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Poor quality Anodizing and Alignment promlems on 2010 MBP

Adidas Addict

Adidas Addict

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 9, 2008
1,455
0
England
After receiving my 2010 13MBP a couple of days ago, I'm having to return it to apple for an exchange. The quality of the anodizing on the aluminium body is pretty poor, not in the same league as the 2009 2.26 I recently sold. Its very uneven to look at especially on the lid, when I tried to clean in to see if it was just dirt it looked even worse, patterns in the metal and some parts look shinier than others. Really shocked as we have had 2 other unibodies in the last year or so and the finish on them has been 100% perfect.

Along with this the alignment of the lid is out, its not by much but when closed there is a definite ledge sticking out when you run your finger along one edge. You know how it is, once you realise the problem is there you notice it all the time.

Its the first time I have an issue with any of my many Apple purchases and has made me wonder whether all the talk of quality taking a downturn is actually true but a big part of me hopes I just got a lemon. I guess time will tell when the replacement arrives early next week.........
 
UPDATE

Well all went according to plan with the collection and delivery of my replacement. I was all excited until I opened the box. Worse than the one I returned! The lid alignment is way out, not only could you feel the ledge right down one edge you could see it along the front edge. If you look down on top of the lid when its closed you can see the step starting from one corner, then getting smaller as it get to the right hand corner.

I didn't even turn it on, just put back in its box, sealed it up and called apple. I am really gutted to be honest as I am now in limbo with no idea what to do next. I have requested a refund and Apple were fine about this. So they are gonna arrange courier to collect and I get my money back 5 working days after that.

Its really put me off re-ordering and am just gonna take a time out for a couple of weeks to re-assess..............
 
Who cares about a slightly off lid when closed?

There's for more problems to worry about: dead pixels, mis-aligned screen, stiff trackpad button etc.

Sounds like you are being far too picky.
 
Kilamite said:
Who cares about a slightly off lid when closed?

There's for more problems to worry about: dead pixels, mis-aligned screen, stiff trackpad button etc.

Sounds like you are being far too picky.
Click to expand...

for a machine that costs as much as a Macbook Pro does, and with apples reputation of quality, I agree with the topic starter, it should be perfect, when I finally get round to buying my 15" i7, it better be perfect!
 
Lukeyy19 said:
for a machine that costs as much as a Macbook Pro does, and with apples reputation of quality, I agree with the topic starter, it should be perfect, when I finally get round to buying my 15" i7, it better be perfect!
Click to expand...

Let me remind you (and readers who come here with those old Apple's clichés...)...
Apple does not invest as much on quality control as it used to do (either this or they are really wasting their money... because Apple quality control has proven itself to be rather poor)
Apple sells overpriced products (which is not a synonym for quality nor pristine looks, components,... you name it)
Apple will not give you perfection. Apple will sell you a 700$ laptop for 2000$ with an apple logo on it, and full of PR bla bla bla about environment, efficiency and design towards user...

Therefore... if you buy Apple, you know what you are paying for. Yes... perhaps a slightly better product (because of its design... that's true), but neither the components nor the manufacturing process justify the overpricing.
 
Lukeyy19 said:
for a machine that costs as much as a Macbook Pro does, and with apples reputation of quality, I agree with the topic starter, it should be perfect, when I finally get round to buying my 15" i7, it better be perfect!
Click to expand...

It's a mass produced product.... get over it! You're not exactly spending $100,000 on a handmade "elite" machine. It's a notebook, not a precision instrument!! Every Q&A process has acceptable deviations in it.

I'm sure 95% of us wont even notice something like that.... 4% will overlook it.... and the remaing 1% (OP maybe??)will just never be happy!

Hopefully you'll be part of the first 95% and enjoy that magnificent machine!

All the best!! :)
 
wschutz said:
Let me remind you (and readers who come here with those old Apple's clichés...)...
Apple does not invest as much on quality control as it used to do (either this or they are really wasting their money... because Apple quality control has proven itself to be rather poor)
Apple sells overpriced products (which is not a synonym for quality nor pristine looks, components,... you name it)
Apple will not give you perfection. Apple will sell you a 700$ laptop for 2000$ with an apple logo on it, and full of PR bla bla bla about environment, efficiency and design towards user...

