Mx18R2 ruined...Alienware replaced with a subpar mx17 and they won't budged...Help Please

So we just got a cat and I have never had a cat before so I was not prepared. My Mx18R2 was on my table and my cat was walking on my table so I shewed it away. It took off and knocked over one of those taller flower vases (filled with water) onto my laptop....laptop is now fried. So my laptop was the MX18R2 with the 3720QM processor, 8GB of RAM and SLI 680Ms and I bought the advanced warranty that covers everything. So I call Alienware and they tell me they are going to replace it with a MX17 with a 4930mx, 32gb ram, and an 880m. Yes, I know it is better in many ways...but not it the ways I need, the graphics card. I had 2 680Ms and would get around a 8k fire strike score with overclocked. This new laptop doesn't break 4k with the single 880M. I know the processor is a big upgrade, I know the more RAM is a big upgrade. The 880M is not in the least, it is such a graphics downgrade and I am totally unhappy with their replacement and they won't do anything for me. I paid for the advanced warranty and the really expensive laptop and since I paid for this warranty they should replace with something that I am comfortable with and they won't. The faster processor doesn't mean much to me because the 3720qm was fast enough. The 8gb RAM was enough I never used more let alone 32gb so it means nothing to me. Can someone help me? I have called and spoke to three different Alienware Reps and nothing is getting done.


TL R
Alienware replaced my laptop under warranty with a subpar replacement.

 

I would be more than happy to drop down the RAM and the Processor to get a GPU that is comparable.

 

I see your pain, they are no longer making m18 if they were i am sure they would give you that instead.
I think they are being very fair with you with such upgrades, and honestly they are giving you more if you do the math in money than what you had.

Me personally I would be happy with the m17 coming from what you had. I would take it, and sell the 880m then buy a 980m.

 

Not good. But 3Dmark Firestrike under 4k is not the right score with gtx880m. You should have over P5.6k score in the test with a stock gtx880m. What score have you in 3Dmark11? A good working gtx880m with a small Oc should have P9150-9300 in 3Dmark11.

 

Well first of all the m18x can be fixed with a new mainboard (perhaps keyboard) and ofcourse hope the gpu's didn't take a hit.

The problem is that Dell cannot provide these parts anymore (or atleast I asume and even then they won't give you the system back until they replaced everything that might be broken or will perhaps break because of the water that spilled on it). So the only option they have to make sure it doesn't break is... to give you a different system. And to be fair it's not a bad option even though it's not a M18x or 18.

Though I would personaly ask if you can keep the broken system and get a replacement. Sell the 17 and repair the 18 then with the money you get from selling it.

 

Yeah no....no way I would take that as a replacement. That is vastly underpowered compared to the M18x. I have heard people being able to get refunded since there was no suitable replacement. Definitely do not take the downgrade.

 

Well, if you accepted delivery of the downgraded machine you are already at a disadvantage. Do you already have it, or is this what they are "suggesting" as a solution? If you don't have it, refuse to accept it by phone and refuse to take delivery of the shipment.

Just tell them you want a refund of the full original purchase price or they need to send you two of those machines to equal what you had. This is not their policy, but because they no longer have the ability to exchange your system with one of equal or better quality and performance their policy is not applicable. Send them a copy of your original purchase invoice.

If they do not agree, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. It that does not work, have an attorney look at your case and send them a demand letter. The latter may cost you $200-$300, but it's better than accepting that downgrade. Push for the refund, cut your losses and move on. They can no longer provide adequate warranty/replacement service for your machine because the current product line has no equivalent options. Everything available is inferior, including a new 17 R2 with GA and 980 GPU.

This is also a good option. Alternatively, fix it yourself and have them reimburse you for your time and the purchase price of the parts.

 

I already accepted delivery. The device was broken when it was delivered and it took them two weeks to fix it, they had to replace the motherboard and the GPU

 

So I gave them ample time to respond. How do I proceed? No one at Alienware is helping me.

 

Oh man... sorry to hear they are not being responsive. Maybe their perception is they did you some kind of favor by downgrading you to an inferior product so they are ignoring you now.

Did you try tweeting @DellCares to ask for help, or sending a private message to Alienware's Facebook account requesting help, along with your Service Tag? If not, try that first. If they still don't take care of you after waiting a couple of days, then filing a BBB complaint may be your last resort option. That should always be a last resort, but a few folks have found that is sometimes the only way to get them to pay attention.

 

I'll try that, thanks

 

Just a thought: New Alienware 17 should have possibility of connecting
" Optional Graphics Amplifier"

Which basically is desktop graphic card in a box. Try to get that. Then your score should be fixed. Is harder to carry around i imagine, but it does the job.

 

Perhaps @woodzstack can help you? He is clever with most when it comes to Dell support. Send him a private message and ask for help.

