<p>^^^ You can find these support horror stories for every single laptop company out there.</p>
<p>You have to buy something. It might as well be what you want, you are rolling the dice for support no matter what brand it is.</p>
<p>Sounds like they owned up to the problem… That’s a good thing… Just took a few extra calls… and at least she was pro-active about calling you back…
And to the above poster, you may want to read this before purchasing something…</p>
<p><a href=“http://blog.squaretrade.com/2009/11/study-finds-one-in-three-laptops-fail-within-three-years.html[/url]”>http://blog.squaretrade.com/2009/11/study-finds-one-in-three-laptops-fail-within-three-years.html</a></p>
<p>I’ll take the chance of a hassle over a laptop that breaks 50 percent more frequently.</p>
<p>creekland(s) -
Good - progress seems to be happening. It’s a shame some of these service people can’t think in terms of the bigger picture (which includes lost sales to Toshiba and far more $$$ lost than they wanted to initially charge).</p>
<p>I remember when I took my newish car back to the dealer because the transmission was malfunctioning. They replaced the transmission but wanted to charge me an expensive “cleaning fee.” I said I didn’t see ANYWHERE on the warranty where I had to pay ANY cleaning fee, and they backed down and agreed I didn’t owe anything. Sometimes they WILL try to stick you with whatever they can, but if you stick with your warranty that the manufacturer provides, you should NOT have to pay anything. Manufacturer’s warranties generally cover pretty much everything for the 1st year. I would keep complaining loudly to everyone up the chain until someone works with you to resolve it at NO charge to you. You have been inconvenienced & stalled long enough!</p>
<p>In 1985 I bought a Saab. In LA. In late June. And then in November after we’d moved to the Rockies I learned that the rear window defroster didn’t work. And they tried to tell me it wasn’t covered under the warranty because “glass defects have to be reported at the time you take possession of the car, no later.” It took multiple phone calls and a special visit when the regional manager was in the area before they agreed to pay for the repair. It soured me on Saab. Permanently. Nobody was ever able to explain how, on the day I picked the car up in LA, I was supposed to be able to tell if that defroster embedded in the glass was working, but rules are rules. I was working a million hours a week, traveling for work all the time, and this took way too much of my time. They lost a customer for life over something that should have been a no-brainer.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m not sure if you were being sarcastic or real, but Acer doesn’t have a good rep either. Just saying…</p>
<p>I’m relieved that folks at Toshiba finally seem to have figured out what is going on and hopeful that we can now get S’s computer fixed. I’m extra pleased that they will send it to him at college.</p>
<p>Quite honestly, I just might soften a bit to consider Toshiba among other brands when we look for more computers in the near future - this assumes that it all works as it seems it should now. I have never been upset with their computers that we own - just the service that we were[n’t] getting.</p>
<p>A company that is willing to change when they finally see a “wrong” (hopefully for others as well as for us) is worthy of noting. Two nights ago we were assured [by them] there was nothing else we could do. Thanks all! What was happening just wasn’t right! Hopefully it will be soon.</p>
<p>And, I will still use AmEx next time I buy one (from any company).</p>
<p>Before you actually purchase another Toshiba - be sure to read back over this thread - it might remind you of why you might want to choose another manufacturer.</p>
<p>I’m surprised to read that you might consider buying a Toshiba again, now that they seem to have finally agreed to do what they should have been willing to do from the beginning. Think about all the grief you went through to get to this point! And remember, it’s not over yet. Wait until your son has a actual working laptop is his hands before you conclude that Toshiba has really dealt with all the problems. </p>
