How to get Alienware to replace my M5550 since it has broke twice within 14 months already?

If anyone has experience getting Alienware to take back a defective laptop and get a replacement, please give me some tips. I plan to call Alienware later this week to ask for a replacement of the same specs.

My Alienware M5550 has broke down two times in the last 14 months since I had it. The first time within 3 months, the laptop wouldn't turn on and I had it repaired under warranty. I'm guessing there was something wrong with the motherboard. The second time occurred at the 14 month point and I had to get the video card socket resoldered. The screen was filled with white pixels and then it went black 2 seconds later. It would boot up but the screen would always become black. My laptop has the nvidia 256mb geforce graphics card and I'm guessing is puts out a lot of heat and it causing all these problems.

Also, my laptop would turn itself off out of nowhere every 3 weeks or so. I am guessing this is due to heat problems.

I only use this laptop for surfing the web and very light gaming at medium settings. 95% of the time it is used for word processing and surfing the web.

*I am very disappointed with AW and cannot recommend it to anyone. My 4 year old compaq is more reliable than my 14 month old Alienware. That's just ridiculous especially coming from a boutique brand. There customer service is also horrible. I've spent countless hours on the phone with customer service and tech support. Once they shipped my laptop in the original AW box, they didn't give back to me the original AW box that I sent it in. Instead, they shipped it to me in a nonmarked white box. Now the resale value of my AW probably just went down a hundred dollars.

They also tried to get me to open the laptop so I can void the warranty. I politely refused and demanded I sent it in for them to take a look.

I only had it repaired by them under warranty the first time. The second time, my warranty had expired already although I did call them to let them know my laptop broke down again. I had it fixed at a local mom and pops store. If I call them, do you think AW will let me replace this laptop with a M15x even though they didn't repair it since my warranty had expired already? I have the receipt from the local mom and pop store with the reason why it broke.

I will give them a call and see what they can do for me. Anyone have experience with replacing an AW laptop with a same spec one? What are the requirements for a replacement? Thanks.

 

Sorry to say, but I think you have 0% chance to get a replacement. Your warranty is over, so they don't care any more.

 

Stone has the same problem i guess. Ask him at his sticky thread

 

you should have filed for a return or exchange during your warranty period. sad to say theres nothing you can do for that thing. a big block of paper weight.

 

Sorry to say it, but when you bought the system you accepted an agreement with Alienware, and now, since your warrenty is up, Alienware isn't responsible for the system anymore. You should've complained during your warrenty period. You can try talking to Alienware's support, but it's probably useless at this point.

 

you cant fight the aliens on this one. sorry.

 

Afterdark,

I posted in your other thread about this issue. I think I can help you out.

 

Please help me out. I have sent you an email and look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.

 

Everyone is so quick to judge Alienware and brand them useless. I really don't know why- it seems like a bunch of negative hype. I've called customer service only twice and they've been helpful both times. Obviously AW-Steve here is trying to help, just as with the m15x issue.

It's not really fair to compare a performance gaming machine and a regular laptop in terms of reliability. It's like comparing a Ferrari to a Honda. I bet you didn't know Ferrari's need major service every 20K miles that includes removing the engine..... Performance cars/computers/etc need extra care. If you push the limits of what can be done then you are going to cross the line every now and then. It's all part of the game. If you wanted a reliable computer you should have bought an Apple. I don't mean to come down on you, please don't take it that way.

I'm sorry to hear that you've had issues with your computer. Contact AW-Steve and be sure to report back with what they are going to do for you. I'd be interested in knowing myself. Personally, I got the 3-year warranty because for the amount of money I paid for the computer I figured the warranty would cover anything until the machine is outdated.

 

Not that I want to say you are wrong or right but here is just one of the many testimonials on AW website about the company:

"I have found Alienware machines the absolute best for developing our games on. They are rock solid and have never let us down... and we push our machines pretty hard. Combined with the best materials and superlative support, you really can't find a better computer than Alienware."

Rod Fung,
Executive Producer, Sierra Entertainment

As you can see they are advertised as rock solid etc. However I'd still reccomend 3 years warranty (even for a MacBook, which btw breaks down quite often) especially if in the first year you had problems.

Anyway, lets hope Steve is here to show us again that sometimes CS can be improved.

 

I agree with you that they market their systems as rock solid and that may not always be the case. To be honest, the only reason I got the 3 year warranty was from reading this site for a week or so before I actually bought the system. Sounded like it would be worth it considering the price. Hopefully AW-Steve gets you all sorted out.

