Wow! Quick from Dell ... unfortunately she's broke

I ordered a 1330 (that has to go back) on Thursday and a 1420 on Friday. They both arrived today

I've been on hold with dell for 20 minutes now about a return on the 1330

When I got my 1420, it has a cracked case I'm willing to live with it if it doesn't void my warranty.

 

As soon as you go to get the notebook serviced, they'll try to blame the case on you and void that warranty. Plus, if the construction is so shoddy that a CASE is CRACKED, I wonder what else might not be working correctly.

Advice: Return both for a full refund, and re-order. Do NOT accept an exchange offer, as they will just send you a refurb even though they promise a new replacement.

 

They were both ordered as referbs, so thats probably what I'll get. I got a good deal on the price from the outlet 15% off. Ended up paying $629 for the 1420 shipped.

But I do like the 1420 ... it has a Matte screen.

I've been on hold with Dell for 45 minutes so far today for the return on the 1330 and ended up dropping the call.

This comes at an inconvenient time as I will be going on vacation week after next and I don't want a replacement laptop sitting on the back porch for a week.

 

better yet, buy from a company with better quality control

 

Im going to defend Dell here

I've had "the best of the best" aka Thinkpad and it was horrible. I had keyboard, optical drive, 3 power adapters and 3 motherboards replaced and first thing it did when I sold it was blow a motherboard. I've had better luck with my inspiron 1520.

Anyway, it was a fun afternoon. I had to call customer service first because the system tag was not right and the laptop was registered to someone else.

So after getting that sorted out, I called Dell and they are sending a replacement and I will be sending this back.

Here are some pictures of the inspiron 1420 that I owned for about 5 hours
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v87/millermagic88/?action=view&current=DSC00281.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v87/millermagic88/?action=view&current=DSC00282.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v87/millermagic88/?action=view&current=DSC00283.jpg


I really like this laptop now 5 hours of battery live with VISTA, MATTE screen and it's not pink! like my last one

 

Oish..sorry you have to go thru this..NOT fun..

Hope it works out for you *the sooner the better* since your going on vacation soon, and such......

 

Hopefully they make it right. If not, keep getting replacements or get a refund.

Was the cracked notebook put on the Outlet as a scratch and dent? If not, it should be in great condition.

Good luck.

 

I only picked certified refurbished and previously ordered new. When I got my 1520, it was brand new.

Hopefully we'll get it sorted out.

 

I'm sure it will get all sorted out for you. But like I said earlier..it would be nice if was *the sooner the better*, eh??

Cin

 

My only concern is it will arrive while I am away on vaction. I dont plan on using the laptop much until the school year starts. As soon as I get it, I'll be deleting all of the partitions and setting up the Vista Business Partition, OpenSUSE and Linux Mint partiton on it along with a smaller partition for the files. Then install norton ghost and make a backup before the school year starts.

My 1520 is my main machine (acts as a desktop really) and the backup laptop - I used it a lot when my thinkpad would do it's bi-weekly dieing trick.

When I called Dell, one rep said that I would get the base replaced. The next one insisted that I get a replacement laptop. I made sure to specify the Nvidia card and Vista Business. Although if I could still get the 15% discount I might have picked the x3100 card.

 

Well, Dell said that it would be picked up yesterday ... it was not picked up yesterday by UPS.

I went down to the closest UPS customer service place. They could not process the "confirmation" number that Dell gave me. I raised a stink (made an idiot of myself) and the employees eventually went in the back and checked on the computer and there was never a scheduled pickup for my laptop.

I was told to drive to the closest UPS store and drop it off. I would be happy to do that IF the closest UPS store wasn't 70 miles away.

Argh. not sure what to do now. I dont want to be charged and I dont want to have to drive 140 miles to have this laptop go back.

 

Call Dell and see what is up.

Did you get a prepaid label or anything like that to put on the box?

 

Nope, I was told that it would be picked up and I would receive a receipt. I tried calling Dell a few times yesterday, but their system was down I guess.

I'm not entirely sure that Dell didn't tell UPS. I mean, this is the same UPS that routinely delivers my packages to the wrong street address or even the wrong town.

It's a great feeling when you find your package has been delivered to 5510 Main Street in a town 20 miles away with a very different zip code and a very different name.


Update: Called Dell today and apparently I wasn't supposed to receive anything about sending back the 1420 laptop ... Okay ... I am supposed to send it back when I get the new one.

Which brings up this question - am I allowed to use it while I am waiting for the replacement?

 

Yes. Dell sends you your new replacement in a box along with a return label for your old computer (at least, that's how it usually works).

 

QFT!

I had Dell exchange a Vostro 1500 that's was sloppily put together. I called and they said they would build me a new one. The exchanged unit came in a box and packaging that looked new. When I looked at the exchanged unit my first thought was "this is a refurb". I didn't pursue it because I thought it was new since there was no refurbed sticker on the bottom.

After sometime with the unit i've come to the conclusion Dell shipped me a refurbed unit under the guise of it being new, those bastards.

Listen to Greg, send both back and get a refund. Then reorder from their website.

 

I ordered a refurb unit. If I get a refurb unit, I won't be mad.

 

If you ordered a refurbed unit that's what you'll get in return. If you order a new unit and want an exchange you'll get a refurbed unit. Thanks Dell.

 

how could you tell it was a refurb without the sticker? this has always worried me about Dell, even when ordering new.

 

On the old style Vostro there are tell tale sgns it's refurbed and not new.

1) Look for the bumper marks on each corner of the palm rest, lower edge. That indicates the top rubber bumper from the lid were touching the palm rest area for extended periods of time.

With the lid closed I noticed discoloration on the lower back side of the lid. I also noticed that when I lifted the lid it made a crackling noise like the upper lid trim piece that covers the lid latch was not completely in place.

My battery on startup intermittently said it was the incorrect adapter for my laptop, a 65W instead of a 90W adapter. Unplugging the adapter from the wall or back of the machine clears up the problem for a while.

Too late now I guess to do anything about it. If I had known they send out exchanged refurbs instead of new systems I would have sent it back and got a refund.

 

Is this a bad time to mention that my 1520 was brand new even though it was "certified refurbished"? I do understand where you are coming from, and I would be very upset if I paid new, got used.

On a sidenote, it feels good to use a laptop that I will only own for a week or two before it goes back.

 

Bump

I just logged onto Dell's website to check for the replacement and see what's going on. I have an order placed 7/3/08 with an ESD of 7/8 and delivery of 7/9.

I'm guessing this is the replacement laptop? It says in production. I noticed the following differences ... different processor 5550 instead of 5250 and Vista Ultimate as opposed to Vista Business

I don't see a problem with either but is this my replacement laptop being built, a refurb system being found or did someone find my paypal info.

 

Someone would have to find your Dell account information for it to show up there. It is more likely than not your replacement system.

 

Ah cool. I got a bit nervous when I saw the price haha. So Dell may be making me a brand new system?

 

wtf is this always true, I dont see how they can get away with this.

 

I think its what they do . To compensate you in a way they'll upgrade some components. When I got my replacement M1330 it got Vista ultimate instead of Vista premium and a T9300 instead of a T7500...

 

If they have nothing that matches spec then I bet they would be forced to build new. One thing is for sure, I would NEVER accept a refurb for a brand new system, even if was just a "I dont like it" return.

If they try to deny you a refund within your thirty day trial then I would just do a charge-back. But trust me, the one rule they follow in dispute is to try NOT to lose the sale. They would rather repair or replace then give you back that money. They got you in the door, now they gotta find a lock!