Will never buy an Apple Ever Again

[Rudy]

Out of warranty repairs for many products are extremely expensive.  Granted, an OOR for a Compaq is more like 400$ than 1300$.  However, that's why one purchases the extended service.  Working at Staples and owning several computers and other devices, I understand the value of service plans.

ALWAYS buy a service plan on a laptop or PC.  Hell, I even got one on my Ipod because, even though I think its a good product, I anticipate the hard drive or battery will fail during my coverage period.  I have it on my Dell laptop (complete care) and on my cordless phone.  The only machine I don't have any service on, is the machine that had the most problems.  The mobo failed in a year and a month, as did the HD (total repair investments = 800$CND). 

My point in all this is;  don't complain about the high repair costs.  Buy the service plan and save your money.  Also, don't expect companies to repair products out of their warranty.  That's the reason they have warranties, because they expect it to last for a minimum period of whatever they specify.  And it did.

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any computer company will try to charge a lot, i had a compaq laptop :x, the motherboard was defective and they tried to charge me 800$ for a new one while it was under waranty

[MonkeyClaw Veteran]

its obvious he didnt break it, he tilted the screen back and if buggered itself, dont blame him for hating Macs, i cant stand them....to primative

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too primative??? i can assure you if u were to actually use one then you wouldnt say that. but trolls will be trolls so oh well :rolleyes:

yea i feel bad for ya man, but its no reason to hate apple, it happens to everyone and well u didnt get the apple care plan so they will charge u quite a bit, same with dell compaq or hp, it was out of warrenty. i think that their tech support is awesome.

i had an issue with my in ear headphones, i went over to the local apple store and had them take a look at them. after asking me when i got them, they just handed me a new pair, i didnt need a recipte or the box or even the case! i think its great, but then again if u are out of warrenty you are out of luck. really sorry to hear that, but just remember, get an extended warrenty.

[Bluetooth]

I had an iBook and let me tell you... it is NOT any easy task to open up that sucker. It took me several hours to get it open. Just like with all macs. They werent meant to be opened! (cept the powermac, but thats a diff story) anyhow, the logic board shouldnt be worth 1300 (I think your exxagerating or they are or something) it should be worth about 400-500. Installation (if done by you or anyone who isnt an apple certified person would be likely unsuccesful. Its really hard. That explains why they charge you so much to open it up and put it in.

[Ricky Smith Old]

In regaurds to it being expensive for my toshiba laptop the bottom black cover is 60.00 for a PLASTIC pice. The LCD is 600.00 and im sure the Motherboard is more. I've talked to people at my work who repair IBM laptops and they said it isnt easy to replace the motherboard. As for the person saying the mac is primitave have you ever even used one? Aside from a Mac from 1998? Most of the people that say they are primitave have either never used one or used a really old one.

[tlogank]

The simple matter is that Consumer Electronics break. 

As a Technician for a PC retailer I can tell you that if a Gateway, Compaq, HP, Emachines, or pretty much any other PC brand laptop had that problem the repair cost would be about the same.    The logic board is an expensive piece, not to mention the labour required. 

Don't blame Apple for something beyond their control.  They didn't design the computer to break, nor did they force you not to buy Applecare.  They're not charging you any differently than any other manufacturer or any more than the part is worth.  There's normally very little markup on replacement parts in Laptops and if they quoted you $1300, then that's likely pretty close to how much it's costing them.

Apple or HP, it's all the same.  This could happen with any computer to anyone.

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Dude, you are so nieve if you believe that. That is like saying that they can get the rest of the parts (HD, LCD, RAM, DVD/CDRW, etc.) for like a couple hundred bucks. Because seriously, if it cost them anywhere near $1300, or even $1000, or even $800...they would be making hardly any profit. You, my friend, have no clue what you are talking about.

[fevoldj2]

That is a design flaw on apple's part if you can't tilt the screen back all the way.. On my laptop I can bend the screen back so it's level with the keyboard.. I thought that was expected. Yeah it sucks that companies make their initial warranty to last only until they expect it to break... Then they make more money off of you for overpriced repleacement parts just because they can...

[Syphonic]

Well it gets to a point where you cannot push the screen back any further on an iBook G4 because plastic pushes on plastic. If you try and force it further then you're an idiot and it's your fault (don't know if that was the case in this incident).

But yeah, I took AppleCare out on my iBook because I didn't get it on my iPod and it broke just out of warrenty and Apple want me to pay ?160 to replace the hard drive...what's the point in that? So I just bought a new iPod.

[.weir]

slightly off topic, if I buy a mac, I still have one year to buy applecare right?

[syko7ik]

Yes, I bought an apple once, from Tesco, it was rubbish... didn't even taste nice.

Hmm, $1300 is quite a lot for an apple, where did you go to buy it, maybe try the grocery store you might get one for 30 cents...

