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Apple Care Won't Cover MBP Logic Board Repair?

SuparShadow said:
Any advice on dealing with CSR? I plan on giving them a call tomorrow, but I'm a little anxious about it since I've never really had to deal with them before and I'm not completely sure about how to go about it.
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You really don't have to do anything. Look at the CSR as an arbitrator that usually helps the customer at the end. Just explain the situation. CSR will have all notes so you don't have to explain what the Genius said or what the AppleCare agent said. Only answer when they ask you.

Also, you want to be honest and don't take CSR as your "friend" for granted. If you're not truthful and CSR finds out, you're basically screwing yourself. Good luck tomorrow.
 
This also just occurred to me, but the work authorization sheet from the Genius Bar doesn't list the speaker dent under the cosmetic issues.

While I think the dent was caused by dropping the A/C adapter (that incident was honestly so long ago I don't remember, and the dent in question has been there for a while), would it be a plausible argument that, for all I know, the speaker was damaged while the Genius Bar had my computer for a week?

In other words, Apple's argument is they can't prove the dent was made two years ago and hasn't impacted the computer's performance until now, but I could counter that I'd never even noticed the dent until the ARS people pointed it out to me, and since it wasn't on the work authorization form when I checked the computer in with them, they can't prove they didn't cause it in-store?

I'd hate to throw around blame here, obviously, but I was just wondering if it would be worth pointing out should the issue come up.

Also, FYI, the only thing that the Genius did list on the work auth form was "Cosmetic Condition: Good. Small cosmetic bend along the right-side near DC-In and Express Card Slot In." Attached is a picture of what he's referring to.
 

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SuparShadow said:
In other words, Apple's argument is they can't prove the dent was made two years ago and hasn't impacted the computer's performance until now, but I could counter that I'd never even noticed the dent until the ARS people pointed it out to me, and since it wasn't on the work authorization form when I checked the computer in with them, they can't prove they didn't cause it in-store?
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You beat me to it. That's what I was going to say. Just tell them the dent wasn't there before.
 
Warning, OCD Alert. You are putting far too much thought into this situation. Just call Apple and be truthful about the damage. If they find the damage to be a possible factor in the logic board problem there is little that you can do to change their mind. However, if you are straight forward and the rep is sympathetic, they will likely approve the repair. I have had a couple of problems with Mac's over the years and they always seem to make it right. Although, it seems to be a bumpy road getting to the resolution.
 
Kronie said:
You beat me to it. That's what I was going to say. Just tell them the dent wasn't there before.
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By doing that you're starting into a "war" with Apple putting the blame on each other and then you start arguing away from the problem at hand. Forget the dent, it's been logged, you didn't say anything then so it's basically "official" that you caused the dent. 2 options like has been said, CSR or 3rd party.
 
Yeah, I really don't plan on quibbling over the dent except as a last resort.

In the meantime, I figure my real ace-in-the-hole is how ARS held onto my computer for a week before so much as looking at it (and even then, only at my insistence after they told me it'd be another four days). I dunno if that alone will be enough to snag an exception repair from customer relations, but at least it's something they can't really argue with.
 
Honestly I would recommend going back to the store and talking to a manager and refuse to take no for an answer. I'm really surprised they are giving you that much of a hassle. My brother's Powerbook came back after a year in Iraq with a lot of scratches and a few dents and they had no trouble fixing his DVD drive and power plug under Applecare. He had it within it fixed within a day. To be honest the kind of stress that thing went through over there insane. Most of his buddies' laptops didn't even make it through the year over there.
I've had issues with my mighty mouses and the dirt that get stuck in the ball, so bad that they can't clean it. They replaced the wired ones no questions asked twice and my bluetooth one got replaced this past week even though it was out of warranty. Maybe it's just that Long Islanders are so demanding that they give into us like nothing?
 
xlosltove777, I actually did speak to a manager when I picked up my still-broken computer yesterday. she was sympathetic, but she and her lead genius pretty much stuck to their guns on the issue. I think I might have better luck with customer service.

also, in terms of diagnosing exactly what my problem is, I realized I forgot to mention what my symptoms are!

basically, I'm getting these strange video distortions. My early gen MBP has an ATI x1600 GPU, which apparently have been causing the same problem to pop up for a lot of other users very recently:

http://www.appledefects.com/wiki/index.php?title=MacBook_Pro
http://torley.com/macbook-pro-with-ati-radeon-x1600-distorted-video-glitches

According to what I've read, it's actually a heat issue. Can anyone who's familiar with the inner workings of a MBP tell me whether the video card or logic board is even located near where the Dent of Doom on my speaker is? I can't really imagine how Apple could continue to point to that dent as the cause of damage elsewhere on the board.
 
