Re: Advice on Apple warranties and an iBook?


Subject: Re: Advice on Apple warranties and an iBook?
From: Brian Watson (bcwatso1@uiuc.edu)
Date: Mon Oct 29 2001 - 10:51:59 MST


On 10/29/01 8:26 AM, "Matt Larson" <ml582@columbia.edu> wrote:

> An Apple hardware related question, semi off-topic but not that far off:
> my iBook2 (500 mhz), which happily runs YDL, has developed a slight
> discoloration in one horizontal line on the screen. It's actually not
> that bad, but one problem leads to others, and I want the machine I paid
> for. What I'd like to know is if anyone has had to return a laptop to
> Apple, just to know what I'm in for. I'm very annoyed, because I have
> spent a lot of time setting up a nice triple boot (9, os10.1, YDL 2.0)
> and tweaking the YDL install (upgrading to KDE 2.2.1, Gnome 1.4, etc.)
> and I don't want to have to reinstall now. Will they send me a new one
> or repair my current one? Also, if there's a good Apple-specific
> computer store around, do they do Apple warranty repairs? The warranty
> card states that they are not responsible for data, of course, and I
> guess that's to be expected.
>
> Any advice is much appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Matt Larson
>
>

I have a PowerBook G3/500 that I've had to call about repairs. I have the
Apple Care Protection plan, which you should consider getting if you don't
already have it. First, my DVD-ROM tray was popping out on its own, or when
slight pressure was applied around the expansion bay, so I called about a
replacement Monday. I had the new DVD-ROM Tuesday. The second repair was
the only one that I've actually had to send the laptop in for. The
headphone connector on the soundboard came loose. I called Monday; I had
the box by Tuesday and shipped it out, and the repair was done Friday. I
had my machine back like new in less than 7 days. The third item was a
loose power cord, and I had that within a day as well. Apple Care
Protection is well worth its price if you need things repaired in a timely
manner. I don't think having linux on your system would be too big of an
impact, but I'd have the machine startup into OS 9.

If it's been past 90 days, there is a $50 per incident charge if it's not
found to be a warranty related issue,or they'll offer you the option of
buying the Apple Care Protection plan.

The only national computer chain (that I know of) that's an Apple Authorized
dealer (besides the Apple Stores) is CompUSA. I knew someone who had a
problem with his iBook similar to my DVD-ROM problem. He took it into
CompUSA for repair work. (He made the mistake of buying a CompUSA service
plan.) They had it for three weeks, and they never called him back. He
went into the store, and one of the repair people told him that it was
"obviously a defect caused by the user, so it's not covered under warranty."

If you want a quick and easy repair, call Apple.

--Brian

-----------------------------------
Brian Watson (webmaster@majuki.com)
AIM: Majuki
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