How do I fake-a-break for my laptop warranty?

[Shrugged]

So I've got this laptop I bought a few years back with a 3 year extended warranty. If it broke more then 3 times due to manufacturer issues or power surges they would replace it with a newer model.

Mine has broke 3 times now (wireless card, motherboard and fan) and I only have a few months left in the warranty. By this point, they've replaced just about every piece of hardware inside it, but it still moves at a snails pace...

Any suggestions on how to just get it over with so I can get a new one?

(Spills, drops and other things caused by us, don't count)

 

[hilroy]

2-3 seconds in the microwave should do the trick..........

 

[Kilgore Trout]

If you know a bit about notebooks just open up the back plate that holds the hard drive take it out and smack it around a bit without leaving any signs of damage from the outside.

Hard drives are very fragile and theres a good chance you can break one of the plates inside and thus wreck the hard drive by smacking it around a bit.
Then plug it back in and tell them that the notebook won't boot up because hopefully something inside the drive won't work anymore.

I have accidentally tipped 2 hard drives off my desk to fall 3 feet onto the ground in the past 5 years and both times the simple act of falling 3 feet wrecked the hard drive.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Mine has broke 3 times now (wireless card, motherboard and fan) and I only have a few months left in the warranty.

Care to share with us what brand laptop it was that had so much fail on it?

 

[DickHardwood]

If it broke more then 3 times due to manufacturer issues or power surges ...

WAHAHA! All too easy my apprentice, you just got to create a BIG ASS power surge and fry it, or a component of it.... Static electricity is your friend in this case. If you got any tools at all just crack the beast open, grab yourself a RAM memory chip. Don't drop it or break it in any way, no need for that... heh, heh.

Now get yourself a pair of big old fluffy slippers, and holding the chip drag your feet all over a shag carpet, just cause as much static electricity as you can... pop that RAM chip back in your machine, seal everything back up, and fire that piece of crap up, and BOOM you will get screen of death for sure.

Just say a power surge caused it... and you be good to go WA-HA-HA!

 

[SilentLeviathan]

Assuming you bought the extended warranty at Future Shop or Best Buy it has to be the same problem 3 times before they replace it.

Oh yeah, if anything is actually physically broken they'll deny the claim saying it's abuse. So damaging the HD, etc is a no no. I worked at a Best Buy for 3 years and I only ever saw 3 successful warranty claims and two of them were the district manager's kids. The third was for a Toshiba laptop that had a know overheating issue for that model.

 

[papasmerf]

Well this thread has no hint of dishonesty in it.

 

[hilroy]

Well this thread has no hint of dishonesty in it.

No worse than customer service promising you the world and how they will take care of you until they actualy have your money and your out the door. And then for some reason its like you dont exist and no longer matter

 

[tboy]

ok so instead of replacing your three year old laptop (that is slow because of all the crap you have on it). You're going to commit fraud?

Nice guy you are........

 

[WoodPeckr]

ok so instead of replacing your three year old laptop (that is slow because of all the crap you have on it). You're going to commit fraud?

Exactly!
If you use Windows you have to do your needed PM to clean the crap out that accumulates while using it. If you don't your PC will slow down. As long as you keep it clean, it will run like new all the time.

 

[cypherpunk]

You should review the terms of your warranty. I believe the standard is that they will replace the unit after it has to be serviced three times *for the same issue*. I can't recommend that you do it, but dumping electricity onto the mainboard is a pretty good solution. If you do it right it looks like something shorted and took the whole board with it.

 

[Shrugged]

No worse than customer service promising you the world and how they will take care of you until they actualy have your money and your out the door. And then for some reason its like you dont exist and no longer matter

The dude that sold me the (HP) laptop warranty, TOLD me to do this... it was his selling pitch...

"Just find 3 reasons to bring it in within three years and we'll GIVE you a new laptop, this way you wont have to buy a new one, just keep buying warranties and riding off them"

I don't feel half as bad about doing something I was told to do in the first place.

As for the suggestions, thanks a ton!

According to the warranty it doesn't have to be the exact same thing 4 times, just 4 problems caused by any of the manufacturer pieces (as well as surges)

After the last time they fixed it, they placed 4 stickers on all of the openings that say "removal will void warranty". I suppose in anticipation that I'd going poking around inside.

 

[Edifice]

To quote Homer Simpson; "Extended Warrany? How can I lose!".

 

[SilentLeviathan]

The dude that sold me the (HP) laptop warranty, TOLD me to do this... it was his selling pitch...

"Just find 3 reasons to bring it in within three years and we'll GIVE you a new laptop, this way you wont have to buy a new one, just keep buying warranties and riding off them"

Again, assuming this was Future Shop or Best Buy he's wrong. I'd see sales guys do it all the time but they're wrong. It's three times for the same repair.

 

[WoodPeckr]

The dude that sold me the (HP) laptop warranty, TOLD me to do this... it was his selling pitch...

I ran into a salesman at Circuit City who used the same line.
He told me buy the laptop along with the 3 yr warr and before the 3 yr warr expires, drop it hard and make sure you break it and CC will replace it with a new laptop!
Thought it was kinda fishy. Didn't think it was true because you wouldn't find out for almost 3 years later when you attempted to get a new laptop....and now CC is history anyways.

 

[hairyfucker]

go for the cheap breakage to hedge your bet. put a soft straw thru the vents to stop the fan from turning and then turn on your laptop. after a bit the fan will burnout, take out the straw, and you now need a new fan (like a previous fix) and there will be no visible damage.

if you want to be bold leave it run and block the vents and wait for the thing to overheat. much more damage but you know it will be toast at that time.

tell us how it all works out.

 

[Randylooking4fun]

It's three times for the same repair and has to be major repair not minor. I guess.

 

[Cassini]

go for the cheap breakage to hedge your bet. put a soft straw thru the vents to stop the fan from turning and then turn on your laptop. after a bit the fan will burnout, take out the straw, and you now need a new fan (like a previous fix) and there will be no visible damage.

if you want to be bold leave it run and block the vents and wait for the thing to overheat. much more damage but you know it will be toast at that time.

tell us how it all works out.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that won't break the fan, and it probably won't break the laptop. I had a laptop that had been dropped. The fan was smashed, and the CPU heat pipe ineffective. The laptop could still boot XP, it just engaged the CPU thermal shutdown/safe mode so often it was mind bogglingly slow.

The manufacturers have thought about stuck fans causing problems. They installed fans with auto-safe restart modes, CPU's that won't die of thermal overload, and a variety of other safeguards to minimize the cost of repairs.

 

[WoodPeckr]

2-3 seconds in the microwave should do the trick..........

Just curious?
What will this do?

 

[oldjones]

So a dishonest salesman—as if there could ever be such a creature—excuses the customer's dishonesty?