Hoonigan
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
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A good friend of mine called me this morning for some advice. Their son managed to knock their one-week-old iMac (a 20”, 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo model) off the desk and the display is FUBAR. He had a pair of headphones plugged into it and then spun the chair around, bringing their new bundle of joy down off a ledge, onto the main desktop, then down another few feet to the floor. Ouch.
So they’ve had it checked out by the local reseller, and the quote is $1300 to repair the $1800 computer (prices include tax). The LCD needs to be replaced (and maybe a few other things that my friend couldn’t remember). They could use home insurance and pay a $500 deductible, but they’d lose a 10% discount they have for not having a claim. Then I’m sure if they have a “real” claim anytime soon, the rates will go up, so they don’t want to go that route. So they’re deciding if they want to pay $1300 to fix a $1800 computer (almost ¾ of the original cost)… the only thing with this is who knows what happens to the balance of their warranty. If the motherboard goes in 10 months are the techs going to say “oh man, it looks like this was caused by that major impact back in January…”? I have a feeling anything major from this point on could be linked, right or wrong, to this damage. So they either pay $1300 to fix the $1800 computer, hope to hell the display is the only thing wrong with it, and risk having AppleCare battles in the future, or pay another full $1800 and replace the computer. Of course another option is to keep the computer and just use another cheap LCD, since the computer itself is still running fine. They lose the nice LCD and basically the entire point of having an iMac, the all-in-one simplicity of the whole thing, but they’d also only pay $300-500 or so for the display instead of the $1800 to replace it. So anyway, they’re just tossing ideas around, and I thought I’d post here and see what you guys think. I guess this is one of the negative things about having an iMac. If they’d just damaged their new LCD, they’d drop a few hundred bucks on a new one and call it a day. Dropping $1800 for another iMac is a bit of a different story. BTW no, they didn’t use a credit card, so no accident warranty there. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Sell the kid.
() Buy a new one and eBay the old one as-is. |
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Check with other retailers if you can get a lower repair quote. As is, you're paying over three times as much as the display is actually worth.
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Now in lower-case™!
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Hoonigan
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
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Actually I was thinking of offering him $400 for it. I didn't know how much of a rip off that was for him. Seems like a good deal for me.
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Now in lower-case™!
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Well for $400 wouldn't you be basically paying the same as a new imac? I would think something like $200. It seems like it is a rip off for him, but if anything is broken beyond the screen it could end up costing you the price of a new one all together....right?
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Leiden, the Netherlands
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If nothing is broken besides the screen (e.g. the iMac is working fine with an external screen attached) the iMac is probably still worth about $500/$600 at least.
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Veteran Member
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Just buy an LCD monitor until leopard comes out. Then buy a new 17" iMac and connect the LCD monitor, and sell the old broken iMac.
But first, buy a spoon. A big wooden one... |
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¡Damned!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
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A Pizza Hut box and an X-Acto knife to cut a few holes and a slot for the optical drive. Problem solved.
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Veteran Member
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How old is this son anyways? He's got to have those headphones suction cupped to his ears for it to pull down a computer.
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Custom User Title
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: At home
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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Well, my heart goes out to all of them - including the kid. He's got be be pretty torn up about it. Poor fella.
If it was me, I'd just drop a nice big LCD right in front of it for now, and then save up for a new iMac. And as much as it might be hurting me, I'd make sure the kid knows that he is worth more than a computer. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope. Join Date: Dec 2005
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How much will Apple charge? I can't imagine Apple charging $1300. Their prices are extreme but not that extreme.
Also, if you have any friend who is an apple certified tech, he may be able to order the part at cost. I've done this in the past but it is quite difficult. |
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BANNED
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I'd see how far you can throw it, like in a contest. I've always wondered about that.
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Senior Member
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