Well today I bought an X-Box 360 Elite. I finally found one after months of searching, Microsoft intentionally made them hard to find. I have always been a Nintendo fan and even now Nintendo Wii is my priority and main console even after getting my 360. However with all the crap third parties have been giving us Wii owners I had little choice but to buy a 360 and enjoy the third parties good games.

 So I went into FutureShop today after finding out Walmart had gotten a shipment of Elites in the prior day. Sure enough a single Elite had been shipped to my local FutureShop and I managed to get it. However very quickly the employee began telling me how Microsoft is known for making defective and over heating products he wanted to sell me a two year warranty for 160Canadian. I of course told him I'd stick with the manufacturers warranty.

 But when I openned my Elite up. To my suprise right at the top of the box is a sheet telling me Microsoft's manufacturers warranty only lasts 3-months. It suggests I will may be left with a broken console and hundreds of dollars in repairs. But fear not their is a Microsoft service team ready and for only 59.99 I can have my warranty extended and get coverage from Microsoft.

Well I was peived beyond belief. Nintendo gave me a year warranty I've always gotten year warranties. My DVD players , TV's and Nintendo consoles always have 1-year manufacturer warranties. Infact Nintendo gave me a second year free of charge for regestering my Wii on Nintendo.com. But Microsoft the company actually known to sell defective products doesn't even have enough faith in their own product to give me a year long warranty.

 Well I was pissed but decided I wasn't dumb Microsoft products break down easily. All my friends with 360's have had to replace their units at least once. So I fill out the application and write the check but right when I'm about to seal it up I notice something. "US Citizens only"! Now I'm not only outraged at the fact Microsoft appears to be black mailing me but they're now not even giving me the chance to pay them because I'm Canadian.

 So now when my 360 Elite breaks down like what happens to all of Microsoft's products (over heating) or the Red Ring of death I will have no warranty because I had a little faith in Microsoft's integrity. The company pretty much screwed me over. Well I'm going tommorow to buy the Intec Cooling stand and am only going to play my 360 for two hour periods to prevent the console from over heating. I'm going to treat itlike the delicate crap it is.

 But my question, what the heck is Microsoft doing. Nobody in their right mind should buy a 360 without getting a store bought warranty. I went back and asked if I could get a warranty now and FutureShop said no because I had left the store with the product. So now I'm stuck with a product Microsoft themselves say may cost me hundreds in repairs and I am unable to buy their blackmail warranty because I'm Canadian!

Any suggestions on how to make sure my Elite doesn't go up in smoke or die at an early age for no known reason? Or how to get some kind of warranty that will cover it? 

The elite resolves a lot of the RROD issues. I believe they added a second HSF to keep the beast cool, but I'm unsure if it's for all elites or just the initial shipments of them. I was also under the impression it was a 3 year warranty now.

What the literature says about your warranty may not be what you're actually entitled to. Microsoft has revised their warranty twice, in favor of consumers both times. I would register your 360 with Microsoft and ask them about your warranty. If you want, you can request the current terms in writing.

Thats what happens when someone who only does software for 15 years and jumps in hardware with the only experience being the Zune and the OG XBox.

I'm curious how much is a PS3 in Canada and how much is an Elite in Canada. Also is the PS3 1 year also up North?

Is there a minimum warranty term specified by law in your country? In the United Kingdom all goods are assured for specific types of problems (I think manufacturing defects are covered) for 12 months minimum regardless of company warranties. If there is, you'd likely still have to pay for delivery and collection, but fixing it would be free. Don't trust in the 3 year warranty though - I'll bet there's some loophole that only applies to the US or you have to prove beyond doubt it was Microsoft's fault or something.

I am going to say one thing, and then leave because I don't want to troll...

The warranty is 3 years for RRoD, so don't worry that is the most common issue. The 30 Day covers everything. So if it overheats or the drive blows you are safe for 30 days, but if you get RR you are safe for 3 years.

Well the 360 Elite cost me 549.99 plus tax. It came to 621 Canadian after tax. I pretty much went broke buying it because I'm really not that well off. Thats a major reason the 3-month Warranty concerns me. All of my friends 360's have been killed and replaced at least once. I really couldn't afford to replace it I'm dead broke as it is.

As for PlayStation3's warranty info.I've got absolutely no clue I've always been a Nintendo fan never bought Sony products. My Walkman came with a one year warranty but other then that I don't really buy anything Sony. Rule of thumb is a year but as this thread shows not all retailers seem to follow the general rule of thumb. Sony does have a Canadian studio but as far as I know Sony doesn't have a distribution base of operations in Canada. Much like Microsoft doesn't have a distribution headquarters, these two companies use their american branches to handle their Canadian operations which intern means things like these only applies to US citizens crap. Nintendo however does have a Canadian base of operations in Richmond B.C and that base handles repairs and product distribution which is likely why I have never had any problems!

the Canadian price differs at EBGames right now I saw it saying sale for 549$ Canadian same price as the 360 Elite. However I saw it only a week ago for 699$ and I've seen it for 599$. Prices seem to fluctuate some retailers appear to be clearing them out like my RealCanadian has a good 100-360's and I asked the guy where the PS3's were and he told me that they weren't really carrying many of them any more and to check back later. Of course I have no intention on buying a PS3 but it seems not many people do. Honestly I think retailers are prepping to drop the PS3 altogether much like many of them did GameCube back in fall 2003 early 2004.

 As for the warranty info. Since creating this thread I visited X-Box.com and read their warranty info. But I checked throughout my Elite's box and it says only 3-months while the website says 1-year for X-Box 360. However it also says online that warranties may differ and to read your warranty in the box. 

I have e-mailed Microsoft for clarification, because honestly Nintendo gave me my second year free of charge for regestering my Wii. But Microsoft won't even let me pay for it. 

Again, look up to see if your country has a minimum warranty term. If they do, it's free and guaranteed for most problems.

Joe, you are severely misguided about the Elite Warranty, and should really think before you post something like this.

#1. Microsoft has had that 3month paper in every X360 since launch. However, they've modified that warranty to 1 year (or did you not know that?) for any parts/labor issues and 3 years for the Red Ring issues.

Try looking up the official information on www.xbox.com before you start posting information that is although true in your X360, is actually false in real life.

I have a X360 from November 2005. It had a 3 month warranty. It died in March of this year - about 12 months after the supposed warranty ending. Did they fix it for free? Absolutely. They fixed it for free + game me free MS points and XBL Gold membership.

Yeah MrStickBall is right. I bought my 360 in December 2005 and mine when kaput in November of 2006. MS actually sent me a brand new system. My original system was manufactured in November of 2005, the new system they sent me back was manufactured in June of 2006. Despite my paperwork saying the warranty was 90 days old. They fixed my console for free after nearly a year.

The thing is my system didn't die of RRoD. My hardware worked fine, I could play XBLA games and demos but I could play my DVD based games. My disk tray refused to stay closed. It probably would have been cheaper for them just replace my drive and send me old console back, but I'm not complaining about getting a new system.