 

I am here. Sorry I'm in UT right now skiing so it kind of takes up part of my day but its really fun so w/e. On to your question now.

You have a 0% chance of getting your system replaced. Sure your system has broken twice in 14 months. That isn't a huge deal. The only reason I was able to get a credit on my M5550 is because it never worked properly for 14 months straight. I had the GPU replaced 5 - 6 times, the Mobo, and the heatsink. At the end, I sent it in 3 times IN A ROW and it actually got worse every time . I had a critical issues agent and I said if it wasn't fixed after the 3rd time in a row I need credit because it is ridiculous.

 

Well depends a bit on the history. Maybe his comp was more in repairs than at home for the warranty year which might account for some extended warranty. I'm sure he'll sort it out with Steve, hope you'll get it fixed replaced, that kind of money should get you a 3+ years system.

PS didn't understand the carton box part if the computer is not working nobody will buy your box lol.

 

I'm in the process right now..same boat as Stone..
2 GPU swaps, and memory swaps, but the problem still continues.

My m5550 is in Miami,FL for the final third time right now, I was told this. If the "skipping" video problem isn't fixed, I was promised a replacement by my critical issues agent, Sebastian Ortega. My m5550 has been in Miami for about 2 weeks now and it's a very anxious feeling. It can go either way now: they fix it and I'm happy, or they don't fix it, and I end up with a new lappy.

My advice would be to keep pushing AW to fix it. Explain to them what you have been through for the past 14 months. But, if you are out of warranty, I doubt that you will get a replacement, it's too late.

I'm lucky since I can still upgrade my warranty for another 2 years, since I only bought it with the 1 year at purchase. Hope this helps.

 

Well you really have to send the laptop back 3 times in a row with the same issue for alienware to issue you a credit on the laptop. There is something called the lemon law which applies to desktops/laptops. It states that if your laptop fails because of the same problems 3 times in a row and a company cannot fix it, you are entitled to either a brand new laptop of the same model or credit or something else.

@Dhoang417 - I had the same critical issues agent as you did lol.

 

Stone's right, this is technically my 4th time sending it in for the same "skipping" video problems. Right now, they are obviously trying to work hard on fixing it, trying not to let me get a replacement so easily. lol

That's pretty cool that we both got the same agent Stone. It increases my chance of getting a replacement. haha.

 

Heh yea I actually switched from him to another agent (I forget who). But "Sea Bass" stayed true to his word. Oh and if you are bored and want to read this then...

http://www.computerlemonlaw.com/

 

Very interesting article. That's pretty nice for AW users.

 

I don't care what company you buy it from it is a consumer device that is supposed to last. Sure most high end sports cars have high maintenance but they need to be reliable when pushed to the limit. This guy has been word processing and it died on him. That's like a porsche blowing it's engine when backing out of a driveway.

But everyone else is right, warranty is up so you're SOL. My recommendation would be to try and salvage what parts you can and sell them and put it towards your next purchase. I'd also recommend looking at your needs carefully before deciding to pull the trigger on another AW. Unless you plan on gaming pretty heavily...I don't know if it's worth the money. If you like the look, a barebones m15x would suit your needs just fine. If you don't care for the m15x look...well it's kinda hard to recommend an AW for you then...

 

Hehe seriously Apple's are not as reliable as people would think. I have had 3 friends that have had problems with their macs. One friend that had a Macbook and a Mac Mini die on him (I think his ram went bad or something because it randomly restarted on him). My other friend had the same restarting problem with his macbook and just dealt with it.

Honestly Mac's are not that reliable. I've used them for Photoshop and whatnot. Instead of getting a blue screen, they just politely tell you to restart which I guess doesn't look as bad, but when you really want to find what is wrong it is a *****.

 

Still waiting for my m5550. This by far, is the longest it has been at the Repair Center. Two weeks.

 

And did you have VIP service ? Anyways let us know if it works when you get it back.

 

haha I know what you mean by that...definitely will let you guys know.

 

Okay, just called AW. And I was told that the reason why it was taking so long for the repairs was because the GPU was on back order. I asked the tech if that was the only thing being replaced and he said yes (oh no...). So it seems to me that I'm going to get my computer back with the same skipping video trouble. I'll let you guys know if the "skipping" video issue is fixed when it my m5550 gets back to me.

 

I'm wondering what reply afterdark got from Alienware-steve - maybe they are trying to improve their image on these forums?

 

Well, they are obviously trying to help out AW owners, if that's what you mean.