Dell Laptop Warranty - Buying in one country, using in another.

[Componentgirl90]

I want to buy a Dell laptop from Amazon.com (USA) to be delivered to a US address. The laptop will be used in the USA but will mostly stay in Nicaragua. The laptop apparently has a mail in warranty. I contacted Dell and they said that if I was to have a problem within the warranty period then I would have to return the product to Dell. They said that I would be charged for parts and labour. Is that correct?

I am not certain that this response from Dell sales is correct. Maybe it is the case because it is going to be used mostly in Nicaragua and not the USA. They seemed very interested in selling me an extended warranty and I tend to mistrust sales people in general. A warranty to me means a free repair because the product has failed way too soon, its a way to make sure one person doesn't get unlucky with a defective product.

I am buying it from Europe although that's probably not important.

 

[hang-the-9]

Read through the warranty on their support site. In most cases, unless is actually states "international warranty", you will need to ship the system to the original country it was bought in. If it's in warranty, the parts and labor will be covered, that is what a warranty is. If you are charged parts and labor you may as well just repair it locally.

 

[Alabalcho]

Couple of years ago I bought a Dell laptop in USA, gave it to a friend, and thru Dell web site transferred the warranty over to him (in Europe). He got a bonus year in warranty (EU mandates mimimum two years), and even used it to replace failing motherboard.

My advice is to check whether you can transfer your warranty to your friend in Nicaragua.

 

[Componentgirl90]

Thanks for the answers. With respect to Dell: I did some more reading and basically it appears if the sources I have are to believed that the basic warranty (not onsite) cannot be transferred. An onsite warranty can be transferred so long as the product is sold in the country (i.e. Nicaragua). This is consistent with what Dell said.

I also spoke to HP. They seemed to say that so long as the product is sold in Nicaragua then a HP warranty can be transferred. Their website advises not to buy in a different country.

In the end we decided just to buy in Nicaragua. There may be some technicality in practice that would prevent a cost free RMA. Additionally, the chances are the product we want is not sold in Nicaragua. It may be possible but I prefer to be cautious.