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How do I convince Dell to replace my Gen 1 XPS?

post #1 of 75
2/13/08 at 12:37am
Thread Starter 
My laptop has been giving me problems since the day I got it. My second motherboard is now failing, there are two entire rows of dead pixels on the LCD, the USB ports always seem to give bandwidth errors, the DVD drive only burns at half its capable speed, the internal wireless and LAN cards randomly drop my connection or slow it down to a crawl, the hard drive is slowly dieing, etc, etc. The list just goes on and on.

I emailed Dell's tech support and they told me that most of the problems are related to the motherboard. I'm guessing that means that they want to replace it again, only for it to fail again in another year or so. My warranty expires in July, so the last thing I want is another mobo that's going to die on me again after the warranty expires.

So with that being said, how likely is it that I can convince Dell to just replace my entire laptop, considering how old and used it is? It's not in awful condition, it's just minor things like a missing F4 key, broken headphone jack, and slight crack on the front of the laptop (which was caused by the tech guy who replaced my original mobo without knowing how to properly put everything back together). Is there the chance that Dell would decline replacing my laptop because of these minor flaws?
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post #2 of 75
2/13/08 at 12:42am
Dell may believe that some of the problems are due to miss use (the crack), I would just ask them to replace it...if they say no it is up to you to decide how hard you want to push.
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post #3 of 75
2/13/08 at 12:44am
just escalate your case til you get someone with the power of understanding your situation. they really should give you a new system. probably an M1710.
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post #4 of 75
2/13/08 at 12:45am
Yeah mitcity hit it pretty much right on. To be honest, I'm surprised they even have mobos for gen 1's around
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post #5 of 75
2/13/08 at 1:20am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the speedy responses, guys.

I sure hope it's not going to take that much pushing to get them to replace it. Is there anyone who was int he same situation as me? And if so, how much did you have to push to get a new laptop?

I don't know why I waited so long to get it done; I guess it really didn't hit me how bad these problems were until my hard drive started failing. Now I'm scrambling like a madman to get everything backed up.
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post #6 of 75
2/13/08 at 2:25am
If you have complete care warranty I guess it doesnt really matter how much damage you do. I mean if you do something dumb and brake it just ACCIDENTLY drop it down a flight of stairs. If you dont then it might be a problem. Also I bet you didnt have the tech make note that he broke it when he was there so its pretty much your word against their system. I would highly doubt they have any Gen1 mobos but they could. If they dont then its good for you and like someone said, you might get a M1710 or better. Good Luck.
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post #7 of 75
2/13/08 at 4:07am
Thread Starter 
The only warranty I have left is the "Next Business Day, Includes Nights/Weekends", so I hope that covers a full replacement. I didn't have the tech make note of the damage because I didn't notice it until he was long gone (like I said, it's a small crack).

As for the Gen 1 mobos: they had them two years ago so they might still have them now... I don't know.

One quick question: if Dell decides that they won't cover me because they believe the damage is a result of neglect, then couldn't I technically just purchase the CompleteCare warranty, forcing them to have to replace my laptop?
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post #8 of 75
2/13/08 at 4:45am
no, but I doubt they would try to claim that you neglected it considering it was having problems before the technician caused the crack. but on the other hand adding completecare probably wouldn't help anything, especially considering I doubt it works retroactivey. in general you can't buy insurance for something that already happened, and completecare is basically insurance for accidental damage.

also it doesn't matter whether you have complete care or not, you have a malfunctioning computer and a warranty, they're obliged to replace it if repairs are unsuccessful.
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post #9 of 75
2/13/08 at 9:07am
Just try to get on with a tech support guy and start talking about a replacement because of all of the issues you've had. That's all you can really do.
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post #10 of 75
2/14/08 at 6:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Psythik View Post
One quick question: if Dell decides that they won't cover me because they believe the damage is a result of neglect, then couldn't I technically just purchase the CompleteCare warranty, forcing them to have to replace my laptop?
I don't think you can buy Complete-Care if it expires. I know for sure you can't buy a warranty extension on your laptop if your original warranty expired.

My suggestion would be to get every problem fixed (note that DVD burners can't really burn as fast as advertised, and wireless problems have tons of causes). But get your motherboard replaced, head phone jack fixed, screen replaced, and your hard drive if it's malfunctioning. If they can't fix all of those problems, then you have a good reason to start getting nasty.
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post #11 of 75
2/17/08 at 3:49pm
Thread Starter 
I pushed hard enough, and this is the response I got:
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I have had a word with my supervisor and he has suggested that we pull the laptop to the Dell depot, where it would undergo a thorough scan and and all faulty parts would be replaced.

You would receive a box within two days after I have created the dispatch. Please remove the battery and the hard drive and put the laptop in the box and follow the instructions on the label of the box. After the box is sent to the depot, you can expect it to be shipped back to you in another 5 to 7 days. The repair at the depot would make the laptop as good as new. Also I would send you a hard dive because the previous mails suggest that the hard drive may also have issues.

Please do send me the address to which you want the depot box and hard drive to be sent to you.
So what is that supposed to mean? Sounds like they are going to refurbish my laptop, which is better than their initial offer to replace the mobo again, but I still have doubts that my problems won't end up coming back again (and by the time they do, my warranty will probably be up).

So should I keep pushing for a new laptop, or do you guys think that Dell will do good enough of a job this time around?
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post #12 of 75
2/17/08 at 4:31pm
From personal experience, Dell's depot service is crappy... At best... They like erasing hard drives, and swapping components for things that are either not broken, or just downgrading parts altogether. This has happened to me and several other people I know, so it's not just an isolated incident.

