Is there a way to cut a deal with Dell?

I think I got a Scratch & Dent Inspiron 1545 that was masquerading as a Refurb. The laptop has white sticky goo in places and the screen has streak marks that were clearly visible before I turned the thing on. There are scuff marks and scratches in places and yesterday I noticed a pressure mark in the top right hand corner of the screen. I wasn't expecting perfection but at the same time I wasn't expecting to receive a laptop that looked like it was clearly used. I was so excited about finally getting a new laptop for myself and it was kind of an early birthday present since my BD is at the beginning of Nov.

I called them last night and they offered a $35 credit to keep the laptop which I would have accepted if the screen hadn't had a pressure mark/blemish that annoys me each time I'm on a site with a background that accentuates it .They said they'd wave the 15% restock fee but I would have to talk with customer service about reissuing the 20% coupon that I used. I spent some of yesterday looking for a system in the outlet near the price I paid and couldn't find anything.

Would asking for a supervisor have gotten me further? I'm not sure how to go about trying to get the Dell CS people to make a deal. It took me about 4 days to find the laptop I did and that was using the Outlet Scanner. I want to return this one but I don't want to have to search for days for another laptop in their outlet like I did with this one.

I know dealing with Dell is like a crapshoot most of the time and I was hoping some people who have made deals with them before may have some advice.

Thanks

 

If you like the computer, I would push for a replacement computer. A replacement computer could be new or refurbised, depends on the luck of the draw.

-Compsavy

 

Agreed

What I would do
But curios, doesn't the 1545 have the 4gb ram limit? The 1555 can have 8gb of ram and prices are the same.

 

A 1555 for $380 including shipping and 20% off coupon?

 

The 1545 can take 8 GB of memory, they even offer it configured like that. I swear that's the tenth time someone has asked that this week. >_<

 

Mine was 429 it was not that low. You paid about 300 for that laptop? no wonder they do not want to give you another.

 

OK must have been the 1535 then, I know the older studio 17 was only 4gb too

 

I paid $351 for the laptop $30 in taxes and free shipping. As I mentioned before I also applied a 20% off outlet coupon so that's what brought the total down so low. It was orginally $439.00.

These are the specs.

Inspiron 15 (1545) Laptop:

Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 (2.00GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Certified Refurbished
32BIT Operating System CD
Operating System Label
Processor Label
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
65W AC Adapter
6 Cell Primary Battery
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
15.6 inch Bright Wide Screen WLED LCD Display (1366x768)
Jet Black
No Camera
32BIT Operating System CD
3 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium

 

I would go through their return policies with a fine tooth comb to see if there is any loop holes in there, because the laptop they sent you should not have been sold especially since there are so many faults, quality control must really suck at dell if there are liquids seeping out of a laptop.

 

he should return it that laptop could not be a refurb, they are like new, We have three 1555's here from the outlet all like new

 

Actually I'm a she....

I don't think the laptop is a refurb either and I would hope that it wouldn't qualify to be a scratch and dent either. I purchased a refurb 1545 a couple weeks ago for my Mom and it came in pristine shape and looked brand new.

I googled and found that list of 19 Dell Executive E-Mails and sent an e-mail to those addresses and a letter through Planet Feedback last evening describing my issue. I think 7 of the addresses bounced but 12 went through and today they called and left a voice mail and sent an e-mail saying they called while I was out. I need to listen to the voice mail to see what it says.

The guy who called and sent me an e-mail is Arun S Kumar, I saw his name mentioned in a previous thread here.

 

I called and they are going to do an exchange for another refurb with the same specs. He said the time frame the system was giving him was 10 to 15 business days but he would try to expedite that. I really just wanted an exchange and didn't want to try and press any further to try and get a new one or something like that. I just hope that the replacement really does match the specs of this one.

 

Sounds great, Rowan.

I have had experiences where they replaced the machine and gave slightly better specs for the same price. Hopefully that will happen to you.

 

Or if you get a bigger Hard drive then better right? LOL

This sounds reasonable

Dell tries to fix rather then replace, I think the reason is they feel the flood gates will open and everyone will expect a new computer for every complaint ( I know its refurb ) You have to understand their side too.

I agree with what they do even if I get stuck with going through the motions to get mine fixed later.

 

I got the replacement yesterday after problems with FedEx delivering. Finally got it on the 4th delivery, was here all day yesterday for the 3rd and apparently the guy didn't bother knocking on the door. It was later then the time they usually come around here so I checked their website and it stated that the 3rd delivery had supposedly been attempted about 25 min before that. Had to call and a bit*h but they got the guy to stop back by here on his way back to the local FedEx. If the FedEx location was nearer to here pickup would have been an option.

Anyway sorry about that rant but I had to get that and the part below out before posting the specs on the replacement 1545.

It has better specs but when I took it out of the packing sleeve the first thing I saw was a quarter inch deep scratch on the lid. I was able to use a dark blue thin tipped magic marker to fill it, after filling it and letting it dry I rubbed the area a bit and it's harder to see. It still peeves me to know it and I wrote back to Arun and let him know that too. He wrote back, apologized and told me to let him know if that scratch is very prominent and if I'm ok with it.

I also had to use the driver cd for the old laptop because the one that came with the replacement laptop didn't have a driver for the wireless card, didn't find that out till I reinstalled Vista though. I also found out they sent a 64 bit computer when I looked at the front of the Vista installation cd.

What are the biggest differences between 32 bit and 64 bit?


Here are the specs for the replacement laptop that they sent....

Inspiron 15 (1545) Laptop:

Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1 GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Certified Refurbished
64BIT Operating System CD
Operating System Label
Processor Label
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
320GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
65W AC Adapter
6 Cell Primary Battery
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
15.6 inch Bright Wide Screen WLED (I think) LCD Display (1366x768)
Pacific Blue
No Camera
64 BIT Operating System CD
4GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium

 

You will need 64 bit drivers
32 bit programs ( most ) will work, sometimes 32 bit programs will have a 64 bit version you will have to use.

ALL new laptops are now 64 bit, the last 32bit processors went out last year.

Sorry about the scratch, my refurb 1555 had very light minor scratches, ( yes OCD) I counted 3...............