questions about dell warranty service?

My notebook (e1405) is going back to dell because of an LCD problem. There is a loud annoying buzz coming from the left side of the screen and the screen has been flickering.

Anyway, I'm just wondering what peoples experience is with regards to turnaround time and also, do they just fix it and send it back or do they send a replacement? I've never dealt with anything like this before so I don't know what to expect.

 

They'll fix it a few times before they attempt a replacement. I would expect 1-2 week turn around unless something is out of stock for the repairs.

 

My experience:

Sunday 11:15pm - screen is going bad quickly, decide to bug Dell support.
Sunday 11:22pm - online chat with tech, return authorized (NEVER CALL! Always use the chat, it gets things done so much faster and with better results)
Monday 1:30pm - DHL courier arrives, packs up laptop, takes away
Tuesday 4:00pm - call from automated Dell phonevoice, 'laptop arrived and is testing'
Thursday 11:00pm - laptop arrives with a new screen, upgraded from what I had before and for free, never complained or asked for it, they just gave it to me.

And I only had the 1-year standard warranty!

For something like I had, a defective part, they will just swap it and send it back quickly.
For a 'noise' or other 'cosmetic/noncritical' issue they may keep it a few days to test it and attempt a repair. That is where the delays can come into play.

If too much of the laptop is damaged (screen bad, motherboard bad) they may send you a new unit, but that is very rare. You will usually get your old laptop back even if it's become a frankenbox =)

EDIT: The tracking page for returns/service is always wrong. It may say it hasn't arrived at the facility even after you get it back!

 

I chatted with them to begin with and the person said their supervisor would call me. He called in about an hour and said they would swap out the LCD.