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Injured Macbook Pro - What to do?

Glaxx

Glaxx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 19, 2007
161
0
Illinois
I just got back to work off of my lunch break, pulled my backpack out of my trunk and went inside. Opened up my MBP and I nearly fell over... the screen is shot, and down in the corner it looks like it is cracked or something. The corner part there has a minor indentation, but I don't know how it got hit. I keep it inside a padded sleeve inside of a backpack. Anwyays - My MBP was bought in August of '07, and I haven't bought Applecare yet. What should I do to get it fixed? And, am I right in thinking this is going to cost quite a bit? :mad:
 
1. Buy Applecare.
2. When you say "minor indent" how minor, can you post a pic? it's on the top of the case, as in "behind" the screen if you are looking at it while its open?
 
agentphish said:
1. Buy Applecare.
2. When you say "minor indent" how minor, can you post a pic? it's on the top of the case, as in "behind" the screen if you are looking at it while its open?
Click to expand...

Thanks for quick reply. It is on the side. Not by the DVI adapter, but on that same corner by the hinges. Not on the screen portion, but on the part next to the screw in back. It is barely visible unless you are up close. Also, I now notice that the Ethernet port is bulging out a little. I don't know if I can take a picture as I'm at work...I'll have to wait until I get off and get home. The bottom right corner of the screen has a small penny sized fuzzy black spot like the panel is cracked and the rest of the screen is flickering when turned on.

Do you have an idea of a place I can get Applecare that is any cheaper than Apple online? And is it necessary to get repairs or will it just make them cheaper or what? Also, Apple store is out as the closest one is 2 hours away. I'd like to not have to drive 2 hours if its possible to avoid.
 
agentphish said:
1. Buy Applecare.
Click to expand...

If there is any physical damage then Applecare will be a complete waste of money, as they will look at the damage and say "Not covered".

If it would be covered by Applecare, then it's still under the one year warrenty, and Apple should cover it without the need for Applecare.
 
bericd said:
If there is any physical damage then Applecare will be a complete waste of money, as they will look at the damage and say "Not covered".

If it would be covered by Applecare, then it's still under the one year warrenty, and Apple should cover it without the need for Applecare.
Click to expand...

It is physical damage as far as I can tell. How do I contact Apple about getting repairs?
 
Glaxx said:
It is physical damage as far as I can tell. How do I contact Apple about getting repairs?
Click to expand...

You can take it into an apple store, they should give you an estimate of what it'll cost to have it repaired. You can also call the 1-800 apple care number and have it sent in, however I believe they charge a nominal fee for determining the estimate to repair.
 
Has anyone had to have their screen repaired before? Know how much it roughly costs? I'd like to get somewhat of an idea before driving 2 hours just to see that it will cost me as much as buying a refurb one or something.
 
Ditto...

bericd said:
If there is any physical damage then Applecare will be a complete waste of money, as they will look at the damage and say "Not covered".

If it would be covered by Applecare, then it's still under the one year warrenty, and Apple should cover it without the need for Applecare.
Click to expand...

By definition, Applecare EXTENDS the warranty you already have... for MBP it means TWO more years... If it is broken (by physical Damage) then you hopefully have some sort of Homeowner's Insurance!! :(
 
Estimates

Screen $600
case $300
possible logic board $1600
labour $200 an hour

Thats off the top of my head

I mentioned logic board becuase you said the Ethernet port had moved, which means the logic board could be damaged.
 
1. Don't panic.
2. If the nearest apple store is 2 hours away, search for a local apple-certified repair place. If you still don't have one, there are several online (techrestore comes to mind). Alternatively, you can do it yourself (ebay, ifixit, etc).

It's worth a price comparison with your local place and online services (which often offer overnight options).

This won't be covered by applecare (or your original warranty), but if you do decide to go that way for other issues, amazon tends to have applecare for an average of $60 less than apple - the *consistently* cheapest I've seen.
 
Okay, thank you all for the replies. I am now home and have some pictures of the damage. I know that the laptop is functioning as I have it hooked up to my monitor now and am using it to type this.. so that is good. I have now taken pictures. Sorry for some of them being blurry.. I was in a hurry.







Here you can see the dents:






I am considering my options:
1) Take it to the Apple store 2 hours away and hand my wallet over. I'd really like to avoid dropping $600+ on just getting the screen fixed.

2) Buy a replacement screen and do it myself (I've had experience taking apart other laptops before) If I do this, has anyone dealt with PowerbookMedic.com? They seem to have just a screen for $299, which is all I would need. See here

3) Use an online method such as TechRestore, but it is looking like it will cost $449 for that. I'd much rather just buy a screen and replace it myself, especially if it saves me $150 that could go to a new hard drive since the warranty would be void at this point.

Any suggestions as what you think is my best option are greatly appreciated. If you've got other ideas as to what I can do, let me know please!
 
Glaxx said:
Do you know how reliable Powerbookmedic.com is? I'm not so sure I want to drop $300 into a site I've never heard of before today.
Click to expand...

I get most of my parts from applecomponents.com. He's small, but very good. If it's not on his site, he usually has it in stock anyway. I haven't checked for your item, but as a rule he's pretty competitive with ebay prices (he sells some stuff there too).
 
When i needed my screen replaced on my MacBook Pro last month, Apple charged $1259 for LCD replacement.. it is the most expensive part of the MBP. I just bought a new machine rather than invest $1259 in a new LCD. Apple charges $800 for a MacBook LCD so the $600 dollar estimate above certainly isn't from apple.
 
iphonematt said:
When i needed my screen replaced on my MacBook Pro last month, Apple charged $1259 for LCD replacement.. it is the most expensive part of the MBP. I just bought a new machine rather than invest $1259 in a new LCD. Apple charges $800 for a MacBook LCD so the $600 dollar estimate above certainly isn't from apple.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this information. I will probably end up selling off my gaming rig and buying a refurb MBP then. If I end up doing this, I'll just use the broken MBP as a really slim desktop. :( I'll probably make the trip to the Apple store just to make sure on this though.
 
When my screen cracked I got some ridiculous estimate (around $1000) for apple to replace it; which is nonsense. I bought a screen off ebay and had a local repair shop replace it. It ended up costing around 400, I think. If you've got experience taking laptops apart I would grab a screen off ebay or powerbookmedic (I've heard good things about them before, but never used them myself) and do it yourself. Powerbookmedic's manual for replacing the screen seems to be in good depth and you can also find the apple repair manual if you look around online. Bummer about your screen.
 
bericd said:
If there is any physical damage then Applecare will be a complete waste of money, as they will look at the damage and say "Not covered".

If it would be covered by Applecare, then it's still under the one year warrenty, and Apple should cover it without the need for Applecare.
Click to expand...

I was saying that as a general rule of thumb with a notebook in particular. Mine MORE than paid for itself. (replaced HDD, Screen 2x, superdrive, a mighty mouse that I bought long after I purchased my PB, my battery, and my power adapter)
 
Take it to Apple, see if they'll fix it free, if they won't, order a screen off eBay and fix it yourself for $250. The worst that can happen is that you'll... break the screen even more. Either way, you'll be back up in running in about a week.
 
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