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Cannot afford MBP repair. Advice please!

rockyroad55

rockyroad55

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 14, 2010
4,152
59
Phila, PA
So the apple store just called me and said they found water damage in my computer. This must have occurred when I spilled my drink on it when I first got my computer. I needed two keys replaced because I yanked them out, causing damage to the underside pins, trying to clean some dirt ball under it and now I'm guessing my cost is going to be $700. I'm thinking of just getting an external keyboard to use instead since I really never carry my computer around with me.

I can't afford that right now, so can I refuse the repair from Apple and get my computer back?

I mean, if they can do the repair now, isn't it possible for me to bring it back at some point down the line and ask for an OOW repair?
 
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rockyroad55 said:
Two keyboard keys broken.
Click to expand...

They claimed there was water damage, meaning they either spotted corrosion or found triggered sensors. This probably means that the estimate factored in a logic board replacement. Replacing a keyboard would not be $700. It's also possible that they quoted a flat rate repair for everything. You would have to examine the estimate. As to whether you can just get your machine back, of course you can. It belongs to you. Just don't authorize the repair. If there was a charge for the diagnosis, they would have told you in advance. You should receive more information from Apple than you will from responses on here, but I get the need to vent.


chrisperro said:
i dont get it, apple want 700$ to replace two broken keys that you can get on ebay for 5 bucks??
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The keyboards are sealed and not officially repairable. I don't know if diy repairs of individual keys are possible, but they would replace the entire thing. I think a backlit keyboard part + labor is somewhere in the realm of $200-300
 
thekev said:
They claimed there was water damage, meaning they either spotted corrosion or found triggered sensors. This probably means that the estimate factored in a logic board replacement. Replacing a keyboard would not be $700. It's also possible that they quoted a flat rate repair for everything. You would have to examine the estimate. As to whether you can just get your machine back, of course you can. It belongs to you. Just don't authorize the repair. If there was a charge for the diagnosis, they would have told you in advance. You should receive more information from Apple than you will from responses on here, but I get the need to vent.
Click to expand...

Thanks bud, I know I won't get much answers here, but I just needed to vent a bit. If they knock off $250 from the price when I refuse it, maybe I will do it. But, I just paid my summer tuition bill and I'm dead broke until the next two weeks.

I'm just going to be honest and tell them I was drunk at the time when I knocked over my cola. I mean, what will I lose? Most likely I will repair it in a few months when I get the money.
 
rockyroad55 said:
Thanks bud, I know I won't get much answers here, but I just needed to vent a bit. If they knock off $250 from the price when I refuse it, maybe I will do it. But, I just paid my summer tuition bill and I'm dead broke until the next two weeks.

I'm just going to be honest and tell them I was drunk at the time when I knocked over my cola. I mean, what will I lose? Most likely I will repair it in a few months when I get the money.
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I figured as much. No one expects to spill anything on their computer until it happens. It's not so much a matter of honesty here. They looked at it and gave you an assessment. I was saying that you need to understand what is covered. You should ask what it would cost just to replace the keyboard. If they still say $700, at least ask to see a copy of that repair estimate. The only thing I can think of is if it's a rMBP, they supposedly replace the entire top case for a new keyboard. Even then $700 sounds high. I suspect that they do refurbish such parts, especially as their warranty terms indicate new and refurbished parts even though some on here claim otherwise.
 
thekev said:
I figured as much. No one expects to spill anything on their computer until it happens. It's not so much a matter of honesty here. They looked at it and gave you an assessment. I was saying that you need to understand what is covered. You should ask what it would cost just to replace the keyboard. If they still say $700, at least ask to see a copy of that repair estimate. The only thing I can think of is if it's a rMBP, they supposedly replace the entire top case for a new keyboard. Even then $700 sounds high. I suspect that they do refurbish such parts, especially as their warranty terms indicate new and refurbished parts even though some on here claim otherwise.
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I hope they can just do the keyboard only. Should I go with honesty and hope for a waiver haha?
 
Id get an external Keyboard.

And if something else goes wrong with the laptop down the track, repair it then. Really not worth if for 2 keys.
 
rockyroad55 said:
I hope they can just do the keyboard only. Should I go with honesty and hope for a waiver haha?
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Honesty doesn't mean much here. I don't like to get into speculation on whether they might take pity on your situation. I mean they quoted you for a repair. If I'm not mistaken, depot service is sometimes offered out of warranty if there aren't any signs of damage. In this case water damage and physically broken key clips probably counts against you there. The only time it was offered in my case, it was still $300 or so due to a logic board issue. This was a very very long time ago as the machine in question was a powerbook G4.

I'm simply suggesting that you ask questions regarding what is included in the repair. If you want to try another repair shop, you can call one of the third party repair places and ask for a quote on out of warranty keyboard replacement. Make sure you have the model number handy. About this mac---> more information will give you the necessary info. If you're considering an external keyboard for temporary use, you can find some of the cheap ones for $20-30 new quite easily. Just try something like Amazon and check the bad reviews (every product has some) to see what was wrong.
 
rockyroad55 said:
So the apple store just called me and said they found water damage in my computer. This must have occurred when I spilled my drink on it when I first got my computer. I needed two keys replaced because I yanked them out, causing damage to the underside pins, trying to clean some dirt ball under it and now I'm guessing my cost is going to be $700. I'm thinking of just getting an external keyboard to use instead since I really never carry my computer around with me.
Click to expand...

Check around. Rossman charges around $175 and they have very positive reviews. They're in Brooklyn so it might even be worth a quick trip to NYC to get it fixed.
 
i had the same problem, i had just 1 key broken on the keyboard...i didn't spill anything JUST 1 key. I was trying to clean the dust but i didn't know how to remove the keys so i broke it...they don't replace the individual key. On the mbp's they change the whole top case which cots around 200$ , on the rmp's they change topcase+battery, i don't know why but this is what happens with rmp's , for just 1 broken key they replaced Topcase+battery which costs 700$. luckily i didn't pay anything, they told me apple did an exception in my case and i had it replaced for free..i don't know why:apple: . So in conclusion if you have the retina macbook pro even for one key you might pay 700$ for topcase+battery unless you buy the individual keys from ebay
 
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