I purchased a high end Sony Vaio laptop in May 2010 for over $3000 and paid an additional $400 for a Sony 3 year extended warranty. Within seven months after the purchase by January 2011, the laptop became unusable because the Nvidia video card had failed requiring the motherboard to be replaced.
When I called the Vaio support line they scheduled an on-site repair visit and assured me that the repair will be done within 3 business days as stipulated in the warranty. Based on this information I postponed two important business presentations for which I needed to use the laptop.
The nightmare began soon after. No one showed up for the repair after 3 days or the following weeks. I called Sony countless times to inquire about the repair and was never able to break through the stonewalling of the Philipine-stationed gang which represents Sony Vaio. Every time I called I had to retell the story only to find out that they used my call to reset the clock to give themselves another 3 -4 business days before someone would purportedly call back, but of course no one did call. When I asked for details about the delay or to talk to a supervisor they would refuse or become rude. One of the Philipine “lady” reps practically hung up on me. Eventually when I managed to break through to a supervisor named Mark I found out that the reason for the delay was that a part was "back-ordered" and that no delivery date is available. Mark promised to call back within 3-4 business date to give me an update. He never called back. Next time I called there was another supervisor named Mike. Mike continued to give me the runaround and refused to tell me when or if the laptop will be repaired. He would not say if it will take one week or one month or one year. He also absolutely refused to give me a loaner stating “policy”. So I am still stranded without a laptop.
Never again Sony! If you are shopping for a laptop don't be fooled by Sony's good looks. Their product is unreliable and their customer service is a scam.