WARNING: Do not buy the overseas service pack

[mrjingles-suzuki]

WARNING: Do not buy the overseas service pack. It does not work. You are not covered.
I bought this product with the intention of being protected when i went to japan.
The fact is my Vaio did need repair when i was in japan and found out that they could not fix a european vaio notebook. They would have to send it back to the UK and i would have to pay all shipping costs.
Forgive me for believing Sony when they say in the overseas service pack literature that they would be able to repair my notebook in japan. They clearly cannot do this.
The contact telephone number is only manned by japanese who do not speak any other language but japanese. Pretty stupid when the only people to use this number are people who do not speak japanese.
I bought a vaio because of the service and after sales care they offer.
I thought wrongly that a japanese company as big as sony would be able to repair one of there products in japan.
Any views on this matter would be most welcome.

[benste]

Hy,
I didn't hear something about that before and escalated this case to our Sony Europe Support in Brussels.
in: VAIO Overseas Repair Service Brochure they promise a repair in countrys like japan,
sadly I can't find a word which say that this repair is for free, but if it is for free the shipping costs to Europe should be within this package in my opiniion.
Sony Brussles will look up whether something like that is covered. Repair is repair even when they have to pick up a European modell, otherwise they shouldn't say that Japan is covered by it.

[Thalamus.]

Hi Mr Jingles,

I was under the impression that as long as you bought and registered your warranty pack within 45 days of purchasing your Vaio the VAIO Overseas Repair Service pack covered your Vaio for any hardware repairs free of charge for 1 year starting from the original purchase date of your Vaio..

I notice in your other post that you mention that your AR21S is 20 months old. Is this the laptop that you referring to here..

[mrjingles-suzuki]

Hello
Yes Thalamus you are correct.
If you register your overseas service pack within 45 days of purchasing your vaio you are covered overseas.
I hope you are covered. The booklet stated that if your vaio died in a foreign country listed in the booklet your vaio would be repaired, free of charge.
if your vaio died outside of the 1 year then you are so not covered.
Your cannot buy a overseas service pack longer than 1 year. Why? If i could i would buy a three year service pack.
I have an appointment with a japanese engineer tomorrow to see if it is possible to fix my vaio or not.
I have found out that my AR21S`s C: drive has failed.

[mrjingles-suzuki]

Hello
Here is an update on the repairing of my VGN-AR21S in Japan.
No way a simple thing to do.
Good news is Sony in Japan will repair my Vaio.
They will collect it and repair it. For a fee, of course.
Bad news is that the overseas service pack is useless in Japan. Here are the reasons why.
1. Nobody at the Overseas Service Center speaks any other language but japanese. My japanese is ok, but not good enough to describe problems with a notebook.
2. You need a printer to print out the service documents from the japanese Sony-vaio web site to send with your broken Vaio. Hard to do when your Vaio is dead and you don't carry a printer around with you.
You also need to fill it in. In japanese.
Now it gets stupid!
3. You need to send all books. leaflets, recovery discs and the original box with your vaio.
AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

[Thalamus.]

1. Nobody at the Overseas Service Center speaks any other language but japanese. My japanese is ok, but not good enough to describe problems with a notebook.
2. You need a printer to print out the service documents from the japanese Sony-vaio web site to send with your broken Vaio. Hard to do when your Vaio is dead and you don't carry a printer around with you.
You also need to fill it in. In japanese.
Now it gets stupid!
3. You need to send all books. leaflets, recovery discs and the original box with your vaio.
AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

Not very user friendly...

Glad you're Vaio being fixed though..

[kee-lo_]

Well with time your Japanese will get better, I learnt English like this, watching TV, talking to people, going to school here too.

Anyway glad to hear someone in Sony Japan might be able to help, as it's a hard disk it's not too hard to replace really. I don't think I'd like to take my machine away with me to another country if it broke, except for France where I could explain it easily.

[mrjingles-suzuki]

Hello
Here is as promised is an update on my AR21Ss journey in japan to be repaired.
just received aquote for the following repairs:
1. Replace both 100gb hatrd drives.
2. Replace the piece of cheap plastic which houses the LAN switch and card slots
(all the black paint from the original piece of plastic chipped off. Sony manufacturing defect))
3. Re-align the blue-ray/dvd draw and
4. Replace the drive mechanism because to does not read or write dvd`s.
RUBBISH! Both were ok just before hard drive failure. (Another Sony manufacturing defect which they want me to
pay for. My blue-ray drive has never had a blue-ray disc in it and as for my dvd drive not reading or writing discs.
The total　number a dvd`s i have written can be counted on 2 hands.
5. Replace the right hand side video/audio cover door.
Finished
For these 5 things i was quoted ￥189.945
That is 956.00 pounds or 1187.00 euros
Does this sound a little toooooooo much.

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS. DO NOT BUY A SONY VAIO AND IF YOU DO, DEFINATELY TO NOT TAKE IT ABROAD.
IF IT BREAKS THEN YOU ARE SO SCREWED.

Does any kind person out there suggest where to take this matter further.
I am not letting this matter lie or chalking this one up to experience.
I cannot afford to pay 2000 pounds for a notebook which dies after just 20 months.

[mrjingles-suzuki]

Hello again.
I think i will fix the thing myself.
This is the third vaio that has died on me in 5 years. All 3 have croaked just shy of their 2nd birthday.
This is the thanks you get for looking after your vaio. Cleaning, buying legit software, not dropping it or spilling coffee onto it.
Sorry for complaining. I need a good scream at someone.
AT THE MOMENT I AM SO P*****D OFF.