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Laptop woes..

Glynda

Glynda

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Location
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Resorts Owned
Bluegreen Points Lodge Alley Inn.
Brewster Green (two weeks).
As some of you already know, the $2400 Sony Vaio VGNSZ450N laptop I bought from the Sonystyle store 16 months ago (no extended warranty) started making an odd fan noise and I took it by Best Buy only to be told the fan was going bad and to send it back to Sony myself. Setting up the repair order was a bit of a fiasco so Sony sent me a box with pre-paid label for my trouble with that. Then it was gone for 10 days. At one point I checked on it online and found they were waiting for approval of an estimate though I had already approved a higher one. I received no emails or phone calls and wonder how long it would have sat there had I not checked online. Finally, I got it back, opened the box, booted it up and couldn't get it to connect to the internet. As I fiddled around with it, I noticed that the slide switches for stamina/speed and wireless were jammed and unable to slide at all. They worked fine before I sent it to Sony. The wireless slide is stuck in the on position but I can not connect. So another long call was made and I was transferred from person to person at Sony (India) and they are going to send a tech to my house to fix it. BUT I won't even hear from him to set up an appointment until the middle to end of NEXT week. I'm not a happy camper. :mad:
 
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Sony

The local service that Sony contracts with sent a man to my house today to repair my laptop. Fortunately, the case had just been put back on out of alignment with the switches and there was no real damage to the contacts or switches as Sony only sent new switches, though they told us both that they would send contacts too in case they were damaged but didn't.


This guy's company does warranty work across a couple of states for Sony, Dell, Apple, and several others that he named and I've already forgotten. :annoyed:

I asked which brand laptop he would personally buy having worked on so many and he said "Dell." He said they are the easiest to work on and the most rugged.
 
Glynda said:
I asked which brand laptop he would personally buy having worked on so many and he said "Dell." He said they are the easiest to work on and the most rugged.
Click to expand...

Take that recommendation with a grain of salt. If he REALLY worked on them he is unlikely to ever recommend them. The old Toshiba repair crew joke applies - if you work on them you would NEVER own one. They are not well designed or built and need plenty of repair. After 2 years Dell starts saying "don't repair - replace" . No thanks. If you really want a Dell laptop then you might as well save $50 or so and buy a Lenovo branded unit (not the Thinkpads as they are a separate line and design) as many Dell units are just rebranded Lenovo models.
 
Althought it is a moot issue...I don't think any laptop is worth $2,400...why didn't you buy a HP or Toshiba for under $1,000?
 
timeos2 said:
Take that recommendation with a grain of salt. If he REALLY worked on them he is unlikely to ever recommend them. The old Toshiba repair crew joke applies - if you work on them you would NEVER own one. They are not well designed or built and need plenty of repair. After 2 years Dell starts saying "don't repair - replace" . No thanks. If you really want a Dell laptop then you might as well save $50 or so and buy a Lenovo branded unit (not the Thinkpads as they are a separate line and design) as many Dell units are just rebranded Lenovo models.
Click to expand...

John I agree. Dell used to be known for their service.. but now it is a JOKE.. both I and my daughter have had problems with little or no satisfaction.
After having had 4 Dells in my family (2 desktop and 2 laptop), I can assure you that there will NEVER be another one!!
Judy Chase
 
timeos2 said:
Take that recommendation with a grain of salt. If he REALLY worked on them he is unlikely to ever recommend them. The old Toshiba repair crew joke applies - if you work on them you would NEVER own one. They are not well designed or built and need plenty of repair. After 2 years Dell starts saying "don't repair - replace" . No thanks. If you really want a Dell laptop then you might as well save $50 or so and buy a Lenovo branded unit (not the Thinkpads as they are a separate line and design) as many Dell units are just rebranded Lenovo models.
Click to expand...

It's just not possible to generalize about Dell's entire product line, either the way the repairman did or John did.

They have several products that are designed and made well. They also have cheaper stuff that isn't.

The repair guy may have only seen the better stuff for in-home service.

My Dell i600m and XPS M1330 have both been excellent products. Great build, reliable, and easy to service. The i600m still works after about 5 years, but I retired it because I wanted a newer, faster, lighter model. I still have it and can use it as a backup. They aren't the only reliable models that Dell makes.

-David
 
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Steamboat Bill said:
Althought it is a moot issue...I don't think any laptop is worth $2,400...why didn't you buy a HP or Toshiba for under $1,000?
Click to expand...

Some people spend $450 pp for a helicopter tour and some people buy high end laptops.

Who are we to say that either one isn't worth it for them?

-David
 
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Icarus said:
Some people spend $450 pp for a helicopter tour and some people buy high end laptops.

Who are we to say that either one isn't worth it for them?

-David
Click to expand...

I tried not to be judgmental as my post stated "I don't think any laptop is worth $2,400"

I have just come to the "personal conclusion" that laptops are a disposable commodity and 95% of all users are better buying a $1,000 laptop and throwing it away in 2-3 years for a new one. If you buy a $2,400 laptop, you are, in essence, going to be stuck with it for 5-7 years as compared to my method.

Also, unless you are buying a super specialized laptop for high end graphics, high end gaming or CAD/CAM engineering, or you want to buy one of those super think laptops...then the cost is not worth it.

All hard drives will crash one day and all computers become obsolete...I am just stunned at how nice a laptop you can buy these days for less than $1,000.

Either way, I hope the OP gets her computer fixed, no matter what she paid for it.
 
I think you missed my point, so let me try again.

For some people, a Toyota Corolla is all they need. For others, only a fine European sedan will do. What's the difference? They both have 4 doors, seat 4 or 5, have four wheels and an engine and a similar warranty and will get you from point A to point B reliably. In other words, they are both very good at performing their basic function of providing reliable transportation, but one costs more than 50% more than the other.

Same thing.

-David
 
Thanks

Thanks David!

I'm just reporting my experience with my laptop, Sony's service, and what the repair person said when I asked which he would choose for his own. He chose/owns Dell because he finds them easier to work on and also said that his company uses Dell when they are in the field repairing satellites as they are very rugged and have held up and performed well.

That's it for me in this thread.
 
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