Looking beyond RRP for long term ROI…

Prospective customers are often horrified at the price of a replacement part for their laptop. For major brands such as Sony, the cost of a new motherboard can easily hit £250 before labour and delivery have been factored in.

So how can you make sure you’re covered for when things go wrong?

In truth, most laptops are built to a similar standard, so whether your laptop breaks down or ages gracefully is really a question of luck. I’m the proud owner of a Dell which has lasted 2 and half years without any problems, but when I purchased it I was warned that the build quality of Dell machines was often lacking. Conversely, the same engineer told me that Asus were the best built, whereas my current colleagues at CRM Laptop Repair would rate Asus among the lower end of quality.

With so many laptop brands around, make sure the one you choose offers flexibility for the future...

So, we’ve established that no matter what brand you choose you’re always going to need a little bit of luck, what next?

What really matters when your laptop breaks, is can the workshop you choose source the replacement part? Now this really does vary according to the brand of laptop. For HP, the system is almost flawless. The PN number on the bottom helps our technicians identify your laptop and source the parts that will fit it. We can even tell you the date your machine was brought into this world! Toshiba also have a good system in place, and parts are reasonably priced. For Dell and their ‘Service tag’, the story is the same, and Sony and their unique VGN numbers help us to purchase the correct part for your laptop (however the parts are extremely expensive). If you do need to look up for PN / VGN number, our website has some handy photos to help you locate it on your laptop.

The real problem brands include Advent and Asus. For other major brands, the laptops are built by one or perhaps two companies. These companies then brand the parts accordingly and because manufacturing is standardised, replacement parts are easy to source and fit. However, with Advent laptops, the units have been built by various different companies, meaning the specification and quality varies hugely. This also makes sourcing a replacement motherboard, for example, a nightmare as the motherboard for one machine may not fit the next one, even if it’s the same model. While the Asus system is better, the lack of spare parts available makes repairing difficult.

Sum it up for me…

If you’re in the market for a new laptop, go mainstream. Dell, Toshiba and HP will make sure that if things go wrong, your initial couple of hundred pounds hasn’t completely gone down the toilet.

If you want to risk it and go for a high end Sony or a budget Advent, be prepared for big repair bills or a long wait on replacement parts should the worst happen.

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Filed under Choosing a laptop Tagged with acer laptops, asus laptops, broken laptop, dell laptops, hp laptops, laptop buyers guide, laptop repair, laptop repair specialists, laptop repairs, purchase laptop, sony laptop, toshiba laptops