Hah hah. You bought a DELL : That will learn yah


I bought a refurbished Vostro 1510 about 7-8 months ago. We've bought
a ton of dells over the years, never had too many problems, thought it
was an easy way to go.

From when I bought the laptop until around Feb., I had several
problems:
1. One speaker was broken, they replaced the cover/speaker.
2. NVIDIA graphics chip (onboard) gave tons of problems, turns out it
was a system wide thing - replaced the motherboard.
3. CPU errors (turn on the comp and the num lock stays on, other two
blink).
4. Slot-loading DVD drive broke (trouble reading discs).
5. Slot-loading DVD drive would not eject the disc (well, after 10
tries it would eventually come out) - it would get stuck on the felt/
case.
6. Ethernet port would only work if the cable was perfectly seated in
the connector. If it moved a tiny bit, you were out of luck and had to
work at it to get it back to "connected."
7. Keyboard. Many keys on the keyboard wouldn't work, randomly.

Many of the issues were taken care of without problems, over that time
span.

After getting the motherboard replaced, they sent the computer back
without the underside cover that covers the hard drive on the bottom
of the laptop. It was just missing, completely. They shipped it to me,
without any screws. Ridiculous, I know. I have orders on my dell
account though, for "back cover" and "screws."

I am an electrical engineer in graduate school. When the keyboard
broke I assumed it was just a ribbon cable problem. That it was - I
opened it up and found that the plastic connector to the motherboard
was broken off, and the ribbon cable was not being held tightly enough
into the connector. I couldn't fix the thing, it needed to be
replaced.

In Feb, with the keyboard not working and the discs getting stuck in
the drive, I wanted to get things fixed. However I'm in school and for
work I am on the computer ALL day. I don't have a replacement with
enough power to run the apps I need (Engineering software, Adobe CS
Suite, etc.). So, I couldn't bare to be away from the computer for 1
week+. I waited for spring break (last week) to send it in finally and
get the outstanding issues addressed finally.

I got a call yesterday, saying that the repair wasn't covered and I
had to pay $400 to replace the motherboard (note, this mobo was
already replaced once by them). I called in, and asked if it was a
joke. They said they found LIQUID DAMAGE on the computer. My computer
is my baby, I NEVER have drinks around it, EVER. When it's not in use
it's in a protected case. It was the most ridiculous thing they could
have told me. I explained this, but to no avail.

They sent me pictures of close ups of the liquid damage. It was
noticeable A TON on the pictures they sent. It looked as if I spilled
4 cups of drinks on the thing, and it was eroding the surface of some
labels even. It was outrageous. I said there is NO WAY that is my
computer, or it was there when you replaced the parts originally
(everything is refurbished, anyway), or it got wet during shipping
(there was no plastic bag around the laptop).

Needless to say, they didn't care at all. My options were pay the
money or live with the several problems that still affected the
laptop. I can't live without the thing at this point, so I said pay
the money, give me your manager's number, and the boss will contact
him shortly, and I'm never buying a dell again. Ever.


I am so fed up with this situation, but I suppose there really is
nothing I can do about it. I will never buy a dell again. Looks like
I'll be building my own, and doing everything I can to steer my
clients and friends away from buying Dells.

Thanks for nothing, Dell.


To add to this, I asked them to send me my original MOBO back. They
will not do it, saying that they keep it as proof that they did some
work. I said well shipping it to me would mean I keep the proof,
especially since I'm paying for it now. No luck, of course. ARGH.
.

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