Toshiba Warranty Is Crap

Toshiba's extended warranty sucks. Almost four years ago we bought a Toshiba Satellite A105 laptop and paid an extra $195 for a four-year extended warranty. A week ago the hinge failed in the lid/display panel - a hard piece of steel broke right in two, probably from metal fatigue, and soon came poking out between the plastic halves of the lid. The plastic wasn't broken, just two parts separated by that steel hinge piece, so it was evident that the laptop had not been abused.

The PC was virtually useless at this point, because the display panel could not be lowered without pinching a fragile-looking cable that was also poking out where the plastic parts were separated.

Toshiba didn't give a damn. I spoke first to a technician in India, then a "supervisor" named Micah, and both told me that Toshiba just doesn't cover "physical" damage. Micah said I could send it in and they would make a judgment whether or not it was covered. If not, I would pay the cost, which could be as much as $400. I assume that I would also pay the shipping in either case. He offered VERY little hope that it might be covered.

But this is EXACTLY what a warranty is for - failures due to manufacturing defects which appear during normal use after the unit is purhased. That's exactly what happened. Their written warranty does NOT exclude "physical" damage, unless caused by negligence. I've been screwed by Toshiba. I've heard that Toshiba's reputation has failed in recent years, and now I believe it. I'll never buy another Toshiba, and I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to buy their useless extended warranty, because they won't honor it!