Therefore... if you buy Apple, you know what you are paying for. Yes... perhaps a slightly better product (because of its design... that's true), but neither the components nor the manufacturing process justify the overpricing.
Click to expand...


Apple have always enjoyed higher margins than their competition. I never used to mind paying a premium for their products as the quality control and after sales service/support was by far the best...NOT ANYMORE...
As Apples market share has grown its quality control/customer support has gone down the toilet. I think my MBP i7 may be the last Apple computer I purchase, its so unfortunate that such great software has to tethered to such unimpressive hardware.
 
Pak^Man said:
It's a mass produced product.... get over it! You're not exactly spending $100,000 on a handmade "elite" machine. It's a notebook, not a precision instrument!! Every Q&A process has acceptable deviations in it.

I'm sure 95% of us wont even notice something like that.... 4% will overlook it.... and the remaing 1% (OP maybe??)will just never be happy!

Hopefully you'll be part of the first 95% and enjoy that magnificent machine!

All the best!! :)
Click to expand...

I (the OP) have been perfectly happy with the previous 2 unibody MBP's and the white unibody Macbook that I purchased in the last 2 years. These 2 that have been supplied in the last week are awful IMO and whether your spending a couple of grand or not they should be of an acceptable standard. I am sure the tolerances set in the QC dept are lower than than the couple of mm's they were misaligned by. If you bought a new car and one of the doors didn't shut properly would you return it to the dealer? Of course you would otherwise you're a mug.

This could mean one of two things

1: I have been really unlucky
2: Apples QC has taken a huge downturn in the last couple of years.

Whichever it is, I am gutted, I hate returning stuff and was really looking forward to enjoying my new laptop. As it stands I am stuck with what to buy now as won't go back to windows.
 
Adidas Addict said:
If you bought a new car and one of the doors didn't shut properly would you return it to the dealer? Of course you would otherwise you're a mug.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's a British car.... looks will be pristine, but all the electronics will be shot in 2 years.... LOL!!

(I say it all in love.... I'm a great admirer of Land Rovers!)

Relax OP.... you are entitled to your high standards. But talk to anyone in business; and they will choose to let go of that last 1% of exceptionally nitpicky, because it's just not economically viable to win them over.

Let me ask you this: What will you do instead? Is there a notebook on the market for the same oprice with a qality to detail that is anywhere close?

I do hope yours a lemon.... but relax and thuink about it logically with less anger...

PS: 1500 people just drowned to death and 250 kids were bit by snakes in pakistan while you were sorting out the finish on your macbook
 
Adidas Addict said:
...If you bought a new car and one of the doors didn't shut properly would you return it to the dealer? Of course you would otherwise you're a mug....
Click to expand...

Actually I noticed the other day that one of the doors on my mum's new car does not lie flush with the body panel, when I told it to her she just said "so?", when i said she should take it back because for £18,000 you expect a door that shuts properly, she said well if it leaks then maybe i will...

so i guess some people have the ability to overlook manufacturing defects, whereas some people, i guess like me and the OP, pick up on small details...

@ Pak^Man and wschutz - Apple may just inflate their prices, but when a company sells something for more, they are implying to the consumer that the price is justified, for example, my current laptop, a Dell that cost me £300, i obviously don't expect perfection, but even for £300 I expect reasonable quality, if apple want to charge £1800 for a laptop, and have a website and adverts, showing how beautifully designed and engineered it is, then they purposely or inadvertently imply high quality, if they didn't they wouldn't of replaced/refunded the OPs Macbook
 
Pak^Man said:
Maybe it's a British car.... looks will be pristine, but all the electronics will be shot in 2 years.... LOL!!

(I say it all in love.... I'm a great admirer of Land Rovers!)

[/I]
Click to expand...

I have had a 2002 Jaguar XJ Super V8 for 8 years and had zero problems with it. Shocks, brakes, tune ups and tires are all that shes needed.

