Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!mcdchg!ddsw1!karl
From: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Amigas -- why the 90 day warranty?
Summary: IMHO 90 day warranty belies a lack of confidence in hardware
Message-ID: <1989Oct15.021329.2118@ddsw1.MCS.COM>
Date: 15 Oct 89 02:13:29 GMT
Reply-To: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc., Mundelein, IL
Lines: 41

Hi everyone,

Perhaps someone from Commodore will answer this... or perhaps someone else
has an answer for me.

I understand that the Amigas sold in the US have a 90 day warranty.  My
question is, why?

All the common PC compatibles (including the ones we sell) have a one year
warranty, including local service (on-site for some).  Commodore, on the
other hand, has a measly 90 day warranty.

This says to me, as a potential purchaser "this system may not make it to a
year without some form of service work."  

Frankly, as an individual purchaser, I'm not going to invest my money in a
system that has so little manufacturer confidence behind it.  I'd love to
buy an Amy, but won't do so as long as I am going to have to shoulder the
burden of a failure between 90 days and a year of use.

Face it, the PC's have a 4 times longer warranty.  90 days is less than I
get on nearly any consumer product (Laser disk player, amplifier, TV, etc).
And Commodore HAS had their share of problems with the Amy, especially the
500's (power supplies, board shorts due to improper keyboard insulation &
clearance, etc).

A strong warranty is >especially< important with the Amy, which has a lot of
proprietary parts that you can't get anywhere except Commodore.  That makes
me even more nervous.  If my PC power supply blows up I get another one.
Total cost under $100, time to replace < 10 minutes.  If my Amy blows a
power supply four months into it?

Until C= is confident enough to warranty their Amigas for a year, I'm not
confident enough to buy one.  I wonder how many others are waiting for
Commodore to decide to put a real warranty on their equipment....

--
Karl Denninger (karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM, <well-connected>!ddsw1!karl)
Public Access Data Line: [+1 312 566-8911], Voice: [+1 312 566-8910]
Macro Computer Solutions, Inc.		"Quality Solutions at a Fair Price"