F3J warranty & experience so far

First off, hi and happy holidays!

The thread names is as is, couldn't think of a better one.
Now I wanted to share some experiences with my so far trusty F3Jc`s warranty service and discuss finer points when the warranty should be void or not.

Now, it all started when its lower chassis started to crack near the left lower corner. At first I thought that its just wear-and-tear because I had carried (and still am carrying) the beast around daily. Had it sent off at my reseller, took exactly 2 full months to replace the lower chassis. Beforehand, I consulted with ASUS official support and they said that this doesn't go under warranty. I paid close to $90 USD and on top of that the reseller told me that the local importer (who serves as ASUS` warranty service provider) voided the warranty (10 months of it remaining) because of physical damage, even thought I have not abused it in any way. Why should I lie, right?



Now, of all times, I've made the "discovery" that the screen hinges have become kind of stiff and require substantial force to open and close the lid. On top of that, if the lid has stayed stationary for some time, the hinges "freeze up" and, when I try to close the lid, they initially make a rather nasty metallic creaking sound but then close normally, albeit stiff. Actually, the hinges have been in this condition for over half a year but until now I unfortunately didn't make the connection between the chassis plastic cracking and stiff hinges. My theory is that the stiff hinges have exerted increased pressure on the chassis, therefore stressing the plastic, fatiguing it and eventually causing it to crack.
Now, for the point. When consulting with ASUS official support about the hinges, they told me to take it to a service center. Unfortunately the establishment I have to deal with is not a service center per se.

Now, what do you think, should they replace the hinges under warranty because, money-hungry SOBs like they seem to be, imply that it was my fault, not the stiffened-up hinges, that the plastic cracked in the first place? Also, when they replaced the lower chassis, they completely turned a blind eye on the stiff hinges. At the notebook warranty service I work in, we notify our customers in these circumstances but they found it in their favor not to inform me...


As a sidenote: Since I got the cracked lower chassis back because it carries the WinXP COA sticker, I can demonstrate the following...

Metal object to simulate forces exerted on the chassis when closing the lid with stiff hinges, plastic bent out:


Same angle, plastic returned to normal:


Hinge socket from above, note that its only plastic there, no metal, nothing for strenght:


Some more pictures:

 

You might not get to much sympathy on this site as a lot of the comments are from people in North America. The level of customer service seems to differ greatly depending on where you are.

The UK customer service is quick and polite but may be ambiguous: like a politician, preying on individual’s lack of knowledge on unwillingness to cause trouble.

Contacts - Technical Support: [email protected]

 

Well, its not really about customer service, I just need to know whether the hinge thing is a valid point to bring forward to dispute them voiding my warranty.

 

The first people you deal with will be customer service! If you believe that the fault was with the hinge then ask Asus Taiwan, although it will be done in the country where it was purchased, to have the laptop re-checked.