Comparable replacement for l502x

Hey, I posted about my experience with Dell in the l502x owner's lounge and I created a thread to gather more people with experience with this.

Long story short, my l502x hinge broke and in the process of Dell fixing it something went wrong and my laptop is pretty much dead. No one came till Wednesday to try to fix my laptop.even though the parts already arrived the Friday before. Every day they promised me they will come the next day but nothing.. The tech guy sat there for 2 hours and he just couldn't fix it. It actually was the motherboard but there is another issue underneath that that they can't figure out because after the new motherboard, the laptop now stays on, but no image. They're thinking it might be the CPU or the GPU but the tech was admittedly pissed off himself with Dell as well. Told them that he's not seeing progress with this laptop over 4 visits and that I should get a replacement instead. So some guy called me and he said I will get an equal or better refurbished laptop. Couldn't say what it was but said I don't have to take another l502x and he can tell the warehouse to give something else. So I told him that I'd like a new one and he said no but that there's an escalation to the "the highest authority at dell" for me already and they will call and discuss my options. I got a call at like 6:45 but missed it. Called back 5 minutes later and no one.

Anyway, I was wondering how I should approach this. I'll be calling him today in the afternoon.. What should I say? What would be a comparable laptop to ask for? What do I start out by saying? Angry approach? Disappointed approach? Will this be very difficult to achieve?

I want a new one and that's my main concern (and 1080p) because I have a very strong feeling my current laptop is refurbished itself even though it was new. Another tech told me the motherboard was refurbished when he first opened it (who also messed up the pins on the CPU). How would that be possible?

 

When I have a problem I talk to customer support with a serious and worried tone with every reason to be angry but not showing it. I hate people who harass workers as if the workers themselves are responsible. I hate people who harass others period.

We have two L502X machines and we love them so far. My only regret is that Sony very recently had a 50% off sale in their outlet with the Vaio S series with 1080p IPS screen, quad-core Ivy Bridge processor, and Nvidia GT 640 for ~$450. That's two months after we bought the L502X for a couple of hundred dollars more.

I guess I'm past the hype over the B+RGLED 1080p screen of the L502X. It is indeed a most beautiful screen. But somehow, I found the vibrance of colors too much for my eyes? Even after checking that the color calibration is correct. I mean, I've grown a learned comfort with the colors of my everyday online interfaces, treating them like home, and somehow the stronger colors are subconsciously making me reject them as foreign? I don't know but that's how I experience them. I would accept the L521X with 1080p. They do look like the MacBook Pro. I'm pretty sure Dell doesn't have any better model right now than that other than their Precision Mobile Workstation models with the 1080p IPS screen. Maybe you can ask for one of those?

As for you receiving a refurbished unit, well I had worse problems than that for three Dell laptops for several consecutive months. The price was the only thing that made it a reasonable purchase. But with the Sony sale it was pretty much a regretful "could've been better" thing. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the advice man. I was hoping for at least a 15z but I just got off the phone the guy and I can't believe how pissed I am right now. I feel like flying to India and punching this guy in the face. I can't believe how rude he was and how he tried to play off that he was from Executive Customer Support. I told him to send me an email and it was not from the ECS. It was just some tech support highest resolution guy. He wouldn't provide proof my laptop was not refurbished, he wouldn't any questions and the best he could do was send me a refurbished l502x, despite the fact that another guy the day before already offered me the choice of taking something equivalent that is NOT the l502x.

Then after 30 minutes of going nowhere, he says he can get me in touch with Executive Customer Support and then he started lying about how this was never ECS and when I called him out on it, he said he never said that. Then I reminded him that I asked his permission to record the convo in the beginning and he says he never gave me permission to record "although you can record it, I never gave permission". I got very pissed and was about to start screaming then realized this aint worth it and I got his information down and hung up.

Man I have such a bad headache right now.

 

So I'm being offered an l521x by ECB that is much better in specs than this laptop, though it is refurbished.

Should I take this? (well I already accepted)

Would you guys? He said new replacements are not possible outside of the first 21 days (though I was given a new replacement l502x two months after my l502x that had bluetooth issues so not sure how accurate that is). This guy seemed much more helpful than the last, and I didn't want to push it by going "I DEMAND A NEW ONE". Matter of fact this was the most civilized convo with Dell ever. He simply found a replacement with almost all specs being better and asked if I wanted it and I said yes for now.

They make it sound like asking for a new one is unreasonable. Is it is really, in your guy's experience? Maybe things have changed since the 2011/early 2012 threads I read where people got new replacements for their messed up XPS.

BTW, do all l521x come with the 32GB mSATA SSD as well? He said mine only has the 750GB 7200

 

No reason you shouldn't take it unless you really want another l502x. Usually you are eligible to get a new machine if your old one has had three or more repairs done to it already. Whether you get a newer model or not really just depends on what they have available at the time (for a replacement D630 I've gotten everything from another D630 to E5410 to E6420).

 

What do you mean by having repairs more than 3 times? 3 separate problems or 3 separate tech visits? My original l502x had a freezing bluetooth issue which was replaced with a brand new l502x and then about 8 months later, it started overheating (and also charging issues) and shutting down and I had 3 tech visits who changed the mobo twice. Then now, when the hinge broke and it started overheating again (which never got checked out because the laptop is practically dead atm after the hinge fix) and I had the tech come out 4 times with another 2 mobos.

Can I also extend my warranty on a refurb? I'm concerned that getting a refurb so close to my end warranty date is asking for problems. I should have never gone with Dell, but since I did, now I'm stuck and have to make the best of it.

 

I'm not exactly sure what they define as a "repair", but I'm pretty sure you should qualify (and I assume that is why they are giving you the replacement). From what I understand the new unit takes on the warranty of the old unit, so you should be able to extend it the same way you would have been able to extended it for the original machine.