<p>I know you said you were happy with the Toshiba laptop before it needed repair, but there are other good laptops out there. I have an Asus, and have never had a problem with it.</p>
<p>^^ But the real test, and the one the OP s/b most interested in, is how Asus supports you in the event it does break.</p>
<p>But that will be another thread…</p>
<p>True, ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad, but I have no first-hand knowledge of Asus support, because neither my nor DS’s Asus laptops have ever needed to be repaired. My Toshiba laptap did need repair, and the service was unbelievably bad. So between those two choices – or between Toshiba and any other brand, for that matter – I would not choose Toshiba.</p>
<p>i am really sorry you are having such a difficult time.</p>
<p>i have had three toshiba laptops and have had no problems at all with any of them. </p>
<p>i have not spent a lot of money on any of them–i buy the cheapest one i can as i have only used them for the educational software i have to use for work. </p>
<p>not trying to minimize your frustration; just trying to point out that everyone has their own experiences.</p>
<p>sodiumfree - </p>
<p>That’s good. Maybe I’ll need to take a look at Asus for next time. I think it also scores well on the link on reliability someone put in another similar thread.</p>
<p>I’ve had Dells and although they were generally okay, they had issues with the hinges. However, I had those fixed under warranty with no issues. I’m also using a Lenovo but haven’t had any issues with it (after a few years).</p>
<p>In reality all of these laptops use about the same components. Most laptop vendors don’t make any of the electronic components in them with a couple of exceptions (ex: sony makes batteries but those batteries are also used in a variety of other laptops including Dell and Apple). There’s some variation of course - Intel vs AMD microprocessors, Nvidia vs other graphics chips, different HDD vendors, different display vendors, etc. I see the biggest difference in the physical design of the case including the layout, hinges, air flow (which can affect reliability of the electronics), etc. </p>
<p>However, especially since I know they all use about the same components and even the failure rates are all pretty close to each other, I think support is important. This includes being able to readily get updates and having a decent support staff and a company who’ll stand behind their product for if/when something goes wrong. I’ll go out of my way to purchase from a company with USA based support rather than India based.</p>
<p>Munchkin, if your AmEx card isn’t a Costco one, double-check to be sure you get the extended warranty free by charing your purchase on that CC. I know it works for my AmEx Costco card, but am not sure about their many other varieties of AmEx cards. I consider this a GREAT benefit of the CC & have found it extremely valuable, especially when I get tired of dealing with the idiots of the manufacturer’s customer service.</p>
<p>asus is supposedly very good also. i was the one who posted the reliability chart. It lists their three year malfunction rates as follows:</p>
<p>asus 15.6%
toshiba 15.7%
sony 16.8%
apple 17.4%
dell 18.3%
levono 21.5%
acer 23.3%
gateway 23.5%
hp 25.6%</p>
<p>I’m actually surprised dell isn’t lower on the list… they must have gotten a little bit better over the years. I remember when I was in college almost everyone that I knew with a dell laptop had issues with it. I had about five or six friends in one year alone have their hard drives go bad and need to be replaced. I realize dell doesn’t make the hard drives but whatever components they were using back then were not good at all.</p>
<p>i currently have two working toshibas - one that I bought at the end of 2009 and one that i have had since 2003 or 2004. I have added some RAM to the older one to speed it up a bit but aside from that it works fine. I did notice about two years ago that its fan was louder then it used to be so I bought a new one online for a couple bucks and replaced that. It still worked but the new one is much quieter so I’m glad I did it. I also have an old compaq which is heavy as a rock and the jack that the power cord plugs into is broken. it belonged to a former MLB player and i keep it because I think that’s a neat fact, haha. 
