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Gossamer · Oct 2, 2006, 02:54 PM

My roommate has a 4th gen (I think) 20gig iPod...non color, small screen. It's been giving him problems ever since he got it, but he bought the warrantee from Best Buy when he got it. Recently, a mutual friend got a Nano that she doesn't need, and offered to sell him the Nano. I had previously offered to buy the iPod off of him if he went to BB and got a replacement, then he could buy a nano so he could run with it.
So now we're thinking I'll buy the nano from our friend and trade him from whatever he can get as a replacement under warrantee. My question is how easy is it to get a replacement, especially if the problem is on and off (it definitely does exist though), and what could he expect as a replacement? His sister bought a mini at around the same time, and it crapped out when the nanos first came out, and she ended up with a nano as a replacement. Could he get a new video, and is it a no-questions-asked type of deal?

GuyWithACamera · Oct 2, 2006, 03:51 PM

He'd have to read the warranty agreement from Best Buy. I've only limited experience with the extended warranties but don't buy them anymore. I think if they can't fix it, they'll have to provide a comparable replacement. I'll bet he gets a new video iPod, maybe not the larger drive though.

brokenjago · Oct 2, 2006, 08:19 PM

I work at Fry's Electronics, and our warranties usually are for instant replacement. We don't test it, we only examine it to test for physical damage, and then we replace it once, then the warranty is void.

Simple, fast, no hassle.

Dunno how Best Buy does it though.

icruise · Oct 2, 2006, 08:34 PM

What is the problem with the iPod?

badsey · Oct 2, 2006, 08:49 PM

Bring that iPod back to Best Buy (under warranty) and they will send it to their service department.

I had a 5yr BB $99 warranty on a $1000 digital camera = for that I thought it was worth it. When the memory stick acted up after 4yrs they sent it in to Sony. It got fixed.

Gossamer · Oct 2, 2006, 09:07 PM

Originally Posted by Icruise

What is the problem with the iPod?

Apparently it's got a problem with random shut downs, and it happens often enough that he doesn't use it anymore. Unfortunately that makes it hard to show a repair guy.

iWantaMacBook · Oct 3, 2006, 10:39 PM

My guess is that they will just replace it with a nano or a video. If it was a video then it definately would be the lower end one though. The only thing is that (especially the best buy store I go to) has been awfully anal about replacements. My laptop is only 1 and a half years old, and this is the 7th time I had to bring it back in to be serviced. They still have refused to fix it, even though its over the 4th time you bring it back they will declare it a lemon limit. They told us WAY later on that they had to ship it to the manufactuer and they would make the final decision. Just approach with caution and read the terms of the extended warranty extensively.