Macbook Pro - Replace or Repair?

part time punk

Sorry if this is covered here already .... 3 year old Macbook Pro 15.5" screen met an unfortunate accident with a cup of tea. (Don't have all the specs but it's a good one, bought new in US for about €1500 in 2008, would have been a lot more here obviously) Anyway insurance company are saying about €1300 for repairs (logic board, output board, top casing, left input, keyboard) vs. €1800 to replace with equivalent new one (Either way I pay an excess charge of €250. Photos, itunes etc. aren't backed up (retarded I know) So am I better getting it repaired (hopefully with things saved on the hard drive) or replaced with a new one? Any advice greatly appreciated, cheers

Alanstrainor

Replace, replace, replace.

If the hard drive is recoverable you should be able to access it now, all you need is a hard drive caddy that you can buy for a tenner.

Otherwise it's not worth it. Just in case I wasn't clear...REPLACE!

part time punk

Thanks .... just to have a few reasons to give to the insurance co. would it be because a new one is less likely to have probs down the line, not worth repairs if they're that expensive, a better new model etc?

HelpWithIT

Is the Macbook powering up? Have you tried an external monitor?

hearny

Definately Replace, You pay the same money anyway only with a new one you get better Spec, years warranty, new battery, new OS due out soon too.

If you get it repaired there is no guarantee another issue wont pop up again soon.

As Alanstrainor said the hard drive is more than likely fine (unless you had a pot of tea) so it can be connected to another machine and recovered, if you connect it to a windows PC just be aware that you need a third Party program to access the OSX Filesystem.

You might also want to clear it with the insurance company that you can keep the damaged one, you could be able to sell a few parts to get some money back, battery / RAM / Hard Drive / Charger (Although a spare is always useful) etc.

part time punk

Thanks for the replies. Going to get money for a replacement equivalent to the cost of repairs, a bit less now at about €1,200. From what I can see I can get what I want so my Mac days may be over and back to Windows again ! Otherwise I'll still have to stump up a lot of extra cash

hearny

If you really want to stay with mac you could get a refurb. Perfect condition with a year warranty too.

http://store.apple.com/ie/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro?mco=MjEwNTY3ODE

Do you need to recover data from the drive.

hearny

Sorry just re-read the op you don't have backups. Where are you based. Do you at least have iTunes synced with an iPod.

part time punk

Cheers, a refurb could work. I'm based in Dublin. Also thinking about getting a Mac from some US based relatives who are visiting here in August.

Itunes is all saved on my ipod at least so can I think be transferred across to any new computer

hearny

Why not save even more and get a refurb from the states.
Something like:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC666LL/A?mco=MTgxNDI5NDM

Converted to Euros is just under 1,200 although depending on your relatives location they will probably have sales tax on top of that.

Regarding the dead laptop let me know if you are interested in selling for parts (if its not totally destroyed)

nailatron

If youre getting a refurb make suer u get Applecare. I didnt and my MBP 15" is now f**cked. Its only 2 years old and i was told i need to replace the logic board to the tune of about €700. Which basically means i have to buy a new MBP.

I rang apple and they wont help me at all.

I dont know if ill go with Apple again, but if i do i wont be getting a refurb, and i will be getting Applecare.

Sad Professor

nailatron wrote: »

If youre getting a refurb make suer u get Applecare. I didnt and my MBP 15" is now f**cked. Its only 2 years old and i was told i need to replace the logic board to the tune of about €700. Which basically means i have to buy a new MBP.

I rang apple and they wont help me at all.

I dont know if ill go with Apple again, but if i do i wont be getting a refurb, and i will be getting Applecare.

Just to be clear, you did buy this refurb from Apple, yes?

If so, get back on to them and inform them you are entitled to a repair/replacement under the Irish Sale of Goods Act. Look it up and quote it to them. The 1 year manufacturer warranty that they provide does not affect you statutory rights (it says so on their website). Tell them that if they refuse you'll be lodging the case with the small claims court. It's quite straightforward to do so. It costs €15 to lodge a claim with the court and afaik you can do it online. However, once you are clear with Apple about your rights it is unlikely to come to that.

The main advantage of AppleCare is the technical support and no hassle repair/replacement. But you don't really need it. Consumer law is more than sufficient to entitle you to a repair/replacement for any faults with 3 years.

nailatron

Thanks sad professor, my housemate was just telling me the same thing!
I'll look that up and get on to them asap.

I should really be more aware of my rights.

Thanks again.

nailatron

Sad Professor,

I've been looking around but cant actually find anything that states i'd be entitled to anything up to three years after purchase. I can find lots of people saying that, but no actual proof!!

If u have a link handy i'd really appreciate it.

Just to clarify, yes i bought it direct from apple, and the problems began about 6 months after the warranty expired.

Also, i've had it checked out, so its been opened up, but by an authorised Apple shop. Would that have any bearing on the matter?

Sad Professor

No timeframe is defined in the Sale of Goods Act. It's whatever is considered reasonable based on the item in question. And it's reasonable to expect at least 3 years out of a computer. This is a bit of disadvantage when dealing with resellers, but technically it gives more protection to the consumer.

nailatron

Quick update...

Took my MBP to another repair shop to get a second opinion before i wrote it off.
They told me it wasnt the logic board but the harddrive, and also a bad ram stick (which i had told the first shop about but they said it wasnt).

So i got the hd replaced for €169, thought it was worth risking €169 for the sake of having to get a new machine.

I've had it back for about two weeks and no problems so far, but ive really only started using it for web designing today, again no probs so far.

He also informed me that the piece of metal that holds the hd in place was missing.
When i got my MBP back from the first shop the last time they told me a 'piece' had gone missing but it was nothing to worry about. The hd has been flopping all over the place the whole time. I now have it held in place with cardboard!

So anyway, the first place i went to are f******* useless as far as im concerned. I know i cant mention the name but pm me if u want to know where not to bring ur computer for repairs.

iMayne

nailatron wrote: »

Quick update...

Took my MBP to another repair shop to get a second opinion before i wrote it off.
They told me it wasnt the logic board but the harddrive, and also a bad ram stick (which i had told the first shop about but they said it wasnt).

So i got the hd replaced for €169, thought it was worth risking €169 for the sake of having to get a new machine.

I've had it back for about two weeks and no problems so far, but ive really only started using it for web designing today, again no probs so far.

He also informed me that the piece of metal that holds the hd in place was missing.
When i got my MBP back from the first shop the last time they told me a 'piece' had gone missing but it was nothing to worry about. The hd has been flopping all over the place the whole time. I now have it held in place with cardboard!

So anyway, the first place i went to are f******* useless as far as im concerned. I know i cant mention the name but pm me if u want to know where not to bring ur computer for repairs.

For the Mods, there should be a Sticky for users to share experiences with businesses. That way this forum has more values and end-users, us, can know who are genuine or not.

Jackena

€170 for a harddrive? is it SSD? it would wanta be!

nailatron

€169 was for the hd and and servicing.