</p>
<p>my sister currently has an apple and has had no issues with it aside from the fact that her original battery no longer holds its charge. she just got a new battery for christmas and it’s back in business again. my mom currently has a compaq and she’s had some issues with it. they are now owned by hp. she called about the issues she was having and they told her it was normal and not to worry about it. there’s nothing normal about what her laptop does but i don’t have to deal with it so if she can live with it that’s fine by me. </p>
<p>my grandmom has my sisters old toshiba which she bought in about 2006 or so… she gave it to her when she decided to go mac a few years ago. my 12 year old cousin has a toshiba laptop as well and hasn’t had any issues with it. </p>
<p>my boyfriend has a dell and he likes it a lot however it has an awful time staying connected to the internet. We’re not quite sure why… we’ve tried multiple routers and even wireless cards… same problem. It runs linux so it’s not a windows issue. who knows! I’m an IT-savy female geek and I can’t even figure it out!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The main reason I might (pending how S’s is actually fixed) consider Toshiba is due to this thread and the problems others have listed with other companies. If they are mostly all bad at customer service, then it is essentially a lottery of sorts.</p>
<p>The computer I am typing on now is a Toshiba laptop bought back in 2005. Since then it has been used daily - often by my boys too. It’s been around the US (literally) and out to HI with us. It’s gone camping with us multiple, multiple times. It uses Autocad and the internet (both daily). We have upgraded its memory and speed, but aside from that, the ONLY issue is one USB port no longer works reliably. This thing has been a workhorse that we have loved. Due to this one I had relatives buy Toshiba laptops, and while theirs haven’t had the use or travel this one has, they haven’t had the slightest of issues. A close teacher friend bought one for her daughter who went to college one year ahead of S based on my accolades and hasn’t had any problems. THAT’S why we didn’t have S even consider another brand.</p>
<p>The last couple of days have been a virtual “can’t believe it” nightmare, but hopefully Toshiba is waking up (including sending the computer back to S at college).</p>
<p>I’m not 100% “back in love.” We will consider ASUS, Toshiba, and even HP (yes, problems, but supposedly easy to fix according to those who have them around me IRL). We will not consider Dell, Acer or Gateway. I might take a look at Macs, but I kind of doubt it with our history of PC.</p>
<p>Then we’ll try to make our best educated guess. Someday this computer will die (but I’d love a couple more years with it!). I have a junior and freshman who will get their own when they head off to college (they use a desktop and this laptop now). We will be buying more laptops in the near future.</p>
<p>In the meantime, I honestly appreciate everyone’s suggestions and help. I don’t know if their change of heart came about due to the BBB, AG, the consumerist phone number someone gave me on here (which is where we left the message for “Karen”) or even if they prowl the net and found this thread. I don’t care which one. I’m just glad they have had a change of heart and are [hopefully] in the process of making this right. If not, you can believe I’ll find this thread and let everyone know.</p>
<p>And we shouldn’t have to buy another until we find out how this one ends.</p>
<p>And I’ll still use a cc with advanced warranty protection.</p>
<p>Gotta go to work. Thanks again everyone!</p>
<p>I think one of the issues is that unfortunately, laptops & computers are NOT built to last the way the older ones were/are. We also have some computers that are ancient that are MUCH more reliable than models we’ve purchased more recently. Aren’t sure WHY the newer ones malfunction so badly so soon after purchase (within months and none last 3 full years without MAJOR flaws & breakdowns).</p>
<p>The older laptops have been used & abused much more but other than needing to replace batteries when they will no longer hold a charge, have not needed ANY service. These older laptops are various brands.</p>
<p>Our kids were very happy having a desktop + netbook at college instead of a laptop. That was what each ended up purchasing when their respective laptops each died. The combo gives the the best of both worlds–portability & lightness with a bigger screen Y memory from the desktop. The extended warranty from AmEx extended warranty has been GREAT for us and allowed us to get better customer service than being stuck with the manufacturer. </p>
<p>(Several of the manufacturers charge just to look over the computer to decide whether it can be repaired & provide an estimate–AmEx extended warranty PAID for that as well as shipping to get the computers evaluated; they also provided a full refund when they agreed with us that the computers were NOT worth repairing.)</p>
<p>
We had a similar experience with our plasma TV bought w/Costco Amex card. They paid for the diagnostic estimate AND when it was determined that it couldn’t be repaired, they refunded the entire cost of the TV. They were phenomenal. I now ALWAYS make sure to purchase anything like that with my Amex card. In fact, I buy just about everything with it…love that rebate! :)</p>
<p>We just found it a LOT easier to deal with the AmEx extended warranty folks than the computer manufacturers. They really did put the customer first and were NOT catering to the manufacturer. They agreed that the countless attempts to fix the same problem unsuccessfully were enough to declare the computer not worth repairing instead of making us try “one more time,” AGAIN! Love AmEx extended warranty!</p>
<p>Look at all the good press AmEx is getting here because of their quality of service and treatment of customers. The computer manufacturers could learn a thing or two from it.</p>