 

OMG!!! Replaced it with one of the new 17's ? Like the ones with the soldered on ********. Seriously Alienware needs a proper naming scheme, or is it another tactic to use to their advantage?
You need to go past the middlemen who are paid 3rd country minimum wages, and only have scripts to follow to help you. Talk to the US department for Alienware if you can, just ask which one they belong too, or literally ask them "Where are YOU located, right now?"
If you live in North America, you can basically force their hand, but it could take 6 months. Right down the date of the first time you called them. How long you spoke. What they, "GENERALLY" were offering to do.
Understand, that with the various consumer acts, in North America, they might be force to give you what you want within certain expectations. Make a good folder, with good notes on every day you wasted time calling them to get a resolution. Get the email address (the company email address0 of everyone you speak to. Not a joke, literally you will need this. you will need to drop names. They will not help you, they will not deny you spoke to earlier people, but they will know. everytime one of the middle guys can not help you, or fails to deliver as promised with call backs or follow ups, call in, and then ask to speak to a supervisor or manager. Get his name and email address. Take notes. When they fail to contact you back, rinse repeat. When you tell them you want an 18'' model back ! Or a MAXED OUT 17'' with 4 SSD's and Extreme CPU as replacement for your time and effort, do not budge. They will say they can not do this. Verify with them that the case has been escalated.

When it is escalated, once you have made 100% sure its escalated, sit on it. They might not call you back for 3-4 days. If it hits 5 days call them back and cite everything you have done so far. Ask to escalate to corporate management. They will try and BAR you from doing so, they will keep saying how (in translation) you are nt worth their time, or effort, and try to convince you to give up. Tell them you will not give up. Even if they say they can not do anything, tell them you will give them a day to think it over, tell them to escalate it further, until someone with the power to do so, contacts you. By the time you clock 100 hours on the phone, with them, not even joking.. you will get what you want. I upgraded a M14X-R2 that I paid 999$ for into a AW18 with SLI 780M and an extreme 4930xm CPU and 4 x 256GB ssd's... it took 8 months of arguing. I broke some records with the laptop. Sold it for $6,000. Started a business, selling upgrades to people who hate alienware. I have made nearly 500,000(gross) since helping people upgrade their laptops, and help convert people over to Clevo's instead. I also went public with my **** from DELL, and started posting it on top of top articles all over the web, thanks to my understanding of SEO, they agv e in pretty quick too. I have had over a Dozen laptop replacements in the last 3 years from DELL/Alienware. I know how frustrating it can be. The chance to get something NOT broken from them is like 25% chance.

Now, i do not expect your experience to be my experience, unless your a sychopath like myself who has : A) Asbergers that cause him to be fearless and relentless B) literally some how get off on this sort of thing C) you really want to change the world and LOVE fighting the largest corps in the world.

I can tell you volume sof why DELL has no choice but to give into your demands. They are publicly owned company. When the public see's there is turmoil, it becomes SELL SELL SELL! They also have insurance with their investors and such, and if you report to federal agencies your issues, like to the BBB and other unions that report to the public or press or investors, then they will have someone who is like 2-3 seats away from Mr.Dell himself call you and fix the issue, no questions asked. Just to buy you to get rid of you. This will fix them pretty well when people start catching on. They will most likely kill the Alienware company, to cut their losses. OR it will force them to start making the badass laptops we had grown to love and expect in the past. Honesty, that is all we want. They bought the company and IP we loved, and started to ruin it. It is their fault. They should be accountable. Actually, in fact, they are. Thats the beauty of it.

Meanwhile, I suggest taking out a loan, and getting a Clevo, while you wait. Once there is no pressure to have a laptop back anytime soon, you have more power and willingness to fight it. At once point, I even bought another alien ware M17X-R4 while waiting for resolution, just so I didn't have to be desperate.
I think i turned down, like 20 offers of upgrades from them, until they caved in and gave me everything they had. I had to explain how much time I wasted on it. for me it was close to 500 hours. So, I really didn't make a profit, and that is why I never stopped fighting them.

Anyways, hope this helps.

P.S
my replacements were as follow m14x-r2>m14xr2>m17xr4>m17xr4>m18xr2>m18xr2...about 3-4 more times of being replaced...AW18, twice replaced. Until I got the maxed out Viking, and they tested it for 30 days before I got it, to make sure it was 100% perfect. It turned out to be extremely high binned, the GPU's reported 78% on the ASIC, and the CPU I had was..well... stock cooling in the house I had XTU scores of like 960-1,000 when I worked hard. That as 2 years ago. they still haven't come out with something better.

 

This couldn't be further from the truth. you are NOT alone, in your suffering, or fighting, we as a community, almost everyone here in NBR on the Alienware part know your pain, and have gone through it too, and we will help you, and are helping you. We were all once die hard Alienware fans. It brought us together,thats how good the products once were. We haven't forgotten, just have moved on.

 

Bypass all this by emailing [email protected]

Should get you directly to Dell Exec support. Mind you, they still do have arsehats in there, but nowhere near as many as general support would have.

 

Contacted Alienware through Facebook and they are telling me I can either keep this laptop or get a full refund of the original purchase price, so I am going with the refund.

 

Good deal. That's probably the best approach. I hope the person that said that is going to help facilitate the refund.