Dell Replacement, Is this a good deal?

Hi I all I have had my XPS M1330 for almost three years now, and after many many service call outs, replacements etc. Dell have offered to replace it (and have asked for extra cash).

I would appreciate your opinions on how you view the deal?

Current XPS M1330 spec;

XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO T7500 2.20GHZ, 800, 4
1 13.3" WXGA (1280X800) WHITE-LED DISPLAY
1 BIOMETRIC FINGERPRINT READER
1 TUXEDO BLACK & 0.3 MEGA PIXEL CAMERA FOR
1 MEMORY DUAL-CHANNEL 2048MB (2X1024) 667M
1 HARD DRIVE 200GB SERIAL ATA (7200RPM)
1 8XDVD+/-RW SLIM SLOT-LOAD DRIVE, INCLUDI
1 AC ADAPTER (65W)
1 PRIMARY 6-CELL 56WHR LI-ION BATTERY
1 128 MB NVIDIA GEFORCE 8400M GS
1 UK - EXTERNAL 56K V.90 MODEM (USB) INCLU
1 INTEL? NEXT-GEN WIRELESS-N MINI-PCI CARD
1 EUROPEAN - DELL TRUEMOBILE 355 INTERNAL
1 UK - INTERNAL DELL WIRELESS 5520 BUILT-I
1 EOL - ENGLISH - VISTA ULTIMATE (32BIT OS
1 1YR PREMIUM WARRANTY SUPPORT
1 3YR PREMIUM WARRANTY SUPPORT
1 3YR ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT
1 ** COMPLETE CARE ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE (3 YE
1 ** ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE MODULE (3 YEAR)
1 ** KEEP YOUR HARDDRIVE (3 YEAR)

That was the original spec, since then I have upgraded to Win7 64bit and 4GB RAM, neither from Dell so they (understandably) don't care.

They have offered to replace it with the laptop below however I will also need to pay them £500.

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 720QM (1.60Ghz, 6MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64bit- English
SYSTEM RECOVERY OS Windows® Recovery Media Not included
OFFICE SOFTWARE No productivity Software selected
SERVICES AND SUPPORT 3Yr Next Day Hardware Support
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT No Accidental Damage Support
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee® Security Center 30 Day trial version
LCD Black Leather back cover : 40cm (15.6") True life 1080p Full HD WLED Edge to Edge Display
MEMORY 4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
HARD DRIVE 500GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD) with Roxio Easy CD and DVD Burn software
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300 Half Mini Card (802.11 a/g/n)
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
TELEPHONE CONTACT NO - Dell may NOT telephone me in relation to my order and related products and services

CARRYING CASES No Carry Case

PROTECT YOUR DATA Data Safe Online Backup 2GB 1 year

PRIMARY BATTERY 9-cell 85Whr Lithium Ion battery
GRAPHICS CARD 1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 565v graphics
TV TUNER AND REMOTE CONTROL No Integrated TV tuner
Gedis Bundle Reference N11X6501
Order Information Studio XPS 1645 Order - UK
Shipping Documents English - Documentation Studio XPS 16
Data Safe Data safe Local 2.3 Basic
Dell System Media Kit Studio XPS 1645 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Power Supply 130W AC Adaptor
Cables UK 250V Power Cord
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Camera Integrated Camera with Facial Recognition Software
Call Dell Experts One free Dell Expert call to help with your PC queries within 60 days of purchase
Standard Warranty 1 year Collect & Return Hardware Support included with your PC

Clearly the new laptop is better however is it £500 better? What do you guys think? I have until Monday morning to decide...

 

My M1330 was replaced by Studio XPS 1647 FOR FREE under warranty, so don't take Dell's cr@p for paying extra pints...

By the way, I am in the US though...

 

OP, I have a question:

Does this mean they are extending your system for 3 more years Nextday service? Also, the offered system clearly is a huge upgrade over your old 1330 but I think it is wrong to pay extra 500 bucks for this upgrade. I would try to haggle a bit more to get the 500 price tag down to about....300 maximum. However, since dell has the obligation to replace your system under their warranty policy so I would suggest that you mention it and fight to not pay a penny!

 

Yeah, if they don't have extra M1330s in stock, they really can't charge you for that. But then again you'd want to buy warranty on the new system.

 

Hi everyone, thanks for your responses. First off yes they are offering 3 Years NBD on the new system, my existing system has less than a month left.

Also I dont think the issue is that they have no M1330 or parts for the M1330 left. More so that I complained I didn't want it repaired again.

So far I have had the motherboard replaceed 4 times, the slot loading drive once, the screen once, HDD twice and I am pretty sure the GPU twice. Point is I am fed up with getting the system repaired and I am concerned that I will be out of warranty soon.

So I am not sure what to do, do I have a right to demand a free replacement? What if they come back to me and say they will replace the motherboard again?

 

It is an OK upgrade, though I still believe that you shouldn't pay a penny out of your pocket for this....

