Out of warranty laptop repair

callum9999

Hi,

My 2 year old laptop has died and Dell have offered to sell me a new warranty for £125, allowing me to use that for the repair (which would otherwise cost £340).

While that seems to be a very reasonable offer, I'm still not particularly happy at paying £125 to fix an old laptop considering how fast technology moves nowadays (that money could go towards a brand new, more modern laptop instead).

I chose this model as it's a premium model (and was advertised as such) so thought it would last much longer than this. Could I legitimately argue that it hasn't lasted as long as you would reasonably expect it to, so the repair should be free under the sale of goods act? I know "reasonable" is rather a grey area so I don't know if my definition necessarily correlates with how a judge would see it!

Thanks.

marliepanda

No

Unless you want to obtain a report stating that this is an inherent fault with the computer.

Their offer is pretty fair after two years.

unholyangel

The reason things don't last a reasonable time is important. If they don't last a reasonable time due to weak soldering (for example), then that is an inherent fault. If they don't last as long because airflow has been restricted (ie sitting on a duvet) and its overheated, then thats user error.

Sale of Goods Act holds the retailer responsible for inherent faults only, not consumer created ones.

Do you know what went wrong with it?

callum9999

Thanks, I forgot about the burden of proof shifting to me.

I have no idea, it just randomly happened for no apparent reason (its well looked after). And though Dell said it was unrecoverable, it has actually turned on a few times since - though it crashes and won't turn back on again for hours if I let the screen turn off or it goes into sleep mode etc. It might be worth trying to get it fixed then (Dell renegaded on that offer and now want £410 so I just bought a new one).

unholyangel

Have you tried reinstalling windows (or doing a repair) to see if it is a software issue?

If you head over the techie board they may be able to diagnose it for you.

A friend of mine fixes laptops in his spare time - most of the laptops he gets in are overheating due to dust build up and never being cleaned out - this may be worthwhile checking also.

I know you said you got a new one already but if its a cheap and/or easy fix....may as well do it and either keep it for yourself or sell it on to pay for some of the new laptop you just got.

bod1467

Some laptops are easier than others to take apart and clean out the heatsink/fan assembly. MY laptop is very easy (remove 4 screws, remove the cover, remove 3 screws to lift off the fan, clean the heatsink, reverse assembly process) - our old Toshiba laptop is a nightmare (you basically need to completely take it apart).

ajarnold

You need to decide if you want a local company to fix it or take out the extended cover. It's likely that if your local company pulls it apart, finds a hardware fault and recommends it goes back to Dell, Dell will refuse to repair it as it has been tampered with.

Additionally, the good thing about Dell's though is that you can usually run hardware diagnostics without pulling them apart. Hold down the FN key if you have one then switch it on. It'll boot into diagnostics mode. Run a scan of the system and it'll show up any faults. If the FN key doesn't do anything, you may need to insert a diagnostics CD or check the options during start up to see if there's an option to run diagnostics.