SuparShadow said:
According to what I've read, it's actually a heat issue. Can anyone who's familiar with the inner workings of a MBP tell me whether the video card or logic board is even located near where the Dent of Doom on my speaker is? I can't really imagine how Apple could continue to point to that dent as the cause of damage elsewhere on the board.
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Unfortunately, it's quite close.
 

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I'm not 100% sure I know what I'm looking at there, but that's the right-hand side of the computer, isn't it? Over beneath the power button and by the DVI/ethernet/Firewire/USB ports? (Which I guess should make sense because the location of the DVI port should be in proximity to the graphics card, right?)

The speaker dent on my computer is on the left-hand side, over by the power/USB/audio ports.

ETA: So I guess the Genius also made a mistake when he described the "small cosmetic bend along the right-side near DC-In and Express Card Slot-In," and he probably meant along the left side.
 
SuparShadow said:
I'm not 100% sure I know what I'm looking at there, but that's the right-hand side of the computer, isn't it? Over beneath the power button and by the DVI/ethernet/USB ports? (Which I guess should make sense because the location of the DVI port should be in proximity to the graphics card, right?)

The speaker dent on my computer is on the left-hand side, over by the power/FireWire/audio ports.
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Right, the left hand side would be somewhat symmetrical - which is wear your dent would be. Although I still stand by my argument that the dent did nothing to your logic board, you can see where and how Apple has a strong argument where they say the dent could have affected your logic board in some way.
 
Yeah, I can definitely understand their side of the argument in all this. For all they know, whatever caused the dent could have damaged the logic board, which could be causing the symptoms I'm experiencing now, and since accidental user damage isn't covered by AppleCare, then, yes, they're not obligated to fix it. Which would suck for me, but a contract's a contract.

However, it is reassuring to hear that it's unlikely that was actually the case.

Plus I would imagine if I had damaged the board on the opposite side of where the video components are even located, I'd be dealing with a whole slew of symptoms and not just this single video issue.

And to hear that it's also a common issue that several other users with this machine are now suddenly waking up to two years after they purchased their MBPs?

Well, let's just say I now feel a lot better about asserting that I didn't cause the problem here and the Genius Bar people simply either didn't want to take the time to properly diagnose my machine, or didn't want to hand over an $890 piece of equipment.
 
If you look at the ifixit picture you can see that the logic board doesn't extend over the left speaker.

attachment.php
 
Isn't the replacement of the logicboard "the kiss of death" for any MacBook? It also seems that Apple's last resort is to replace the logicboard and their thought is THAT should fix it, when in actuality it signals that your MacBook/MBP/MBAir will never be the same. IMO and personal experience...:eek:
 
SFStateStudent said:
Isn't the replacement of the logicboard "the kiss of death" for any MacBook? It also seems that Apple's last resort is to replace the logicboard and their thought is THAT should fix it, when in actuality it signals that your MacBook/MBP/MBAir will never be the same. IMO and personal experience...:eek:
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No. It's standard procedure for nVidia chip issues to replace the motherboard. I've had it done twice.
 
yeah, the issue here (as far as I can tell) is the graphics card, not the whole logic board, but since Apple's engineers decided it'd be a smart idea to attach the graphics card to the logic board, their only option for replacing my graphics card is replacing the whole logic board.

in some ways, having it replaced would sort of be tantamount to having a new computer, unless they replace it with a refurbished part. in which case I'm at least no worse off than I am now.

the nvidia chips, sadly, are a recognized defect by apple. as far as I know, they haven't recognized this issue with the ati x1600s.
 