 

You could ask for a replacement, whether you can demand is subject to your country's consumer laws. However, all this while it is under warranty, otherwise probably not. So you've a month.

Count the cost of buying 3 years warranty on a new system, and factor the cost of that new system, and compare with the cost of your old system. See if the 500 makes it worth it. If not, if you refuse this deal, you may end up losing (because they are giving you 3 yrs on a brand new system, which is by itself far better in most every way than your old system).

 

Tell them replace for free, or full refund.

 

I am in the UK so not sure where that leaves me in terms of what I am entitled to? Perhaps someone with a similar experience can advise?

I suppose it's worth going for but maybe I can get Dell to add a few extra's (I'm thinking a blu ray drive)...

 

Update; I managed to get Dell to include a mobile broadband card in the deal for the same cost. They weren't really budging beyond that so I have settled with the offer.

Thanks for all your help.

 

Not sure if mobile broadband is a good deal at this point. You can pretty much tether for free if you have a smart phone.

See if you can get a refund and how much is offered. I think I saw a guy who bought M1730 from a reseller and got refund. (I think he was from UK, and got 8-900 back in whatever currency in his country).

 

You're in the UK? Well, good for you, because you are covered by European Consumer Laws, including your consumer rights in UK. You have greater grounds for full refund of the original invoice price at the time your laptop was purchased, which could've very well been over five-years-ago. I'd say that under the stringent laws here, you have more advantage as a consumer than you would across the pond, and even there, you get solid results.

We can argue legal-semantics all day, but in this country, there's usually two results to such situations. Either someone pays up the difference, and is £500.00 lower in the bank account. Or there's people that tell Dell, politely and firmly, that by virtue of their own policy and consumer laws, expecting more money from the customers is unacceptable, and they still end up with a solid replacement without paying anything. I'd rather be one of the latter than the former because I've got full invoice refund (full from time of pruchase, which was a lot of money), and it was my right as an English consumer. Equal or better replacement is your right, even if it looks like you're robbing them.

We know for a fact--on this very forum--that people get blatant upgrades without much fuss and not one bloody penny in additional costs.

At the end of the day, it is your money and your choice, but many here have achieved the same results by sticking to their rigts as consumers, and have paid nothing. It makes little sense why you should be amongst the few who pay for something that others have received for free by vitue of their warranty -- the same warranty that you have with Dell.

 

That's some good advice, the issue as I see is that this could drag on. This is the laptop I use for work and as such can't be without it (or replacement) for too long. Also the warranty is very close to expiring, my concern is they drag out an argument about a replacement until after the point my warranty expires..

Also they have offered me a repair, I assumed that legally that was all I was entitled to ask for?

 

Well, time is always an x-factor.

Your rights and their rights can get vague. In simpler terms, you have to give them a chance to repair. They should ideally solve your hardware problems, long term, within three service jobs. If not, then you have every reason to expect alternative solutions, such as full refund or system replacement. You have every reason to make such a request, otherwise the matter can drag on forever.

Also, they shouldn't jerk you around with the part replacements. For a lot of their older systems, they sometimes lack reliable replacement parts, which can mean that you might be waiting many weeks before a given part arrives. If you have N.B.D. warranty, which is Dell's word so they are liable to stick with it, you can raise an issue and push for a replacement if they can't get the relevant part on time. Sticking with the same N.B.D. warranty, you shouldn't have to send the laptop over to their depot--which have their fair share of bad stories--because you're entitled to a next day service at your place, or on a day of your choice witin reason. F.Y.I. I am assuming that they're offering you a replacement because they probably do have a possible backlog of parts and are probably not even interested in properly dealing with your old system.

No worries on the advice, but if you are in a hurry and would rather avoid all this nonsense, then nothing's to stop you from taking up their offer. All I am saying is that speaking from the results along with the perspective of your consumer rights and their warranty policy, they shouldn't be charging you even a single dime for such a replacement.

 

Time is indeed the x-factor as you put it. They have assured me they have the parts and could have an engineer with me the next day. As far as they are concerned they have offered to do what they are obliged to do...

They only started to discuss a replacement after I refused a repair.

I have decided to go with their offer, despite what others have managed to get from Dell I still think it is a fair offer, after all they are essentially giving me £700 for a 3 year old laptop, I can't see me getting that deal elsewhere.

Also I like the XPS 16, I don't think I would choose anything else from their current range...

 

Fair enough, though I do agree with what Kade Storm is saying. Heck, I'm an example of it. I had three mobo-replacements on my M1530, complained after the third repair failed and said that "I just wanted a system that worked" (along those lines, indirectly hinting at a replacement) and I got my M1530 replaced with an SXPS 1645 with no charge/for free (specs below). It's just that personally, I'd never be able to live with myself knowing that I could get my system legitimately replaced for free (not to incite any regretful feelings in you beforehand). Despite all that, it's still always your decision. Whatever you do, enjoy the system as it still is a fair offer, as you said. Good luck.