Best Buy and the Palm 515

[dr rx]

Many moons ago I purchased my Palm 515 from Best Buy and decided, after much deliberation, to purchase the 3 year extended warranty. One of the main reasons I did this was because the salesrep told me that at some point in the future I could come in and essentially upgrade my Palm 515 to something new in the same price range (the price I paid originally). Of course there has to be something wrong with the Palm 515, but it doesn't have to be major (ie could just be that the digitizer isn't working up to par or something) according to the rep.

My question is, has anyone else out there purchased from Best Buy and if so, have you utilized the extended warranty? I would like to know how receptive and responsive Best Buy was...... Of course, I would like my Palm 515 to die tomorrow so I could get a Tungsten T, but I won't hurry that along!:)

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences...

[Yunk]

Best Buy is notorious for there false warrenty claims. Even if you had it in writing they wouldn't honor it. Standard 15% restocking fee on returns. Charged by the Florida Attorney General, on 20/20, etc..

Steer clear.

[dr rx]

Not what I wanted to hear....I know that Best Buy normally has very poor customer service, but I was hoping that having the warranty in writing and having paid extra for it, would have meant something....:(

[tuffguy]

Nope, you've been lied to. The salesmen at Best Buy and similar stores earn a comission on their "extended warranty." That's why they push so hard to sell it. The upgrade clause is a farce. If the retard is still working there you could try confronting him on it, but chances are he has moved on.

As Yunk stated, stay clear of these warranties. The only ones they benefit is the retailer.

tuff

[gremmie88]

I have had a much different experience at Best Buy. I purchased the 3 year warranty and have replaced my palm twice so far for various reasons. In fact, I originally purchased the m505 and was given some money back the first time I exchanged it, due to a decrease in the price of the m505. Then, I was able to upgrade to the 515 at no extra charge when that came out. Obviously, my original units needed to have a problem. My reason for exchanging the palm was due to the battery "not holding a charge" sufficiently. The unit was not defective, I just felt it wasn't holding a charge as long as I wanted. The store didn't argue with me. I have been very pleased with Best Buy's warranty and expect to purchase a warranty next time I buy a Palm at Best Buy.

The salesman represented to you that this was the purpose of the warranty... to allow you to upgrade or exchange for any legitimate reason. I suggest you go into the store and demand a replacement for your original unit. They may not allow you to upgrade to the Tungston, since they still carry the m515. However, you will at least have a new unit.

[JohnKes]

I don't think the extended warrany was meant to be a means to guarantee an upgrade. It's wrong to market it that way. However, if you read the fine print, there should be a statement that they would repair the unit or replace it with something of similar value. Also read the fine print to see what is NOT covered.

[dr rx]

I am glad to hear a positive story about Best Buy's extended warranties. I am aware that the warranty is not meant to be an upgrade coupon and it wasn't exactly presented to me that way. However, once I balked once or twice at the salesman's attempt to get me to purchase the extended warranty, he mentioned that he had a palm with a minor flaw (digitizer wasn't as sensitive as it should have been) and he was upgraded to a new unit (the unit he had was no longer being sold). This sounded like an ace in the hole to me since I knew of Palm's poor track record with the 505 and this technology sector's propensity to update very rapidly.

I bought the my Palm m515 for about $399 (minus the warranty), and now the thing is selling for about $100 less I think. I would think that if I needed a new unit they would either give me another m515 with a $100 back or I'd pay an extra $100 to get the Tungsten T (the later would be my choice of course).

This is also the reason why I asked a question on this group a little bit ago about when anyone would conjecture that the m515 would be discontinued. No one responded, but I did find out that there are plans in the foreseeable future to discontinue it....sigh...

[mjchalmersmd]

I've had all good experiences with Best Buy extended warranties. I've had to use it with each palm I've had and with each use made up the purchase price of the warranty. They've either flat out replaced the unit without hesitation and on the spot (the most valuable feature to me of the warranty) or when the model has no longer been made, it turned into an upgrade. In September, I replaced the defective IIIxe with an m515 for just $60, AND the original warranty is still covering the new one!

I wouldn't do it any other way.

[swithin]

I almost always PASS on extended warranties as Consumer Reports magazine recommends. Whenever I've gotten them, they haven't been worth it.

But there are two exceptions I would make. Jeep Wranglers and Palm PDAs. I absolutely love, and own, both of those items. At the time (1995), the Jeep didn't have a great repair record so I got the extended warranty. It paid off, although I would argue that the Jeep's repairs weren't any worse than any other auto.

And I should have gotten one on on my Palm m505. I love it, and I'm not planning on switching, but it would have saved some stress and downtime to be able to give it to someone else to deal with.

If you're planning on getting a new Palm, you're going to like it--but get the extended warranty. (I don't work for any of these stores that would benefit from this advice)

[JohnKes]

And if you get a Sony, you will want the extended warranty because Sony's customer service is so hard to deal with. Sony's come with only a 90 day warranty.

[dr rx]

To everyone who offered an opinion on the matter of extended warranties, thank you. Extended warranties are always a sticking issue with me and I usually do not purchase them, but for the reason I elucidated in my original post, I decided to get one with my Palm m515.

To mjchalmersmd: At the point when you exchanged the palm IIIxe for the m515, how long had the IIIxe been off the market? Was it indeed off the market, or did BestBuy simply have no more in stock? I purchased the 3 year extended warranty on my palm m515 and I know that Palm has no immediate plans to discontinue the model, so I'm wondering if my warranty will outlast the model or vice versa..... I am in love with the Tungsten T and would like nothing more than a $60 upgrade from my m515 to this unit, but first off, the m515 I own is not defective at present and 2nd, the m515 is still available.... This brings up another question. The Palm m515 is now about anywhere from $100 to $150 less than I bought it for back in March 2002. If my palm m515 became defective, would they replace with a new m515 (and I would essentially use $100-$150 on the exchange) or would they give me a close to equally valued Tungsten T? Just curious as to what your interpretation would be.....