Chances of them giving me free Applecare?

Hi, I've owned my MBP for 6 months, it is a 2.33GHZ C2D model. Sometime next week I'm thinking of taking it in to get the display replaced, because sometimes (has gotten more frequent) the left side of my display gets much dimmer than the right side, making viewing full screen pdfs etc... very annoying. I don't know why, but I think that part of the backlight is going out.

This problem is along side the graininess and the backlight bleed that I've convinced myself to live with so far.

My warranty goes out in a few months, and that's my main concern. I fear that if I do get the display replaced, other problems with the hardware will occur later on, due to them opening up my computer (other than the display the computer is perfect). Also I fear I may get yet another crappy display.

So I have two options, either live with my current disappointing display (which on a $2500 pro computer I really shouldn't have to) or swap it in and play the apple lottery game. I would only switch it if they give me applecare for free (and for my troubles), so I can have peace of mind if I do get another bad display or if my computer comes back damaged (either cosmetically or hardware wise, if some problem occurs that takes some time to surface).

What do you guys recommend? Do you think asking for Applecare is asking too much? I would appreciate any suggestions

 

Go ahead and ask for free AppleCare; the worst that could happen would be them saying its "beyond what they can do" . We had another member who had problems with his MBP (dell111) and they gave him free AppleCare and something else (can't remember) for his troubles.

You may even get a new 2.4 GHz MacBook Pro if you can talk them into replacing your MBP with a new one .

 

Not gonna happen. If its something your that worried about your going to have to pay for like everyone else.

 

Its happened before, but it doesn't seem likely in this case. Usually takes a truckload of problems (and probably be within the 14-day refund period) to get the kind of leverage needed to convince Apple to give you the 2 years additional warranty.

 

My flatmate had the same problem that you had, The apple retailer gave him a voucher towards 50% of the price of a 3 year applecare warranty. Not free, but not too bad, considering the price.

 

You may be able to get an upgrade to the 2.2GHz MBP if you plead your case right, but Applecare might be a little more difficult.

 

A first repair is a bit early in the game to be asking for freebies. I had to go through four repairs on my Macbook before they started offering me freebies.

 

well I don't want freebies, I just want some kind of assurance that my computer will come back working normally, because once you open one of these up, they never go back together quite the same.

Do you guys think there is a chance they would give me a new one? after all my computer is 6 months old.

 

How do you figure that? Assuming the tech isn't totally incompetent there shouldn't be any problems.

 

Let's just say I've heard many horror stories.

 

All i have to say, is if you get offered a new one, take it, even if its 2.2 ghz.

 

hmmm I'm still not sure about the new one, they have problems of their own, but I'll try and get one. But I wonder why them giving me a new one is less of a hassle than them giving me free applecare? Also if they do give me a new one, would I have a full year's warranty on the new machine, or will I only be given the amount of warranty that's left on my current one?

 

I did not say that. if they aren't giving you apple care, they most likely aren't giving you a brand new machine, either.

 

Yeah but some people implied that there is a better chance I could get a new machine than I could get free applecare.

 

Nope. They won't give you a new one. Again, once you get up to the fourth repair, they'll start discussing replacement. Until then, just hope they get the repair done without damaging your machine.

 

what if they do the repair and I receive my machine and it still has a bad display or some part of it was damaged, could I demand applecare/replacement then?

 

Sounds like you just want a bunch of free stuff. I'd say just take it in and ask them to repair it under warranty and extend the screen warranty for a year from repair/replace date. That seems fair for both sides.

 

If ya want free stuff... Go DELL!

 

No I repeat I do not want free stuff, if they repair my computer without trouble I will be VERY happy. But I'm trying to see if I could minimize the risk of that not happening, somehow. It wouldn't be fair if they returned my computer with problems and then pretended it wasn't their fault.

IDK, I guess I'll just have to talk to them.

 

Yeah I guess... Either way this being my 7th notebook if 6 years (between my wife and myself), I just have to say they are nice portables but can break easily.. I've had replaced LCD screens, Replaced fans, Replaced HDD's, Replaced Keyboards... So extended warranty's usually are a must.. Although I can't give much insight to apples.. Because this year they are my first but prior machines were Dell and HP.

 

well i asked to be given something when my macbook pro died and i had to fly halfway across country to get it fixed cause i was going away today. First they said theres nothing we can do then manager said nothing he can do then i got my boss to yell at him and he has bought 4 macs at that store and he gave me 3 year apple care and ilife 08. Thing is they are allowed doing this so dont give up. Just keep bugging them

 

sounds like a lot of "what ifs". Instead of asking "what if?", why dont you just take your machine down for repair? seems to me that by the time u decide to take your machine down, the 1 year warranty will be up. JMO.

 

thanks for the feedback guys! She's going in on wednesday, but I thought I'd throw out some pics to make sure I'm not just being picky:

here's my display (it's a bit more prominent in person than in pics):

notice the left side is dimmer:



extreme viewing angles make it more obvious, notice that the left side is darker in the first pic, but this is not the case with the right side on the second (i.e. not a viewing angle issue):

 

Ya, that sucks. If it comes back messed up..just keep shoving it in their face.

 

It's worth a shot.

 

As I said, it won't hurt to try and ask for it .

Mr. Burns, just by the pictures I can see the backlight is very uneven. Yeaps, go to the Apple Store and ask for a repair or a replacement.