Expensive repair

[Wingmax]

My friend told me that his Acer Notebook had broken down twice in 9 months. First time was when it was 2 weeks old. They said it's software problem, so warranty is not covered. This time the centre pin in the DC socket has just fallen off. The Acer service agent, without even open the cover to inspect, said that the whole mother board has to be replaced. And they said it's due to misuse, so again not covered by warranty. Cost of repair is $380.00. A brand new simular model today only cost $650.00. The repair is more than half of a new unit.

How do they know it's been misused. Why don't they think the socket was badly produced in the first place. Spoken to some other local repair shop, they said this problem is far too common. They repair so many of this kind of problem every day.

Has any one heard of simular problem?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Yes, clumsy people mistreat their equipment, and breaking the DC socket is commonplace - people who treat their equipment with respect never break it!.

 

[Hero999]

If it's a generic DC socket fitting then it's also very cheap to repair if you do it yourself.

 

[picasm]

I don't know about Acer laptop dc sockets but a while ago I replaced a socket on a different make laptop using one bought from a laptop spares seller on ebay.

The proper socket from the manufacturer's spares site was not generic and was ridiculously expensive (as are many laptop spares) but the cheap ebay one (intended for a different model) fitted with a slight modification.

They can be very time consuming/difficult to replace as it may require you to dismantle the laptop completely to even get to it.

Also, the socket may be fitted directly onto the main board and they are multi-layer so needs a lot of care to remove and re-fit.

Try looking for a service manual for it - perhaps there is an Acer forum that can help.

 

[HarveyH42]

You get what you pay for... Anything cheap sold at Walmart, really is...

I would never pay $380.00 to get something repaired, if a newer one is only a couple hundred more. Not to mention you can probably find a similar model used, for the same money.

Seems like a lot of cheap electronics carry that same "mis-use" clause in the warranty, and I avoid those items, as I'm pretty sure they already know there are design issues.

I'm more concerned with functional repairs, then what makes it look new. My solution most likely would have been a socket dangling outside the case. Total cost, maybe 50 cents, if I had to buy the part, but likely have something laying around that would fit the plug, or clip the wires and use something else...

 

[picasm]

You get what you pay for...

I agree with you that cheaper brands such as Acer are much more likely to have poor build quality.
However, the broken DC socket problem occurs in much higher priced makes and there is a market in selling the expensive non-generic spares and doing the repairs.
Pity that the manufactures don't make it easier to replace the sockets.

I don't have a laptop, but if I ever buy one then I would consider getting an extended warranty for it. (Not something I would normally do!).

 

[Wingmax]

I agree with you that cheaper brands such as Acer are much more likely to have poor build quality.
However, the broken DC socket problem occurs in much higher priced makes and there is a market in selling the expensive non-generic spares and doing the repairs.
Pity that the manufactures don't make it easier to replace the sockets.

I don't have a laptop, but if I ever buy one then I would consider getting an extended warranty for it. (Not something I would normally do!).

This Laptop is only 8 months old, and it has extended warranty. That's what I meant, warranty means nothing. The unit was $999.00 8 months ago. It's a relatively cheap unit, but still, it cost a thousand dallors.

I came from TV repair industry ( like Nigel). I understand the frustration of dealing with the customer. Sure, my friend was not extra careful with his laptop. But apparantly this is a very common problem. Like you said, why can't Acer make it less painful for the customer.

When I was fixing expensive TV years ago, I found that quite often the tuner socket only had 2 little dop of solder on both sides, and it's very easy to come off. Quite often the manufacturor would paid for the repair within warranty period, otherwise we, the repairer would only charge reasonable amout. Not more than half the cost of a similar model new unit.

 

[Wingmax]

Yes, clumsy people mistreat their equipment, and breaking the DC socket is commonplace - people who treat their equipment with respect never break it!.

I can tell you were frustrated with clumsy customers. They argued about things like AC cord broken, TV tuner socket broken etc and should be fixed under warranty? But have you ever thought that may be in some cases the broken parts were too fragile?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I can tell you were frustrated with clumsy customers. They argued about things like AC cord broken, TV tuner socket broken etc and should be fixed under warranty? But have you ever thought that may be in some cases the broken parts were too fragile?

You get what you pay for, to make everything 'clumsy customer proof' would probably double or triple the prices?.

However, it's ludicrous that they don't just replace the socket - I'm presuming the old board will be returned for repair, have the socket replaced, and sent back out as a service replacement.

 

[Hero999]

The use tough books in military environments, they have an extended temperature range, are resistant to vibration and impact but are five times the price and half as powerful as a standard laptop.

 

[Wingmax]

You get what you pay for, to make everything 'clumsy customer proof' would probably double or triple the prices?.

However, it's ludicrous that they don't just replace the socket - I'm presuming the old board will be returned for repair, have the socket replaced, and sent back out as a service replacement.

Yes, you are so right about triple the prices.

Want to hear another story?
Some one in the repair industry bought a expensive mobile phone. Six month later the LCD screen was faulty, no picture. It was caused by normally flippying the screen to open to talk or see the screen, the ribbon cable on the hinge was broken, very common problem.The manufacturer only supply spare parts to authorized service agent, which he wasn't. He had to pay more than half of the cost of a new simular model phone for the repair.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

That should have been covered by guarantee, as you say (and as every one knows) those ribbons break with normal use, it's a pretty crappy idea!.

Only supplying spares to authorised agents is commonplace, but usually you can buy the spares through the agents.

 

[Hank Fletcher]

He had to pay more than half of the cost of a new simular model phone for the repair.

That's criminal, or at least should be given the attempts at environmental/resource conservation nowadays. The effect on the consumer is to completely remove the incentive for repairing equipment that has very minimal damage, i.e. "Well, I can go through the headache of repairing/replacing the broken part, or just pay a little more for a whole, new thing." If people were serious about environmental conservation, they'd be investing a lot more in repair services education. I don't know, but repair? The fourth "R"?