Does anyone believe the M1530 is poorly built?

I really want to see if I can exercise the "lemon law" on my computer or just to see if the XPS M1530 is just a poorly built machine.

This is the 3rd time this has happened since March of 08. So I'm a student, who carries his laptop around with him in his backpack. To my dismay, I take my computer of its sleeve to see BOTH HINGES CRACKED, therefore, the bezel is all messed up and the screen is pretty much falling off. While I initially believed it could have been from the pressure from my backpack, I didn't have anything else in it. It's not like I toss my bag around.

This will be the 5th time I have to get Dell to come over to fix a problem. 2 times for the hinge snapping, one time I dropped it off of my bed, which is a foot high, and the hinges snapped off again. Then another time because the guy who came to fix my screen broke the motherboard. Also, now my computer doesn't charge when plugged in. All it says is "plugged in, but not charging".

I really don't feel like dealing with these reps in India who don't help me with my problems. I'm honestly sick of dealing with this computer. I've seen my sister drop her mac while holding it and the hinges don't just come flying off.

It just seems the computer is prone to break. Thankfully, I have a 3 year warranty... but I think my "accidental care" coverage expired. They should still come, right? and what if I'm in another state for the summer? Or are they going to say the warranty only applies if I'm in the state I put my shipping address too...

I would also like to know if anyone else had severe problems with the hinges and bezel area in general.

 

I haven't had a single hinge problem on my m1330. Seems you have some really bad luck or are doing something wrong. I've carried mine in my fully loaded backpack nearly every day without issue since I got it over 2 years ago.

Warranty status applies wherever you are. I've had mine repaired while I was on vacation without any problems. You just tell them you need the part shipped to a different address and they'll schedule you up a tech in that area.

 

I take good care of my electronics, as you should know, they're expensive. Maybe the m1330 has a sturdier construction but the hinges alwayts felt flimsy to me. they always break in the same exact spot. If it broke in other places, then I may think its my fault but its the same thing every single time. This makes me believe it is a design flaw

 

ive had my m1530 for a year now and nothing like this has ever happened, its just plain weird that your hinges keep snapping and breaking, ive used my computer in shcool and at work, and never got damaged in my backpack.

What could be happening??

- it is possible that the chassis (mostly the bottom part ) is defective and doesnt have the exact same measurements that a normal one has or its twisted, meaning the hinges could be always under constant pressure because of this, and they would break with even the slightest bump...

What i recommend:

- tell dell its your 5th time your computer has had a problem, and that you want a solution that will work, and you dont want to waste any more time and patience with the dispatches and onsite repairs. you can also mention all the details of the troubles it has caused.

your computer has a problem, demand solutions. You paid hard money for that computer, and it is in your every right to demand premium quality!

if it doesn't work with dell tech support, there are a couple of threads here that link the unresolved issues department and the e-mails of members of the dell board, i cant find them now, but i bet if you look close enough, its somewhere in this forum

best of luck!

oh and dell warranty is international, they can come to you even if you are in mid-Asia ( even if you bought your computer in the US )

 

You should be able to get them to just replace the machine for you pretty easily, seeing as how it's a repeat problem. Just get a new one built and see if that fixes it.

 

Thanks for all the help. I think I'm going to demand a new machine and see what happens. I, at least, want some form of compensation.

I know this is a bad thing, but has anyone dropped their M1530? If so, how far did it fall and did anything break? I ask this because I dropped the computer a foot off the ground once and the hinges snapped. I just don't believe that a computer should be THAT fragile. As I said, my sister has dropped her Mac while holding it and it survived. I dropped my Inspiron 9100 6ft before and it was fine...

I definitely think something is defective in its construction. As you said, this shouldn't be happening so often. Its ALWAYS THE SAME SPOT. If it was my fault, I would believe it would break in other places...

 

Mine fell off of my bed...on the floor..but evidently had a *soft landing*, and I got very, lucky...

I've been extremely careful since then.

FYI: Call and ask for a Resolutions Specialist..get a *Case Number*
If that fails,
Dell Unresolved Issues:
http://support.dell.com/support/top...t/dellcare/outstanding_issues?c=us&l=en&s=gen

Or the e-mail list is another means!
Michael Dell
Chairman and CEO
[email protected]
Donald Carty
Vice Chairman and CFO
[email protected]
Ronald Garriques
President, Global Consumer Group
[email protected]
Michael Cannon
President, Global Operations
[email protected]
Mark Jarvis
Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer
(Dude, You're Getting An Email!)
[email protected]
Lawrence Tu
Senior VP, General Counsel
[email protected]
Susan Sheskey
Senior VP, Chief Information Officer
[email protected]
Andrew Esparza
Senior VP Human Resources
[email protected]
Paul Bell
Senior VP and President, Americas
[email protected]
Stephen Felice
Senior VP and President, Asia
[email protected]
David Marmonti
Senior VP, President, Europe, Middle East and Africa
[email protected]
Brad Anderson
Senior VP, Business Product Group
[email protected]
Jeffrey Clarke
Senior VP, Business Product Group
[email protected]
Martin Garvin
Senior VP, Worldwide Procurement
[email protected]
Alex Gruzen
Senior VP, Dell Product Group
[email protected]
Joan Hooper
Vice President, Finance, Chief Accounting Officer
[email protected]
Alan Lafley
Board of Directors
[email protected] (bounces)
William Gray
Board of Directors
[email protected]
Judy Lewent
Board of Directors
[email protected] (bounces)


Cin

 

I once let mine slip out of the bag/cover I had it in.

It fell about a foot, smacked the table top, slid across it then off and then smacked the tiled floor below. Was crapping myself, when I try'd turning it on as I figured I'd destroyed it.

Nope worked perfectly not a bother with it.
Since then I've been carrying it in a backpack with all sorts for about 8 months non stop everywhere I go, every day.

Not neccessarily in a delicate manner either, yet it's still in perfect condition.

I think if the hinges are cracking so easily like that, as Cin said there must be some sort of defect that's putting extra strain on those parts.

 

my friend knocked my m1330 out of my hands and fell a meter(3 feet)... in it's protective sleeve, part of one of the hinge broken (was still structually sound, just cosmetically damaged)

just take better care of your machine....

 

I've had my 1530 for about year and it's still in good condition. I haven't dropped it, which I'm glad. Only thing that kind of bothers me is the metal-finish. It's been slowly peeling off since I game on it a lot. (I'm wondering if I can get it replaced)

 

You can get replacement palmrests off e-bay. I replaced mine myself.

 

I've had some issues with my 1530 too before. The black plastic areas near the webcam seem to creak and get displaced sometimes when they are loose. I simply just snap it back to position and it's fine. Another part that wobbles is the small little piece of aluminum covering the two USB ports and AC Power port. There are some notcable parts of the notebook that have weak production quality, but the rest is just fine. I haven't experienced anything as extreme as my screen practically falling out...