iMac Video Card Replacement Program

[Hirakata]

I have a question that I'll try to keep short. My iMac died a couple weeks ago and would not power on at all. I took it to ABC company (not it's real name, but it's an Apple authorized repair shop). They charged me $50 to diagnose the problem. A week later they finally tell me it's the power supply and logic board and quote me close to $1000 to repair. No thanks.

So, for a second opinion, I took my iMac to XYZ company that I have dealt with before many years ago and received good service from. They charged me $75 and got back to me in a few days to tell me it was the video card causing the problem. They told me my computer was still within the 4 year deadline (by 6 months ), and that the repair would be covered by Apple.

(Funny thing is, when I originally took the iMac to ABC, the first thing I mentioned was the video card issues this model had, and they said it couldn't be the video card...)

Anyway, my question is, should I be reimbursed the $75 and $50 diagnostic charges?

 

[Raurits]

What do you mean by 'should'...?

A diagnostic charge is fair even if it is to state something that you could have figured out yourself (still under warranty), but did not. You are paying them for the time they spent to understand the problem and advise. You are not entitled to success. You are responsible for your decision to hire someone (competent or not) for the job.

ABC seems to suffer from lack of either repairman ethics, competence or perseverance. Do you know for sure which one it is? Don't judge too soon. Talk to their management in a friendly way to share your story and see what happens.

If they do not respond on a friendly/constructive way, tell three people about your negative experiences with ABC, but no more. Move on. ABC will go out of business sooner rather than later with such business practices.

Good luck...!

 

[Hirakata]

What do you mean by 'should'...?

Thanks for the reply.

I was just wondering is all. While I do believe under normal circumstances a diagnostic charge is indeed fair, I use the word "should" because Apple's website states: "If the iMac (27-inch) meets these requirements, Apple will replace the video card free of charge for four years after the first retail sale of the computer." It doesn't say, "free of charge excluding any diagnostic charges." If I had taken the iMac to an Apple Store, I would be paying nothing.

 

[Raurits]

If I had taken the iMac to an Apple Store, I would be paying nothing.

I see your point now. Yes, this is probably true. The service Apple organisation is subsidised, which is not the case for a local repair shop.

As much as I do like to support local shops, I think it is better to deal with Apple directly.

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Thanks for the reply.

I was just wondering is all. While I do believe under normal circumstances a diagnostic charge is indeed fair, I use the word "should" because Apple's website states: "If the iMac (27-inch) meets these requirements, Apple will replace the video card free of charge for four years after the first retail sale of the computer." It doesn't say, "free of charge excluding any diagnostic charges." If I had taken the iMac to an Apple Store, I would be paying nothing.

Why didn't you take it to Apple then they would have diagnosed and fixed it for free. That was your choice and until you have the work done you can't know if abc were right or not, you have 2 opinions on the problem you still don't know who was right..... You may be eating your words if Apple say it's the logic board (the GPU is part of the logic board and Apple will replace the whole thing if they follow usual protocol anyway)and the power supply.

 

[Sirmausalot]

Clearly, you should have done some research about the graphics card issue and taken it to apple in the first place. So that's where you pick up the pieces. If it is a graphics card problem, let them fix it and proceed to the next step.

If company ABC did misdiagnose the problem and tried to charge you to replace things that weren't broken, you can start by asking for your diagnostic fee back and also threaten to report them to Apple.

The second company did the work you contracted for and seemed to treat you fairly. So no, they don't owe you a diagnostic fee back since they did the work you asked them to perform and pointed you in the right direction.

Doug

Thanks for the reply.

I was just wondering is all. While I do believe under normal circumstances a diagnostic charge is indeed fair, I use the word "should" because Apple's website states: "If the iMac (27-inch) meets these requirements, Apple will replace the video card free of charge for four years after the first retail sale of the computer." It doesn't say, "free of charge excluding any diagnostic charges." If I had taken the iMac to an Apple Store, I would be paying nothing.

 

[Hirakata]

Clearly, you should have done some research about the graphics card issue and taken it to apple in the first place. So that's where you pick up the pieces. If it is a graphics card problem, let them fix it and proceed to the next step.

If company ABC did misdiagnose the problem and tried to charge you to replace things that weren't broken, you can start by asking for your diagnostic fee back and also threaten to report them to Apple.

The second company did the work you contracted for and seemed to treat you fairly. So no, they don't owe you a diagnostic fee back since they did the work you asked them to perform and pointed you in the right direction.

Doug

Thanks, but clearly you didn't read my original post which states, "(Funny thing is, when I originally took the iMac to ABC, the first thing I mentioned was the video card issues this model had, and they said it couldn't be the video card...)"

Anyway, for those who are interested, XYZ company did fix the issue and did reimburse the diagnostic fee without any prompting from me.