Announcement: Eliza Needs Computer Repair Help!
Posted by John Brownlee
Eliza has a problem. Due to an inner ear infection, a belly full of Red Bull, a pair of 14 inch platform boots with drunken goldfish in the heels and a Cosmo-Kramer-esque sense of internal equilibrium, the illustrious Ms. Gauger managed to trip and drop her cherished MacBook Pro upon the cold concrete ground. Kersmash.
Now the screen doesn’t work. Eliza took it to Apple and they are quoting a repair price of an astonishing eight hundred dollars. Now, Eliza may be an asexual shrew with genitalia as shriveled and desiccated as the corpse of a sea snail transplanted to the Sahara, but she knows when she’s being boned.
She’s looking for other options, preferably (but not necessarily) in the Oakland, California area. Do we have any maverick repair gurus in the audience? Eliza can pay, but it needs to be far more reasonable than what Apple is charging. We’d all like to see her get through this, especially since she is working on some sickeningly cool stuff for Ectomo to roll out in the New Year. In addition to paying cash money, we can also distribute plush Cthulhus to anyone who can help get this sorted.
If you can help, or have a suggestion, either drop us a line in the comments or email Eliza at eliza.gauger KRUNK! gmail.com, where KRUNK! is an at symbol.
Categories: Bonings, Apple, Eliza's Muffed Sense of Equilibrium, Help, Announcements
Posted at 9:18 pm on December 22, 2007
11 Comments -
Might want to post a few details, should you have them, so that the IT geek collective can better evaluate how to offer their goods/services.
Model specs
Anything apple said
Description of physical damage
What works, what doesn’t
bummer.
Comment by Narkalant — December 22, 2007 @ 10:46 pm
i emailed, but www.pbparts.com sells repair items at a decent price. its far from cheap but around $400. I’ve done business with them in the past with good results.
Comment by Shayne Sandison — December 22, 2007 @ 10:55 pm
Well I suggest booting up in “target mode” to at least extract the goods on the hard drive if needed. Boot up holding T key down… laptop becomes s firewire drive mountable on another comp using a firewire cable. Laptops not under applecare that FDGB (fall down go boom) are gonna get that estimate… LCDs run around 800 for replacement, and that’s not Apple markup, that’s just the market.
Comment by SM — December 22, 2007 @ 11:32 pm
Also, the $800 quoted figure is under Apple’s tiered repair plan. If Apple opens up Mr Macbook Pro and finds OTHER things wrong that aren’t quite as apparent as a broken screen, they will fix them as well. The downside to the tiered repair program is that it costs $800 any time they even have to OPEN the screen. I had a PowerBook with a malfunctioning screen backlight, and instead of going to Apple (and paying $800, despite it still being under AppleCare), I sent it to a local shop. They put the labor under warranty (AKA: Free), and merely charged me for the cost of a cable running to the backlight that had snapped.
If it’s still covered, take it into a local repair store that is Apple Repair Certified, they might be able to help you out
Comment by flashywordz — December 23, 2007 @ 12:10 am
It’ll be fine, don’t macs ‘just work’? :P
Comment by flossy666 — December 24, 2007 @ 12:42 am
visit website for more help
www.sacatech.com
Comment by lori — December 24, 2007 @ 5:02 am
Hmmm.
That’s actually not a bad price.
Lenovo/IBM charges about that if under warranty.
Comment by David — December 24, 2007 @ 9:02 am
aww, did eliza’s broken screen keep us from our Ectünage this week?
this isn’t any help now, but i’d recommend the (way overpriced) $350 Applecare extended warranty on your next mac purchase. when it breaks, it’ll usually be a phonecall or 2 and then a repairman out to your location. it’s a nuisance that they charge this much over the price of the unit, but the security has been (for me) worth it.
also, poke around your local Craigslist. there are often laptops that have been otherwise gutted, but are being sold (or even given away) for parts.
~H.
Comment by Haux — December 24, 2007 @ 4:27 pm
bah - been away the past few days or i’d have rung in earlier: Eliza, if you want to pay the freight to get it to me - i’m on the other coast, in Maryland - and parts, if necessary, i’ll gladly see what i can do. unless the damage is something really apocalyptic, i don’t think i’d have it long (~2 days).
if it remains borked at this posting, feel free to email me. happy to help, if necessary. ^_^
Comment by zanbowser — December 24, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
unfortunately the applecare does not cover accidental damage. The pricing actually seems decent considering the cost of the machine. Parts are cheap but the labor is a pain in the arse. i wish you luck, eliza!
Comment by smithzoo — December 27, 2007 @ 3:26 am
I’ve bought parts from http://www.ifixit.com before. They have pretty good takeaparts which can let you know if you’re comfortable with the level of repair before you buy a new screen…
Comment by Michael — January 2, 2008 @ 12:27 am