[Matt T]

randysaba: it's sad that you had such a bad experience with Apple. When buying Apple's you can expect to pay more money than you would if buying a PC, but that's because Apple use very high quality hardware - but I agree with you, 1300 is going over the top. Try this:

1. Return to the Apple store and explain to them that you are new to the platform and that you will never buy them again if they don't lower the price or fix it for free

2. If you have any friends that are in school or young enough to be, get them to take your iBook back as if it was theirs - you may be able to take advantage of their student discount

3. Go to a third party retail store and see if they can fix it for a cheaper price

Yes, I know those are a little anti-apple, but as long as you get your laptop back in good condition and continue to enjoy your iBook, it will be Apple's benefit (aswell as yours) in the long run :)

Anyway, good luck.

Yes apples price blow nuts.  Never buy apples.

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[divinatum]

I've had my iBook for little over a year now, and i use it every day. Im not really gentile with it (well not as gentile as i should be) and it works fine. I push my lcd all the way back and everything. Only time ive had to get work done on it.. A and S were wearing off my keyboard so apple sent me a new one for free.

It kind of sounds like the ribbon cable from the LCD to the logic board maybe snapped or got disconnected.

How long over the 1 year mark is your machine? and why didn't you buy the apple care? (Call up and say your a student... HUGE discount)

If its not too long over a year, you can try pleading your case to sjobs@apple.com and someone from corporate executive relations will contact you. They _may_ help you out... worst thing they can do is say no.

@thefunkymunky: Those were the g3's not g4's

Having now owned a iBook, a iMac, a iPod, a iSight, and an Airport Express... Apple has some of the highest quality products out there on the market today. The best customer support and the best instore experience of any manufacturer out there today.

[divinatum]

slightly off topic, if I buy a mac, I still have one year to buy applecare right?

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Yes, you have one year from the date of purchase to buy applecare. (Call them and say your a student, they dont ask any questions :D and its a nice discount)

[Brandon]

And you work for free. That's great. Your friend also would not have any recourse to sue you if you buggered up the job while you were doing it.

Companies have to carry liability insurance, pay a competitive wage for their techs, carry an inventory of parts (overhead), pay rent and they have to earn a profit. I did not even include logistics into the equation.

Since when were companies charities?

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which is where selling the pcs and other hardware comes in.... its like their battery replacment plan for the ipod... when mine dies, ill do it myself for less then half the price ($45 vs $99)

I'm just saying that i found that pentium 2 motherboard online i needed for $210 brand new, OEM... which would mean they are charging almost 900 for labour... great. the tecs probably spend around lets say 30 minuites changing the board then booting and running a diag cd, so thats $1800 an hour? i want that job

[Southern Patriot]

I had an iBook and let me tell you... it is NOT any easy task to open up that sucker.  It took me several hours to get it open. 

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I've replaced the motherboard in my iBook before and even though I have LOTS of experience rebuilding notebooks it still took me nearly 3 hours to do the job. There are upwards of 25 screws that you have to remove (and remember where they go, since not all of them are interchangable). The iBooks are the most tech-unfriendly notebooks I've ever worked on (although I haven't worked on a G4 PowerBook yet).

[raskren]

When buying Apple's you can expect to pay more money than you would if buying a PC, but that's because Apple use very high quality hardware...

False! Apple has just as many hardware problems as PCs. You're in the reality distortion field.

Remember Ti G4s with flaking paint? It made them look like ****. Remember all the battery recalls in the last few years? Wallstreet G3s had failing power bricks (Apple lost a class action lawsuit because of this). Pinched and severed LCD wires in the Ti Powerbooks. Frequent "logic board" failure in all laptop models (logic board replacement plan instituted to avoid lawsuit). Firewire 400 speed on the Firewire 800 ports of the G5 tower. iPod batteries that die within one year and are not replacable.

Shall I go on?

You *think* you're getting high quality parts because the price is so high. You're not.

DO NOT circumvent the profanity filter

Edited June 27, 2005 by Chad

[the evn show]

False!  Apple has just as many hardware problems as PCs.  You're in the reality distortion field. 

PC World placed them at the top of the heap (second place for 2004) in both the notebook and desktops reliability survey. They swept the tech customer service ranking again - as they have pretty much every year.

But nice jab about that RDF: nothing makes your argument stronger like an ad-hominem or two.

iPod batteries that die within one year and are not replacable.

Shall I go on?

Yeah, you should come tell that to my 2 year old third gen whos battery was still going strong last weekend when I replaced it myself for $39cdn before giving it to my little brother (didn't want him to worry about it later). The replacement batteries are available at Apple Certified Retailers/Service Centers. And they have a mail-in service if you're not comfortable taking it apart yourself. For something that's not replaceable there sure is a lot of replacement going on.

You *think* you're getting high quality parts because the price is so high.  You're not.

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It would seem that the largest annual survey of computer owners disagrees with you.

[Imperfect63]

So is your ibook's serial # listed in apple's known logic board failure list?

Here's a site that sells logic boards. As you can see it costs no where near $1000 (but used). Personally I think companies should always cover known defects for free. It's understandable if a machine wears down and they don't cover it, but defect is due to the way its designed. I guess since this defect isn't life threatening in any way, govt won't enforce anything like that. If this was a car, it would be recalled/repaired right away.