I'm very sorry this has been such a pain. I just wanted to add that I made a decision recently never to go to the Soho Genius bar. I went there only once, with a week-old MBP that had been a replacement for my first week-old MBP that had her bad speakers. The second one has 9 keys that are crooked and 4 keys that are looser than the rest. The battery cover also doesn't sit correctly.

When I arrived at the Genius Bar in Soho, the genius didn't even say hello. He just stood there and looked at me until I explained my problem. He then quickly said it was all within spec and that he wouldn't check it in for repair and certainly wouldn't replace it. I then asked for a manager, who was very nice but said the same thing. At the end, the original Genius didn't even say goodbye or anything. I found the service I got there to be terse and cursory.
 
Yeah, the SoHo store kind of blows, but of the three in Manhattan, it was the one with the soonest available appointment.

I try to cut them a little slack because I know all three of the NYC stores (I don't really count the Staten Island one, heh) are probably swamped all the time, so I do understand that there's a certain pressure to move things along. Unfortunately, that often means sacrificing good service, and meeting the appropriate balance isn't an easy task.

I will give props to a Genius named Jonathan Meier at the West 14th Street store, however, who — when I ****ed up my OS by accidentally deleting an important system folder — took me, without an appointment, at 10 p.m. and sat with me until well after the store closed at midnight to fix it. I think he's the only Genius I've worked with at an Apple Store in New York who didn't make me feel like I was a nuisance, somehow inconveniencing them by, I dunno, being a customer. Even though, considering the circumstances that night, that's exactly what I was.
 
SuparShadow said:
I will give props to a Genius named Jonathan Meier at the West 14th Street store, however, who — when I ****ed up my OS by accidentally deleting an important system folder — took me, without an appointment, at 10 p.m. and sat with me until well after the store closed at midnight to fix it. I think he's the only Genius I've worked with at an Apple Store in New York who didn't make me feel like I was a nuisance, somehow inconveniencing them by, I dunno, being a customer. Even though, considering the circumstances that night, that's exactly what I was.
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Hah, that's the best part of the job. You basically do stress-free work with a customer who you can just chill with. I miss that about human-to-human interaction. I still find that over the phone but it's rare. I handle incoming U.S. calls and most callers are in college. Mention football and we're just like buddies. Sure I have calls that last me 2+ hours (which basically kills my stats) but at the end of the day, I get to solve the problem with the customer feeling good about it. 2 hour call > 5 min with a jackass crying how it's Apple's fault that the computer isn't working.
 
Hey guys,

Just wanted to give you an update on my situation. I called up Apple Customer Relations this morning and explained my situation to the rep, who was very helpful.

Basically, because I had discussed my concerns about the logic board and the graphics card to the Genius when I checked it in, and because he did inspect the computer at the time (and even noted some cosmetic defects in his original work authorization form), the CSR concluded that they should've told me right away that it wouldn't be covered under AppleCare (instead of making me wait a week), and has arranged an exception for a mail-in repair.

Anyway, just wanted to thank you guys for all the help/feedback. Hopefully other people in the same boat will find this thread useful, because it really sucks when an overwhelmed Genius Bar tries to stiff you out of your $300 warranty coverage because a dent in your aluminum computer.
 
SuparShadow said:
Hey guys,

Just wanted to give you an update on my situation. I called up Apple Customer Relations this morning and explained my situation to the rep, who was very helpful.

Basically, because I had discussed my concerns about the logic board and the graphics card to the Genius when I checked it in, and because he did inspect the computer at the time (and even noted some cosmetic defects in his original work authorization form), the CSR concluded that they should've told me right away that it wouldn't be covered under AppleCare (instead of making me wait a week), and has arranged an exception for a mail-in repair.

Anyway, just wanted to thank you guys for all the help/feedback. Hopefully other people in the same boat will find this thread useful, because it really sucks when an overwhelmed Genius Bar tries to stiff you out of your $300 warranty coverage because a dent in your aluminum computer.
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That's good to hear that you'll be taken care of. The whole situation was dealt with incorrectly and I'm glad CSR was able to grant you an CS exception.
 
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