Laptop repair quote.. extortion?

MrStuffins

My laptop recently fell from a height cracking the side. It worked ok for a while, but the charger began to become stiff going in and out. After a few days it stopped charging. I believe the problem is just electrical where the charger goes in.

After i rang a laptop repair shop the guy told me it would cost me €300 to fix if it was a motherboard problem. Ok. But when i asked if it was just a case of him opening it and soldering things in place he told me €250. I was shocked.

Is this a normal price? For some soldering? I mean, i'd be better off buying a new on at that rate! The only experience i have of repairing my laptop was in Spain where it cost me €80.

mocata

LoL, i think u know the answer to your own question. Depending on model, it is not a hard repair, i would say around £50 stg would be normal price. One caveat tho, it wont be as strong after soldering.

MrStuffins

Thanks man, i knew it was ridiculous so i just said "Thanks but no thanks".

The thing is i've heard stories of people putting their ;aptops into shops with simple repair jobs and on collecting it being told the price is huge.

Overheal

A proper shop will give you the estimate before the work begins. Going over that estimate would be hugely gross - though im not sure if it would be illegal.

I wouldnt go back to that guy anyway.

Always shop around. Say "Whats your estimate" then "great. im going to shop around" and a few times I've seen the price go down right there - though ill still grab the new estimate and go. Take it to the next guy, get his estimate. Higher than the last guy? Tell him so. Keep reminding these guys their goal is your money and they arent getting an iota if the price isnt fair. On that note dont let them leverage you -> your cover story is the laptop was a scrap-freebie from a friend.

I mean this isnt like driving around the city to save $1 on a haircut, thats a fair chunk of change they want to swindle off of you. it pays to look around.

To be fair you can go back and just tell him you know that repair shouldn't cost more than 50. let the bargaining then commence and dont step a foot above 80 if as you say you got the same fix done for that.

The parts in this case should cost nothing or extremely little. Lets say 20e in parts. The rest is labor. I've replaced my own screen for $190 before - that was all parts. This is a loose connection, not a destroyed piece of hardware.

I wouldnt go over 50 myself.

MrStuffins

Overheal, thank you very much for your in depth reply. One of the reasons i love this site is people don't mind helping and giving advice.

I will do exactly what you say, i mean the laptop i bought wa sonly like €400 anyway as i just needed an affordably piece of equipment to so my college work while i was living abroad.

I will collect phone numbers tonight and make alot of calls tomorrow, thank you

x in the city

just fix it yourself

nothing to lose

buy a good quality solder iron
braid
solder wire
and electronics tool box

and off you go

you need a steady hand and excellent manual dexterity and nerves of steel

most likely the dc jack is misplaced, if the mobo itself is cracked then its pretty shagged but pop her open and see.

use a pen and paper taking notes of all the screws locations

MrStuffins

yeah i was considering doing it myself. My Metalwork and Engineering work in school will need to come in handy some day haha.

kikel

I don't think the guy that quoted 250 and 300 wanted the job TBH.

If you are replacing it yourself i'd recommend to make sure and replace the socket. Put a new one in. I've resoldered loads over the years and generally if you don't replace the part you'll have problems again. The DC socket suffered alot of stress before the solder joint broke.