[raskren]

PC World placed them at the top of the heap (second place for 2004) in both the notebook and desktops reliability survey. They swept the tech customer service ranking again - as they have pretty much every year.

But nice jab about that RDF:  nothing makes your argument stronger like an ad-hominem or two.

Yeah, you should come tell that to my 2 year old third gen whos battery was still going strong last weekend when I replaced it myself for $39cdn before giving it to my little brother (didn't want him to worry about it later). The replacement batteries are available at Apple Certified Retailers/Service Centers. And they have a mail-in service if you're not comfortable taking it apart yourself. For something that's not replaceable there sure is a lot of replacement going on.

It would seem that the largest annual survey of computer owners disagrees with you.

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Everything I listed has been a known issue with Apple products, correct? These are all long-term reliability issues that have not been addressed by Apple until the product has already shipped. We have three Titanium Powerbooks in my office. All three have flaking paint. They look awful. Imagine paying 2,500 USD and the paint literally falls off in a few months. Two of those Powerbooks have had logic board replacements. We have two new Powerbooks that had to have their batteries replaced. Our old Wallstreet Powerbooks (seemingly the most reliable) all had their power converters die. My company has been purchasing Apple products for 10+ years and we've never gone through a product generation without a glaring hardware problem. Apple finally caught on to the iPod battery problem well after it was a wide spread issue. Videos circulated the internet of two guys in NYC spray painting cautionary remarks over iPod advertisements. It is only "easily" replacable now because the third-party vendors caught on well before Apple did. In any case, it is another long-term reliability issue that should have been prevented. Most people expect [a sealed] battery to last the life of the product. Don't you? Or is it different because "Its Apple"?

[divinatum]

Batteries eventually lose the ability to hold their charge.

[Chad]

Everything I listed has been a known issue with Apple products, correct?  These are all long-term reliability issues that have not been addressed by Apple until the product has already shipped.  We have three Titanium Powerbooks in my office.  All three have flaking paint.  They look awful.  Imagine paying 2,500 USD and the paint literally falls off in a few months.  Two of those Powerbooks have had logic board replacements.  We have two new Powerbooks that had to have their batteries replaced.  Our old Wallstreet Powerbooks (seemingly the most reliable) all had their power converters die.  My company has been purchasing Apple products for 10+ years and we've never gone through a product generation without a glaring hardware problem.  Apple finally caught on to the iPod battery problem well after it was a wide spread issue.  Videos circulated the internet of two guys in NYC spray painting cautionary remarks over iPod advertisements.  It is only "easily" replacable now because the third-party vendors caught on well before Apple did.  In any case, it is another long-term reliability issue that should have been prevented.  Most people expect [a sealed] battery to last the life of the product.  Don't you?  Or is it different because "Its Apple"?

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Did he deny any of those problems? No. Versus other computer companies, Apple's are the least likely to crap out on you.

[Chad]

Dude, you are so nieve if you believe that.  That is like saying that they can get the rest of the parts (HD, LCD, RAM, DVD/CDRW, etc.)  for like a couple hundred bucks.  Because seriously, if it cost them anywhere near $1300, or even $1000, or even $800...they would be making hardly any profit.  You, my friend, have no clue what you are talking about.

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Of course they'll probably make a profit off of it. There isn't a company in the world that won't charge you for repairs AFTER your warranty is up. I would think this is common knowledge.

That is a design flaw on apple's part if you can't tilt the screen back all the way.. On my laptop I can bend the screen back so it's level with the keyboard.. I thought that was expected. Yeah it sucks that companies make their initial warranty to last only until they expect it to break... Then they make more money off of you for overpriced repleacement parts just because they can...

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It's not a design flaw. Why on earth would you want your lcd to open up that far? I would assume Apple's notebooks not opening up all the way would be an added support for the screen

[Tech Star]

Yes just swap it they never cheack those things anyway...

[Chad]

Don't mistake our arguements against your plight as being Apple fans. But the original expectation is rediculous. I wonder if you'd still be complaining if it were a Dell or Toshiba laptop.

[sean l]

its obvious he didnt break it, he tilted the screen back and if buggered itself, dont blame him for hating Macs, i cant stand them....to primative

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I agree with him hating macs because of what happened to him..but too primitive? I won't go off topic for long. How do you find a company that is on the forefront of technology (iPod? Spotlight? OS X?) primitive?

I know some people don't like iPods and thats fine, but you can't deny the fact they are the gadget that started it.

Any who, the thing about the buy swap return thing is any good company checks the certain thing before they allow you to return it. Especially because most people say "I just don't want it". I can spend up to two hours with someone playing with a computer, they love it, and buy it. Next day.."I just don't want it anymore". You don't just return a major purchase. Maybe if he said "hey man, im sorry, i just can't afford this" it sounds a little more understandable. You can try that, but at least say "hey, it was broken when I got it"

[BajiRav]

I feel bad for the guy but what you said it a troll. He did not say how much he tilted it. If you tilt a Dell or HP screen back too far, there is a chance that you could cause a short and blow your motherboard in the same way.

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Most Dell laptops I've seen/used (including my own) open up to 180 degrees without any problems, thats the only thing I like about a Dell.