Question about replacement parts

Hi all,

I recently got an R1 (the sale price was just to good to pass up.) Until this purchase i've only had sony laptops and part of the reason I've stuck with sony all these years (x505, s260, s460, sz230, tz90, Z590) is that when something breaks and you're out of warranty it's very easy to get replacement parts from them and save yourself the cost of labor. I.e. unless it's total motherboard failure you never have to ship the machine to them for repairs if you're willing to fix it yourself.

With the M11x, supposing the hinges crack and i'm out of warranty or something else breaks, are you forced to ship the machine to dell (definitely the thing TODO when you're within warranty) or can you order something like a replacement screen assembly direct from them and have them just send you the part?

 

If you are within warranty, Alienware / Dell will send a technician onsite to your location with the replacement part in-hand, and perform the repairs for you.

And I wouldn't worry too much about broken hinges. The issue with the hinges is being experienced by a very vocal minority of people who happen to have a string of bad luck. There are still plenty of people out there who are happy owners of Alienware M11x'es that do not have hinge issues.

 

Not so much worried about the hinges per se. My question was more of a general one.

In the past i've never invested in extended warranties since on a desktop (most of the time) the cost of replacing one or two broken components over the lifetime of the device usually equals the cost of getting the extended warranty.

And on my various laptops, i've never had the extended warranty because most of the time nothing broke over the lifetime of the product and if something did break i'd just fix it myself.

That being said i've come across a problem when trying to fix a family member's out-of warranty computer where i might know what's wrong and what needs to be replaced (in particular a broken dvd drive that happened to be a non standard height so i had to contact the manufacturer) but the manufacturer won't sell the part directly to an end user, only to an approved service center/distributor/retailer.

Either way, for what i paid for this machine it's kind of a moot point, just curious what dell's policy was on that sort of thing.

 

I'm pretty sure Dell will not sell you the parts directly. If you have a friend that owns a shop (computer or otherwise), then just ask them to order the part for you from a distributor. That's what I used to do for laptop parts.

 

You mentioned a while back that you've had your LCD replaced. Why did it need to be replaced?

 

That's the one of the major things i like about sony. They just sell you parts directly, no distributor/reseller required.

 

I replaced my LCD a few weeks back because I had accidentally nicked it. There must have been a piece of sand or dirt between the keyboard and screen when I closed the laptop lid one time.

It was entirely my fault. And it was relatively minor, to the point where I could have lived with it if needed. But since I already paid for the warranty plan w/accidental damage protection, I figure that I would use it and get my laptop back to pristine condition.

 

Was that covered as accidental or just under the Complete Care? It's my understanding that the accidental plan has a one time use for the life of the warranty. I'll have to call and ask for verification on that though since I "read it on the internets".

Did they give you any hassle about having it replaced for the scratch? Mine is heavily scratched and even after I provided photo evidence they said this wasn't covered under my Complete Care w/ Accidental warranty due to it being "normal wear and tear". I did finally get them to agree to replace it with help from ChrisM. So far it's been a difficult process to get someone out to actually do the repair though.

My concern is that I've had hinges that show no signs of giving out and that the replacement LCD assembly I'm getting will already have some miles on it if it's a refurbished part.

 

I am not sure how they logged that request for accounting purposes. I do have the Advanced protection plan, which gives me accidental damage protection. They did not mention anything about a limit of the number of replacements that I get, nor did they give me a hard time about the replacement. I called, mentioned the problem to them, sent a digital photo with the problem, and a tech was at my front door 1 day later.

I may have been lucky. What I normally do when I speak with anyone from customer support for any company is to just keep trying until I get the answer that I want. If I speak to someone that doesn't give me the response I want, I hang up, and call back. Rinse, repeat, until I get the outcome that I want.

As for replacement parts for hinge problems (or other defects) down the road - I wouldn't worry about refurb parts showing wear-and-tear. I have never had this problem before with Dell parts. They have always sent either new parts, or like-new refurb parts that were so pristine that I wasn't able to tell that they were refurbs. In the unlikely event that you do get a replacement part that shows unacceptable wear-and-tear, then just call Alienware that the part they sent was unacceptable. They should send someone back out to replace it for you. And of course, if you get someone on the phone who refuses to do this for you, just hang up and call back .

 

I'm fairly certain there is no way for a refurbished LCD assembly to be tested or inspected for weakened mounting posts on the interior of the lid, which is why I am semi-concerned about it. I'll have 143 days to find out if the part will stand up either which way.

By the way I just got done ringing up AW about the accidental coverage and it is NOT a one incident affair. You're entitled to as many accidents as you like for the term of your warranty. Stupid internets.

 

I thought Complete Care was Dell's Accident warranty? Is there a separate one?