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Am I justified in wanting a replacement iMac?

Dirtyharry50

Dirtyharry50

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 17, 2012
1,769
183
I own a mid-2011 iMac purchased in May of 2012, so a little over two years ownership now. I bought AppleCare for it at the same time and it's a good thing I did. This system so far has needed 3 on-site service visits at which time the following parts were replaced:

LCD panel twice (due to damage from heat)
Glass panel twice (due to damage from heat)
6970m GPU replaced due to known defect (kept overheating and shutting itself off)
3 Fans replaced due to continuing issues with heat damage
DVD drive failed and was replaced

Currently, the display is now becoming discolored yet again along bottom edge so far and while the hard disk SMART reports verified, checking the disk with disk utility halted with red error messages and a pop up window telling me to reboot with CMD + R and run disk utility to fix the disk. I was checking because after all this damage from heat I was concerned about what state the hard disk might be in. I did repair permissions first and there many that were wrong. So those are fixed now. When I reboot with CMD + R, I am greeted by a window and audio telling me to press return for English language. I press return and wait... for a long time. Nothing happens. I reboot and try it again. I wait 15 minutes. Nothing. I try a couple more times and no joy. It hangs every time and there is no disk access sound so I know it is doing zero after that long. Maybe that partition is damaged. Who knows? I know I've had enough at this point.

I am calling AppleCare and when I recount all these issues and inform them I need on-site service yet again for the same problem, I am thinking I should just ask for a new iMac. I think at this point it is a reasonable request.

What say ye? Do you agree I ought to get a new one at this point? I've heard that after some number of times they'll do this. I don't want this computer to run out of warranty and keep melting itself. By the way, I have central air. It is never warmer than 72 degrees in here.

I switched from the PC world and paid a premium for Apple stuff that should "just work." That isn't what I've gotten here. That's for sure. I love OS X and I'd love my iMac too if it didn't keep breaking and melting itself.
 
The mac has never actually been replaced? I would hope that after all of these repairs/replacements, they would just give you a new iMac, considering that this one obviously has a defect with overheating.
 
I would not hesitate. I had the same iMac which was in for repairs five times over the course of 16 or 19 months. I finally emailed head office with my concerns after it went in for repairs for the fifth time. I was called by the Apple Store and finally told that head office had called them and told them to replace my iMac with a new one.

With all the issues you have had, I would be concerned about that iMac ever working properly. Plus they are expensive to fix when the warranty runs out. Surprised that Apple would put that much time and effort into your machine. It probably would have been cheaper for them just to replace it by now.
 
Yes, absolutely.

My iMac runs icy cool at all times (late current design 2012 model) and I've yet to hear of any complaints about heat with the current iMac design. You have a good case for a replacement due to how many repairs yours has had!
 
I'd definitely push for a replacement - I'd be very disappointed if I had to go through what you wrote :(

Good luck and report back
 
I was under the impression Apple had an unofficial lemon policy. Third major repair usually warrants a replacement.
 
rickvanr said:
I was under the impression Apple had an unofficial lemon policy. Third major repair usually warrants a replacement.
Click to expand...


You are correct about the 3rd repair, but it is on the same problem repair, not 3 different repairs. That is what I was told by Apple. The repairs I had done on my iMac were all different, this is why I had to write head office and express my concerns.
 
Take it in and ask for a replacement. You shouldn't have to get this screen issue fixed again.

BTW - my late 2012 runs so cool I could almost make Ice on it :>)

So Apple has fixed the heat issue!

Tom
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yesterday when I called I got a prompt asking me if this was about my recent repair and when I said yes, I was immediately connected with a Senior Advisor who took care of me on this. We went over configuration for the brand new replacement iMac I'll be getting and today a final phone call from someone at Apple will confirm with me the configuration and then it'll be time to ship mine back as soon as I get the label from them. Once they see the return on its way, they will ship my replacement to me. I should wind up being without a computer for about five days or so they told me.

I'll report back on the final call, etc. but I am thrilled so far with how Apple has taken care of me on this. :D
 
Dirtyharry50 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yesterday when I called I got a prompt asking me if this was about my recent repair and when I said yes, I was immediately connected with a Senior Advisor who took care of me on this. We went over configuration for the brand new replacement iMac I'll be getting and today a final phone call from someone at Apple will confirm with me the configuration and then it'll be time to ship mine back as soon as I get the label from them. Once they see the return on its way, they will ship my replacement to me. I should wind up being without a computer for about five days or so they told me.

I'll report back on the final call, etc. but I am thrilled so far with how Apple has taken care of me on this. :D
Click to expand...

Awesome! Having had this happen to me twice before, I know it's a spectacular feeling :)
 
Dirtyharry50 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yesterday when I called I got a prompt asking me if this was about my recent repair and when I said yes, I was immediately connected with a Senior Advisor who took care of me on this. We went over configuration for the brand new replacement iMac I'll be getting and today a final phone call from someone at Apple will confirm with me the configuration and then it'll be time to ship mine back as soon as I get the label from them. Once they see the return on its way, they will ship my replacement to me. I should wind up being without a computer for about five days or so they told me.

I'll report back on the final call, etc. but I am thrilled so far with how Apple has taken care of me on this. :D
Click to expand...

Congrats on the new iMac, you deserved it....nearly every 2011 iMac owner does.

I think I migiht have the only 2011 iMac...that...works?
 
Well, the good folks at Apple followed up yesterday with a call to confirm my configuration and explain the return process plus options available to me concerning warranty. The option I chose was to take a pro-rated refund on my existing AppleCare and temporarily go with a standard warranty which is good for a year like a new purchase but the awesome thing is that like with a new purchase, at anytime during the year from when I take delivery I am eligible to purchase AppleCare again and so the new system will have a full warranty for three years! Considering the discount I'll get on AppleCare with the money they are refunding me I am very, very happy with that option.

Apple truly offers first class customer support. I can live with the fact that sometimes things go wrong. To me it is all about how a company takes care of you if that happens. Apple has been really great trying to fix things and eventually doing this for me. Because they didn't want me to have a feature loss where I do use the DVD drive still for some things, they are even including a free external SuperDrive for me too.

My new iMac is quite a nice upgrade from my 2011. I'm especially pleased with the faster GPU as I like to play games, the faster CPU and the beautiful new design. I'm so excited about the new one!

I got my shipping label link from FedEx but wouldn't you know, I am out of ink! I knew I should have attended to that before now. And I am temporarily without a car so my sister will be taking me for some errands Friday and I can get it then, print the label and call for a pickup. Oh, well. I am just as eager as a young child to get a new toy here is what it is. Some kids never grow up!

So I will soon order AppleCare again because it is so worth it for the peace of mind not to mention the excellent service if issues arise. It's always nice to be the bearer of good news so I thought I'd share how things went yesterday.
 
Glad to hear you got a new iMac!

I got my iMac in May of 2012 also. Haven't had a problem here. I think you may have gotten a lemon.

It's nice to hear these stories about Apple treating their customers right.
 
You may be satisfied with the level of Applecare service in the US but that simply would not do under UK consumer law. If the product goes wrong within the first 6 months then the fault is deemed to be inherent - nothing for the consumer to prove, the retailer has to sort it out.

The retailer is allowed to insist on a repair but can offer a full refund. After that if it goes wrong again (and this has recently been enshrined in law across the whole of the EU) then the consumer can say to the retailer - you have had an opportunity to repair the product I shouldn't be inconvenienced again I'd like a replacement or a refund.

All those repairs suffered by the OP is simply not on. I would have been insisting on a replacement after the first repair.
 
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