If I were you, I would continue to push for a new laptop. Most likely, because the Gen1 was a 15" laptop, you'll probably end up with an XPS M1530, or if the guy is feeling nice, you may get the M1730, but that's unfortunately the luck of the draw with Dell.
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post #13 of 75
2/17/08 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenuxx View Post
From personal experience, Dell's depot service is crappy... At best... They like erasing hard drives, and swapping components for things that are either not broken, or just downgrading parts altogether. This has happened to me and several other people I know, so it's not just an isolated incident.
Yeah, that's what I am afraid of. Thankfully, they at least told me to keep my hard drive (and even then, I already made a backup).

Quote:
If I were you, I would continue to push for a new laptop. Most likely, because the Gen1 was a 15" laptop, you'll probably end up with an XPS M1530, or if the guy is feeling nice, you may get the M1730, but that's unfortunately the luck of the draw with Dell.
I just now realized that I posted my topic in the wrong board. But anyhow, how would you suggest I do this? I'm thinking I should just go ahead and send in the laptop, and hope that they'll make the decision to replace it with a newer one after they see how bad it really is. The only reason why I'm hesitant in pushing this further is because I don't want them to think that I'm trying to extort them or anything.

What do you guys think?
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post #14 of 75
2/17/08 at 5:59pm
Just tell them that this has happened before (which it has) and that you can't risk it happening again, and want a replacement laptop. I had to do that with my M1710, and they replaced it. If the guy you talked to doesn't want to help you, then hang up/end the chat, and call back/start a new chat again. You'll get someone to help you.
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post #15 of 75
2/17/08 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 
Here's what I sent to one of the guys I've been dealing with throughout this ordeal:
Quote:
Is it possible that you could provide me with a little bit more details on how the Dell depot repairs defective laptops? You mentioned that "it would undergo a thorough scan and and all faulty parts would be replaced." What would the faulty parts be replaced with, the same exact parts, or re-engineered ones? I am asking this because I've done some research on my laptop, and it appears as though I am not the only one whose had problems with their gen 1 XPS notebooks, especially with the motherboard and overheating issues. Just look at some of the many topics on your company's forums (as well as many other forums), many of them mentioning the same, similar, or related problems I'm having:

http://forums.us.dell.com<wbr>/supportforums/board/message<wbr>?board.id=insp_video&thread.id<wbr>=134515
http://forums.us.dell.com<wbr>/supportforums/board/message<wbr>?board.id=insp_upgrade&message<wbr>.id=58723
http://forums.us.dell.com<wbr>/supportforums/board/message<wbr>?board.id=game-gen&message.id<wbr>=26751
http://forums.techguy.org<wbr>/windows-nt-2000-xp/386477<wbr>-dell-xps-slow-performance-hjt<wbr>.html
http://forum.notebookreview<wbr>.com/showthread.php?t=50680

I appreciate your offer to make my laptop "like new" again, however, how can you guarantee that my laptop won't eventually give me the same problems all over again? You and me both know that the gen 1 inspiron XPS is notorious for being plagued with problems, so how will refurbishing it prevent it from breaking again? I just can't take the risk of having to deal with the same problems over and over until my warranty expires.

What I am kindly asking of your company is that you please replace my laptop with a different one. It doesn't matter to me if it is new, used, refurbished, etc., as long as it works, and is not a gen 1 XPS.

I appreciate the time and effort you put forward to help me. Thank you.
I've pretty much said similar things to everyone I've talked to in their tech dept, and at least it's gotten me this far. Hopefully, the message will get through to them clearly this time around...
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post #16 of 75
2/18/08 at 12:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenuxx View Post
Just tell them that this has happened before (which it has) and that you can't risk it happening again, and want a replacement laptop. I had to do that with my M1710, and they replaced it. If the guy you talked to doesn't want to help you, then hang up/end the chat, and call back/start a new chat again. You'll get someone to help you.
Good advice.

Also, from the threads I've seen on the topic, make sure you tell them you require DVI out... This rules out the possiblity of getting "upgraded" to a 1720 (which doesn't have it).

B.
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post #17 of 75
2/18/08 at 4:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr B View Post
Good advice.

Also, from the threads I've seen on the topic, make sure you tell them you require DVI out... This rules out the possiblity of getting "upgraded" to a 1720 (which doesn't have it).

B.
They can't give him a 1720 if he has an XPS
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post #18 of 75
2/18/08 at 4:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonya24 View Post
They can't give him a 1720 if he has an XPS


Also, just claim that you cannot part with the laptop for that time period, they have to come to you and provide aid that way.
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post #19 of 75
2/20/08 at 5:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post


Also, just claim that you cannot part with the laptop for that time period, they have to come to you and provide aid that way.

That doesn't work anymore, they just take is as you are refusing service. The terms clearly state it is Dell's choice on repair options.
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post #20 of 75
2/20/08 at 8:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrysDark View Post
That doesn't work anymore, they just take is as you are refusing service. The terms clearly state it is Dell's choice on repair options.
No big deal, considering that I can go a few days without it (I have a backup PC).

Anyhow, it's been 3 days now since I sent my last email asking for a replacement, and still no response. I sent them the message twice so I know they got it. I understand that email is the slowest way to contact tech support (it's really my only choice since I suck at negotiating with someone in real-time unless I meet them in person), but this is twice now that it's taken an abnormally long time for them to get back to me -- their first excuse was that they get a lot of emails on the weekends, what's their excuse now?
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