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heard the bad news

BigJohno

BigJohno

macrumors 65832
Original poster
Jan 1, 2007
1,504
675
San Francisco
Well I took my MBP in to the Apple Store on Friday to get my track pad fixed. About a month ago my buddy spilled beer on my laptop. I managed to tip it on its side in time so some of the beer didn't make it inside. Well there was a little bit that mad it past the keys and trackpad. I cleaned it up and turned it on. It started fine but the clicker was sticky. Since then my clicker has progressively stopped working.

So anyway I got a call today saying that it was going to be 1200 for the repair. They need to replace the logic board and top case. I just wanted to find out if this is a reasonable quote. I have already talked with my friend and I think he might try to get the money. Should I take the bullet and fork out the cash?

Not sure if this is related. I installed SL when it came out and last week almost all my apps were crashing when I tried to save or edit a file. Would this be linked at all to the logic board?

Thanks for the help,

Jonathan
 
Could be the cause, yea. $1200 seems about right for the replacement.

Condolences. :(
 
macgirl89 said:
Get it done by Apple, but I would have your friend pay for at least half of it... since he was the one who spilled the beer on it.
Click to expand...

BigJohno said:
Well I took my MBP in to the Apple Store on Friday to get my track pad fixed. About a month ago my buddy spilled beer on my laptop. I managed to tip it on its side in time so some of the beer didn't make it inside. Well there was a little bit that mad it past the keys and trackpad. I cleaned it up and turned it on. It started fine but the clicker was sticky. Since then my clicker has progressively stopped working.

So anyway I got a call today saying that it was going to be 1200 for the repair. They need to replace the logic board and top case. I just wanted to find out if this is a reasonable quote. I have already talked with my friend and I think he might try to get the money. Should I take the bullet and fork out the cash?

Not sure if this is related. I installed SL when it came out and last week almost all my apps were crashing when I tried to save or edit a file. Would this be linked at all to the logic board?

Thanks for the help,

Jonathan
Click to expand...

Your friend needs to pay for this. Make sure you get him saying he will in writing!
 
there's no way any friendship in the world runs $1200 deep over some spilt beer. that said, this really sucks. he should definitely voluntarily contribute significantly to fixing the problem if he's remotely responsible + capable of doing so.

and how exactly do you sell a busted computer on ebay?? (i know nothing of the site but surely that's illegal or pointless?)
 
Yeah the only problem is that he is in Austria now till December. Im talking with him though and Im good friends with his parents. So if he doesnt fork over the cash then his parents will and he will just have to pay them back. What kills me is that the computer is only 3 months old. Oh well I should be getting it back from the repair depot. I didn't have them fix it yet because it still works some what.
 
yanquis said:
and how exactly do you sell a busted computer on ebay?? (i know nothing of the site but surely that's illegal or pointless?)
Click to expand...

Why couldn't you? Just be upfront and honest about the damage and condition. Somebody may want it for parts or have parts available to fix it and in the end getting a macbook pro for cheap.

There's also been macbooks on eBay that owners have sold thinking the macbook was dead or beyond repair that only needed a little maintenance. Again, getting a macbook for very cheap.
 
Take it to an AUTHORIZED REPAIR CENTER, not the apple store. I can't see why you'd need a new topcase for this. Repair centers often charge less and can do single repairs instead of the apple store which has "tiered" repairs. I'm not convinced you need a new logic board either, but for $1200 I'd get a second opinion on this.
 
BigJohno said:
Yeah the only problem is that he is in Austria now till December. Im talking with him though and Im good friends with his parents. So if he doesnt fork over the cash then his parents will and he will just have to pay them back. What kills me is that the computer is only 3 months old. Oh well I should be getting it back from the repair depot. I didn't have them fix it yet because it still works some what.
Click to expand...

Buy a new one and have him pay for it...
 
Why do you need a new logic board if the only problem is that the clicker sticks?
When I get my oil changed I don't get a new engine.
 
reallynotnick said:
Why do you need a new logic board if the only problem is that the clicker sticks?
When I get my oil changed I don't get a new engine.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking. But at the same time, if his apps are crashing and he isnt getting the same performance, I can't help but think that the logic board would be involved.

Back to suggestions for the OP, I would EITHER, take it to an AUTHORIZED REPAIR CENTER, or sell it on eBay and then get a new one (by new I mean refurbed).
 
Normally I would say fix it yourself or get the parts online and have a capable person do it. Replacing a logic board and upper case is cake if you have the right tools and have ever dismantled a laptop in your life.

But when I looked on ifixit.com I found that the parts come out to be the same as what Apple wants to charge you for repair. This tells me that Apple is actually charging you a fair price for the repair. Especially since they are not tacking on labor.


Upper case ($300)
http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Upper-Case/IF161-000

Logic Board ($900)
http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts...ibody-Late-2008-2-4-GHz-Logic-Board/IF161-005

But yeah, I agree with everyone else. Your friend should be paying for it.
 
If you have the time and patience, try dismantling the laptop and dip the whole entire logicboard and top case under isopropyl alcohol (the higher the purity, the better, 70% alcohol are usually diluted with distilled water). That should be able to lift any sticky substances which may causing shorts that affects your MBP's performance. Sounds outright crazy, but alcohol evaporates and dries up very quickly.

While you're at it, scrub off any rust you see. That should eliminate any evidence of water damage. If it still doesn't work. take it back to Apple, they'll probably do something about it. :evil:
 
Not much you can do. Either sell it for parts and get another one, or pay the 1200 dollars.

Though your friend should pay at least a fair amount of it as it is partially his fault...:(
 
I would never, ever pay $1200 to repair a MBP! It is not worth it. Buying a new computer from Apple's refurb site is a much better solution. At $1299 for the 15" late 2008 UMBP 2.4 it makes no sense to even consider a $1200 repair.

Additionally, you would definitely get at least $300-500 for a mostly functional UMBP on ebay. Possibly even more. Your UMBP LED display assembly is worth more than that.

Cheers,
 
sn0warmy said:
Normally I would say fix it yourself or get the parts online and have a capable person do it. Replacing a logic board and upper case is cake if you have the right tools and have ever dismantled a laptop in your life.

But when I looked on ifixit.com I found that the parts come out to be the same as what Apple wants to charge you for repair. This tells me that Apple is actually charging you a fair price for the repair. Especially since they are not tacking on labor.


Upper case ($300)
http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Upper-Case/IF161-000

Logic Board ($900)
http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts...ibody-Late-2008-2-4-GHz-Logic-Board/IF161-005

But yeah, I agree with everyone else. Your friend should be paying for it.
Click to expand...

are you KIDDING ME? They tried to charge me over $100 for a 120gb hard drive that I could have bough off of newegg for $50.

I can buy an entire macbook for $1000, including Applecare, a battery, monitor, etc, so I don't understand how a single motherboard could cost almost as much.

Keep in mind that the same company who is quoting you $1200 quoted me $1200 for repairs that would have cost me (if I did it myself, with parts off of ebay) less then $100.

Highway robbery? yes. but if you're willing to do it officially, and pay that much, then that's how much it's "worth"
 
$1200 - :eek:

Good think I don't drink beer or eat soup anywhere near my MacBook Pro.
Expensive lesson.
 
I had that same thing happen to me. I took it to my local apple certified repair shop and got it fixed for free....I believe they replaced the top case only. They told me they billed Apple $100.

But I didnt tell them something was spilt on it :eek:
 
Sell the current one on ebay for parts, get your friend drunk and make him sign a document agreeing for him to pay half or more of the replacement cost and get yourself a refurb MBP.
 
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