Just when i thought this Laptop couldnt get any worse.. the hinge breaks ! My Options ??

Hello, Im just trying to seek advise as to what to do with my M14x now the hinge has broke. This laptop has had endless problems since i bought it and is out of warranty now ( M14x r1) I dont wish to pay to get it repaired as to be honest i am fed up with this Laptop and do not wish to use it anymore. However i do want to try and scrape some of the 1.5k back that i paid for it !!

Does anyone know of a way i could maybe, take it apart and sell parts of the laptop, or if anyone buys laptops to refurbish them ?

Kinda desperate i dont really just want to chuck it in the bin. lol

Any advise greatly appreciated !

 

I suggest you just post it on the For Sale section and mention whatever issues it has. You could try to sell it in one peace or break it apart for parts and list them on the forum, as well ebay and/or some other sites.

 

Have you tried calling Dell ?
I know it's out of warranty, but I think the hinge problem is recurrent enough that it might be possible for them to repair it for free.

I think in Europe the manufacturer can't bail out of that kind of damage even if the initial warranty has already expired.

 

Thanks for the replys. Yeah exactly what i was thinking... they replaced all the M11x hinges even if they were out of warranty so why not do the same for M14x ! they must have realised with the M11x that they were obliged to do so...

I have researched it online and sounds like many people have tried to get theirs repaired but apparently they are refusing if you are out of warranty.

How much do you think i could sell this laptop for with a knackered left hinge ? lol cost me about £1.4k - £1.6k :S

Thanks

Jon

 

Try repairing the hinge before you attempt to sell it. Like octet said, this had been a huge problem with the new generation of Aw laptops and I'm sure that if you talked to dell support and explained your story to them they'd repair it free of charge. And as for the price, you will likely get lowballed to something like $1,000-$1,200.

 

In the occurrence that AW wont fix the hinge shoot me a pm and I can assist you with repairing it if you'd like. I repaired the m11x's hinges before dell recognized it as a defect.

 

He'd be lucky to get over a grand for a 2 year old M14x r1 with a broken hinge. Most of the M14x r2s in the NBR marketplace only go for $700-900, and that's with a newer gpu and no broken hinge.

 

My quote was with a fixed hinge. His computer specs are actually really nice, but you're right, he'd be looking at like 900$.

 

Thanks for the advise, well that works out to be about £500... tbh i would sell at that but if its gonna cost me like £100 to get it fixed then i will be looking at £400 profit which isnt worth it in my opinion. I think im gonna just build my own desktop now and keep this hanging about for when dell finally admit to their design flaw on the M14x so i can get it repaired !

I will try calling them at some point.

My laptop has the exact same issue as seen in this picture. If anyone knows if this can be fixed cheaply, i would greatly appreciate the help !

Thanks again

Jon

 

Paddon- Link the picture? There's a lot of resources on how to fix the hinges. All you need is some epoxy from a local hardware store and a micro screwdriver.

 

The M11x was the only Alienware laptop that Dell decided to replace the LCD assembly (includes hinges) regardless of warranty status. All other Alienware laptops must follow the restrictions of the warranty you purchased. If the warranty has expired, we will not replace the LCD assembly for free. You must purchase the M14x LCD assembly from Dell Spare Parts 1-800-357-3355 and replace the part yourself or have a local technician do the part swap - If the system is under warranty we can send it to DEPOT, to determine if the issue is cover.
M14x-R1 =
Black LCD Assemblies
1DTDH HD+ (900p, 1600x900), WiMax
F7VG6 HD+ (900p, 1600x900), WLAN
YFTP4 HD (720p, 1280x720), WiMax
KDC9P HD (720p, 1280x720), WLAN

Red LCD Assemblies
JCDFY HD+ (900p, 1600x900), WiMax
6JDH8 HD+ (900p, 1600x900), WLAN
N1WNK HD (720p, 1280x720), WiMax
DTJ5N HD (720p, 1280x720), WLAN

M14x-R2 =
Black LCD Assemblies
PTPR9 LCD, HD+ (900p, 1600x900), WLAN+DMC, Black
MXR9X LCD, HD (720p, 1366X768), WLAN+DMC, Black
THP6D LCD, HD+ (900p, 1600x900), WLAN+WiMax, Black
RJ31W LCD, HD (720p, 1366X768), WLAN+WiMax, Black

Red LCD Assemblies
WRGF7 LCD, HD+ (900p, 1600x900), WLAN+DMC, Red
FFGFG LCD, HD (720p, 1366X768), WLAN+DMC, Red
HP0W3 LCD, HD+ (900p, 1600x900), WLAN+Wimax, Red
M9HJD LCD, HD (720p, 1366X768), WLAN+WiMax, Red

 

Well I have been shocked by the quality of this product from day one... I have had non stop issues with this laptop, it has been replaced twice and i've had a technician come around to my house to fix another fault on this laptop, I paid over £1500 (2347.95 US Dollar) I have to say this is the worst built laptop i have ever seen, Images attached bellow. Many M14x users have had the exactly the same problem with the hinge breaking... always the left hinge breaking ! coincidence?? i think NOT ! This is a major design flaw and dell should own up to this and get it sorted. I will never purchase another Dell/Alienware product again. The customer service is terrible and the call centers are even worse, spend an hour on the phone being transferred around to different departments just to end up talking to someone that's already transferred you before ! I know you lot aren't going to own up to this flaw in your design so i decided to open my M14x up today and i was shocked at what i saw. So yeah you have metal hinges, not a bad idea considering that its the point thats going to take most of the strain in the system, but then you attach the metal hinges to crappy pieces of plastic which secure it to the screen.... VERY CLEVER !!!

The only reason i spent anywhere near that amount of money on a laptop was because i thought it would be a quality system and would stand the test of time. totally not the case !! It hasn't even lasted 2 years, I would advise everyone against Alienware products given my experience dealing with you guys, The only decent thing about owning an alienware product is the community you have on this forum, where people are actually happy to help people when things go wrong, which i want to point out should be the job of the customer service team of Alienware !

So my question too you is what would you have me do about this design flaw, should i pay another £400-500 to get it repaired ????? hell i've already been stupid enough to pay £1500 on an Alienware system, so i guess you think i'm stupid enough to pay another £500.

( First image shows how it should look, second image shows the snapped plastic hinge. )





To anyone else on this forum not affiliated with dell i would like to ask you for your opinion, I know its been said above that you can glue it back in to position but i'm very doubtful, the hinge is to stiff to be moved by hand and when i got a pair of pliers out it was still very stiff to move, even after i after i applied some WD40. i tried loosening the hinge nuts but i havens the correct tools to do so at the moment but it was way to stiff when i tried with pliers. I'm thinking though that if i glue the plastic back down it will not hold ! because of the forces applied to it due to it being very close to the pivot point, i may be wrong though. Thanks again for the reply's, greatly appreciated.

 

You gotta find a way to loosen that nut at the end of the hinge. It adjusts the hinge's tension and will make it easier to fix and maintain.

 

You can fix it by buying the parts off eBay, I've fixed severla M15x's this way.

I've personally had to re-torque my screws down several times in my M14x, but I'm quite hard on it (I pick it up by the screen).

Many of your problems come from being in the UK. The high costs, the mis-directed calls, etc. I have some of the same issues being in Canada, and its not fun

 

Freaking . 1 month after posting this, my screen breaks. Oh well. Off to ebay

 

That's awful :S :S :S