negotiate your computer repair service warranty.
Here are some situations where you can push the envelope and get more warranty time:
- Getting your hard drive replaced – If your laptop or desktop requires a hard drive replacement, you can inform your computer service repair company that standard hardware warranties on hard drives are for one year. So, you can let the repair shop know that you’ll go ahead with the hard drive replacement if they honor the same one-year warranty. This is typically tough to say no to. Keep in mind though the files are your responsibility. If the drive goes belly up, that’s on you.
- Computer part replacement is needed – Same as your hard drive, you should ask what kind of manufacturer warranty is your service depot getting for the part. If it’s more than the 30-60 days, ask to piggy-back on that.
- Data recovery needed? – If you decide to recover your precious baby photos from your failing hard drive among other files, it is always nice to have a little buffer time to ensure all files are back and accounted for. Ask for double the warranty period to allow this grace time.
- Got a computer virus? This is more of a gray area, but you can have your computer repair shop note down which virus infected your system and request that the warranty is doubled as long as you don’t get hit with the same virus again. If it’s the same virus, well, that’s on you. This is more of a tough sell because the repair shop may just say if a new computer virus appears, that is something you took steps to get. Time stamps of when viruses appear are against you on this one, but it can’t hurt to ask.
Get familiar with your warranty and also don’t always go by the exact warranty expiration date. Once again, it can’t hurt to open your mouth and ask if the computer repair warranty may be extended a few days especially if the company is honorable and compassionate.
