Depends if you are buying a business machine. If you buy, say, a Dell, you can buy three or four years of next-day on-site support for a relatively small charge

Depends if you are buying a business machine. If you buy, say, a Dell, you can buy three or four years of next-day on-site support for a relatively small charge. This isn't complicated -- it's a check-box item -- and it really works (in my UK-based experience). Incidentally, it turned out that on-site didn't mean a specific site. My son got on-site service both at home and at his student digs, 200 miles away. Dell also offers 24/7 phone support. Apart from that, there are independent third-party support services that will handle PC laptops, and most cities have both large and small shops that will repair PCs. Repairs are, of course, much less of a problem with desktop PCs, which sensible businesses use for ergonomic reasons (as well as for their superior price/performance and greater longevity).