Defective Antec case, warranty expired; suck it up and stop whining?

[Dougmeister]

I own an Antec Sonata case. I love it, but for years it has randomly shut down or rebooted. I have tried to troubleshoot it numerous times, but the problem never quite went away.

Turns out this is a well-known problem with Sonatas (and perhaps other Antec cases as well). A plastic on the front of the case is sprayed with a metallic paint and was not grounded properly.

I called Antec and a representative informed me that, since the 3-year warranty has expired, I would have to purchase a replacement part if it is even still available.

Does this seem right to you? Am I naive with an over-developed sense of entitlement to think that I should not have to pay for a part that is *known* and *documented* to be manufactured improperly? This has caused me days (if not weeks) of my time as I attempted to troubleshoot everything except the case.

I guess I should have come here with the problem sooner. Thoughts?

(All I did was remove the plate but now it's ugly. The part can't cost that much, but with shipping, might be like $10?)

 

[piasabird]

Make a complaint to the FCC and ask them to force a recall? Knowingly selling a defective product could be considered a crime. At some point they became aware of this problem. If they withheld that information from the public that is criminal.

So what happens if you remove the front of the case? Does that improve things? I wonder if there is a way to strip off the paint and coat it with something else. Sometimes they would just paint over asbestos. It kind of seals it up. Of course you could just give up and buy a new case and never buy a new Antec Case. You could also post their reply on every website and Forum on the Internet.

This is a perplexing issue. Maybe that case was just a lemon and most Antec Cases are just fine. I am using an Antec 300 430. It seems to be a great case.

Write a letter to the CEO, it might Help. Ask them for a discount on a new case or something.

 

[TheStu]

Make a complaint to the FCC and ask them to force a recall? Knowingly selling a defective product could be considered a crime. At some point they became aware of this problem. If they withheld that information from the public that is criminal.

I think that they are able to set a period of coverage for the defective part. Like say 'We have a bad X, and it affects products sold from date Y to date Z. You can get it replaced for free, but only until 3 years from today' or that sort of thing. Otherwise it is completely open ended, and 20 years from now someone could roll up and demand a replacement part, which of course they cannot provide and instead have to give them an entire assembly for free.

 

[jaedaliu]

Can you just paint it again in a non-metalic paint? I imagine that would fix your problem, look good, and you won't have to whine any more.

(I enjoy whining on AT, too)

 

[Dougmeister]

But I *like* whining... ;-)

Good idea. I was trying to figure out how to strip the paint without melting the plastic. Painting over top of the metallic paint would work? I have 'rubberized' spray paint... that should do the trick nicely.

 

[Rifter]

This happened with my dads case as well, fixed it myself by insulating the power/reset switches from the case/bezel and adding my own ground from PSU housing. He has had no issues in over 3 years now.

And while I agree this is a less than stellar way for Antec to handle this customer service wise you have to take reasonability for this yourself OP as you waited way to long to try and get warranty for this issue.