Hi, ever since investing in my mac book air last year I have had nothing but trouble with it. The flash storage drive crashed after 9 months and everything was wiped - all programs and other documents 2 weeks prior to my comprehensive exams for my PhD. Apparently this was a fault with Mac Book Airs sold around the time I got mine so it was replaced free of charge but was a pretty stressful experience I did not need at the time. In the past 2 months my software has been acting funny and then on Saturday my display broke, 3 days prior to a really important presentation I had to give. It's just 9 weeks out of warranty but when I brought it to the Apple Store at Mapleview Mall in Burlington I was quoted $560 for a repair. I am in a really sticky situation as it was a huge struggle financially for me to purchase the laptop last March but as I heard Macs rarely had problems with them and a laptop is the key tool I need for my PhD I thought it would be worth the investment. I simply do not have the funds to pay $560 for a new display so I was wondering if anyone had any advice? The tech was pleasant but said there was nothing she could do to reduce the cost of the repair, I spoke to a manager who made me feel like an idiot for not having applecare even though I had previously spoken to a Mac representative who advised me against it. The whole experience made me feel small. If anyone has had any similar experiences or suggestions I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
Mac book air 9 weeks out of warranty display broken
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Mr_Brightside_@
macrumors 68040
The only option I can think of is finding a Mac repair that is not an Apple Service Provider, as they are far more likely to have flexibility with pricing. For example, my store sells MBA LCD replacements for $400+hst.
Mr Rabbit
macrumors 6502a
I agree with this but with a caveat, Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) can perform out of warranty work with whatever parts they see fit. So, while they must use Apple parts for AppleCare repairs they can use third party (cheaper) parts for repairs that aren't covered under AppleCare.
With that said, I'm not sure they'll be much cheaper in this case. The MacBook Air's LCD panel is far from standard and replacing it is a very involved task requiring highly proprietary parts and certain skill sets. You might instead opt for a flat rate repair, where they send it off to their repair depot and repair everything (assuming no damage is present) for a flat cost. For your MacBook Air the cost should be right around $270. This service would be available both through Apple and AASPs, although most AASPs would inflate the cost a bit to cover their time spent.
If an Apple/AppleCare rep told you that AppleCare wasn't needed then you might push that with AppleCare a bit to see if they can make an exception for you. Obviously they aren't obligated to do so but if it's documented in anyway then it'd be hard for them to ignore that bit of bad (or even just questionable) advice that obviously would have helped you in this situation. Could be worth a call to them.
Good luck!
At this point, I would personally invest in getting a refurbished Macbook Air 13 from the Apple store. The cost of repairs, if around $400 on an out of warranty unit that you've already had trouble with, would not be justified in my opinion.
You can get a refurbished macbook air for about $750-800 I believe at this time. With a full year of warranty. I know the $560 repair cost is difficult to swallow, but you could sell the defective Air, as is, for at least $300-400. Add to that $500 that you would have to pay for repairs and you've got a new macbook for the same price.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Apple is not godly as most people worship it out to be. There are definitely faults, but I think the general consensus is that they are less faulty.
You just seem to have a lemon in the pack. At this point, I would also suggest either a local repair shop to see what they would do, or maybe like other users have suggested, and sell it as is.
You can take this money and buy a cheap netbook that will hold you over, or choose to tack on some money and buy a refurbished Air again. But your experience with MBA i don't know how much confidence I can instill in you. Good luck
You just seem to have a lemon in the pack. At this point, I would also suggest either a local repair shop to see what they would do, or maybe like other users have suggested, and sell it as is.
You can take this money and buy a cheap netbook that will hold you over, or choose to tack on some money and buy a refurbished Air again. But your experience with MBA i don't know how much confidence I can instill in you. Good luck