Members of the public have, in the past, found out the hard way that a manufacturer's  warranty might not be worth the paper it is printed on. Many thousands of customers have been swayed by the promise of a 'five year guarantee' on the computer that they are buying.
 But you should take great care when considering such a 'guarantee' You should ask what would happen to your guarantee if the supplier went out of business - because business failure is a fact of commercial life. You might feel that a well established supplier presents little or no risk in this respect, and the truth is that the majority of customers won't have a problem. But if you are one of those few customers who buy from a company that subsequently goes bust, where do you stand? Well, if you had insisted on buying your system complete with an Insured Warranty, you'd be covered. Insurance-backed manufacturers warranties and extended warranties means that whatever befalls your supplier you are covered by an insurance agreement that will pay for your system to be repaired in the event of failure.

Insurance Backed Warranties are normally underwritten - possibly at Lloyds - for your protection. If you want belt and braces security regarding future maintenance cover on your computer, the PC Association recommends you make sure your kit is covered by an insurance backed warranty.

Very often you'll find that an Insured Warranty can be extended to 'll risks'so that you're  covered even if you drop the system or pour coffee over it (it happens!) Some people feel that buying a computer complete with a maintenance contract - for two, three or even five years - is a good way to protect themselves against product failure, and provided the supplier or his maintenance sub-ontractor is still in business if things go wrong this might be a good way forward.

But other buyers feel that the cost to repair a computer, if, say, the hard disk or motherboard failed, will be considerably less than the cost of a three or five year maintenance contract. You should be ble to get a local supplier to fit a new hard drive or motherboard for under £150. And a maintenance contract will probably cost considerably more than that. Whatever you decide about future maintenance on your system, in the final analysis it's your choice - but please make sure you make an informed choice, after considering all the options. And whatever you do, buy from a PC Association Member.