So did my 1 year warrantee just go out the window?

[zylander]

Im coming home from vacation and while getting off my first flight I dropped my back pack. Sitting here waiting for my next flight I pull out my late '09 MBP and see the lovely damage.....

I never bought applecare which I guess is a good thing because it would now be void. What about my 1 year factory warrantee? Will I be turned away by apple if I go in for repairs with this physical damage?

Here is a list of the physical damages that I can see;

Ethernet port is worthless now.
That whole corner is pushed up leaving a gap for dust and dirt to get into the case.
Corner of the lid is bent down a little bit, no damage to screen tho.
That bottom corner of the lid now rubs against the case.

Sooooooooo fucking pissed right now....

 

[Hacp]

Im coming home from vacation and while getting off my first flight I dropped my back pack. Sitting here waiting for my next flight I pull out my late '09 MBP and see the lovely damage.....

I never bought applecare which I guess is a good thing because it would now be void. What about my 1 year factory warrantee? Will I be turned away by apple if I go in for repairs with this physical damage?

Here is a list of the physical damages that I can see;

Ethernet port is worthless now.
That whole corner is pushed up leaving a gap for dust and dirt to get into the case.
Corner of the lid is bent down a little bit, no damage to screen tho.
That bottom corner of the lid now rubs against the case.

Sooooooooo fucking pissed right now....

Take it to a repair shop. I'm sure there will be someone competent enough to solder everything back.

 

[KeithP]

I would take it to an Apple Store, explain what happened, ask them to thoroughly check it out and give you a detailed listing in writing what is damaged and what it will cost to repair it. Getting it in writing is key.

Apple can only reject warranty claims for what was damaged in the fall. If anything else goes wrong unrelated to that damage, they are still obligated to fix it if it is under warranty.

What Apple will try to do in the future is blame anything that now goes wrong with your machine on the drop and tell you it is not covered. By getting the damage list in writing from Apple, you will have some ammunition to refute their attempts to void the entire warranty should the situation arise.

Plus, getting a list of the damage from Apple will make it easier to compare prices from 3rd party shops to get it repaired should you decide to go that route.

-KeithP

 

[Kmax82]

Second thing you should do.. is get a better bag. Something with some reinforced compartment so that doesn't happen again.

 

[MotionMan]

I would take it to an Apple Store, explain what happened, ask them to thoroughly check it out and give you a detailed listing in writing what is damaged and what it will cost to repair it. Getting it in writing is key.

Apple can only reject warranty claims for what was damaged in the fall. If anything else goes wrong unrelated to that damage, they are still obligated to fix it if it is under warranty.

What Apple will try to do in the future is blame anything that now goes wrong with your machine on the drop and tell you it is not covered. By getting the damage list in writing from Apple, you will have some ammunition to refute their attempts to void the entire warranty should the situation arise.

Plus, getting a list of the damage from Apple will make it easier to compare prices from 3rd party shops to get it repaired should you decide to go that route.

-KeithP

Winner.

/thread.

MotionMan

 

[mmntech]

Unfortunately the unibodies dent easily. I put a dent in the top cover after I knocked over a small cup onto it. Only fell 1ft.

 

[Plester]

I bought a 15" mbp unibody with the same physical damage as this for a song - nothing wrong with any of the components. Original owner had checked warranty and it didn't cover this and he didn't like how it looked. I pulled the machine apart (mbp are easy to work on if you are adept at working on laptops) and straightened it out (aluminum is very soft and pliable) now everything looks and works great.

 

[zylander]

I would take it to an Apple Store, explain what happened, ask them to thoroughly check it out and give you a detailed listing in writing what is damaged and what it will cost to repair it. Getting it in writing is key.

Apple can only reject warranty claims for what was damaged in the fall. If anything else goes wrong unrelated to that damage, they are still obligated to fix it if it is under warranty.

What Apple will try to do in the future is blame anything that now goes wrong with your machine on the drop and tell you it is not covered. By getting the damage list in writing from Apple, you will have some ammunition to refute their attempts to void the entire warranty should the situation arise.

Plus, getting a list of the damage from Apple will make it easier to compare prices from 3rd party shops to get it repaired should you decide to go that route.

-KeithP

Awesome advise, I will definitely do this, thanks.

 

[zylander]

Second thing you should do.. is get a better bag. Something with some reinforced compartment so that doesn't happen again.

Already looking for one now. I dont take my MBP out of the house often but when I do I cant afford to let this happen again. If anything this just shows that I was lucky this time.

 

[zylander]

I bought a 15" mbp unibody with the same physical damage as this for a song - nothing wrong with any of the components. Original owner had checked warranty and it didn't cover this and he didn't like how it looked. I pulled the machine apart (mbp are easy to work on if you are adept at working on laptops) and straightened it out (aluminum is very soft and pliable) now everything looks and works great.

Im thinking about trying to straighten it out myself. I may also just buy a replacement case off ebay or powerbookmedic.com.

 

[Kmax82]

All good ideas. Good luck with the whole process!

 

[akshatp]

How late in '09 did you buy it? And by any chance did you use an AmEx card?

Reason I ask is because AmEx covers theft and accidental damage for 90 days after purchase up to $1000 per incident.

If you didnt use AmEx, maybe your CC has a similar protection or extended warranty.

Good luck!

 

[alfa147x]

How late in '09 did you buy it? And by any chance did you use an AmEx card?

Reason I ask is because AmEx covers theft and accidental damage for 90 days after purchase up to $1000 per incident.

If you didnt use AmEx, maybe your CC has a similar protection or extended warranty.

Good luck!

Thats really cool! Thanks for the info!

 

[zylander]

How late in '09 did you buy it? And by any chance did you use an AmEx card?

Reason I ask is because AmEx covers theft and accidental damage for 90 days after purchase up to $1000 per incident.

If you didnt use AmEx, maybe your CC has a similar protection or extended warranty.

Good luck!

Its over 3 months old and I did not pay with my AmEx. Good info though, thanks.

 

[akshatp]

Its over 3 months old and I did not pay with my AmEx. Good info though, thanks.

That sucks. Hope you can get it fixed for not too much of a hit to your wallet...

 

[zylander]

After getting the quote from apple, what I probably will do s attempt to bend it back myself. If that fails I will buy a new case for ~$200. The lid I should be able to straighten out no problem.

 

[akshatp]

After getting the quote from apple, what I probably will do s attempt to bend it back myself. If that fails I will buy a new case for ~$200. The lid I should be able to straighten out no problem.

LOL that bad eh? No wonder their stock price is > $200

 

[zylander]

Just got back from my local Apple store; they quoted me a repair cost of $610, expensive but less than what I was expecting. My computer passed their hardware inspection tests and I got a write up that the only damage is cosmetic. Honestly I may not even try to fix it myself, at this point I dont really care. I was pretty pissed the first day but now I dont care too much.

 

[aleckz]

I dented the corner to my girlfriends mbp and i fixed it with a screwdriver, some wood, and a ball peen hammer. I say if you feel confident enough, you can take a good size piece of soft plastic or wood and then use a mallet or hammer to mash it back into shape. That's what I would do.

If you do this remember not to hit it too hard, just take your time and work slowly. It is aluminum.