I guess maybe I am lucky because my MacBook Pros have all been pretty good as well!
 
You're insane.
How about you worry about how the machine works, runs and what you can do with it then how many mm's the lid doesn't line up correctly.
 
Pak^Man said:
I do wonder if better QC on :apple:'s part will help fix this OP's attitude problem..... quite unlikely!
Click to expand...

I just got called insane? I think if people accept substandard workmanship when they spend their hard earned cash then they are infact mugs. Jog on
 
Kilamite said:
Who cares about a slightly off lid when closed?

There's for more problems to worry about: dead pixels, mis-aligned screen, stiff trackpad button etc.

Sounds like you are being far too picky.
Click to expand...

Here we Apple customers pay $1199 for a MacBook "Pro" that uses a less powerful CPU than a $500 pc notebook. And you tell us to quit bitching that the display doesn't correctly line up with the base when out $1199 investment is messed up? I used some Dells at Staples. I noticed that their notebooks have perfect build quality (aligned screens etc) however, they are made of cheap flimsy plastic. But if a $500 laptop can have an aligned screen, why can't a $1199 Apple?
 
ouimetnick said:
Here we Apple customers pay $1199 for a MacBook "Pro" that uses a less powerful CPU than a $500 pc notebook. And you tell us to quit bitching that the display doesn't correctly line up with the base when out $1199 investment is messed up? I used some Dells at Staples. I noticed that their notebooks have perfect build quality (aligned screens etc) however, they are made of cheap flimsy plastic. But if a $500 laptop can have an aligned screen, why can't a $1199 Apple?
Click to expand...

In addition, many pay the extra $250 for apple care, which is substantially more than other computer warranty programs.

Apple charges a premium and has billions in the bank. We should expect perfection, and the customer is always right. :cool:
 
mrwonkers said:
I think my MBP i7 may be the last Apple computer I purchase, its so unfortunate that such great software has to tethered to such unimpressive hardware.
Click to expand...

Not sure where you are going to go then? Most Windoze based PC's are either ***** or their customer service is based in India, and have fun with that. Dell anyone. :D
 
ouimetnick said:
Here we Apple customers pay $1199 for a MacBook "Pro" that uses a less powerful CPU than a $500 pc notebook. And you tell us to quit bitching that the display doesn't correctly line up with the base when out $1199 investment is messed up? I used some Dells at Staples. I noticed that their notebooks have perfect build quality (aligned screens etc) however, they are made of cheap flimsy plastic. But if a $500 laptop can have an aligned screen, why can't a $1199 Apple?
Click to expand...

LOL...dell has perfect build quality....LOL

they are far from perfect, i do service and support through contract from dell and there machines are garbage, except the business line which is a bit better.

overall there poor, and fail prematurely in several departments such as inverters (old ccfl models) , hard drives , batteries (after a few months...not years) , video card failures , the biggest being memory failure...because they shove in the cheapest memory possible hynix ( apple is no better on memory either).
 
ouimetnick said:
Here we Apple customers pay $1199 for a MacBook "Pro" that uses a less powerful CPU than a $500 pc notebook. And you tell us to quit bitching that the display doesn't correctly line up with the base when out $1199 investment is messed up? I used some Dells at Staples. I noticed that their notebooks have perfect build quality (aligned screens etc) however, they are made of cheap flimsy plastic. But if a $500 laptop can have an aligned screen, why can't a $1199 Apple?
Click to expand...

Then stop complaining and buy that Dell!

But you can't do that..... too bad; stop bitching!
 
Adidas Addict said:
Phoned applecare lately from the UK? I hate to break it to you but guess where the call centre is now.......
Click to expand...
Nope. I bought a Mac so I wouldn't have to go through some call center (which you have no choice with when it comes to Dell and other PC's.) But, it is interesting that Apple based in California, would have the UK call centre going through India. However, not really surprising. :D

BUT... I go online via my iPhone or MBP, make a reservation then go into the Apple store and get my stuff fixed or replaced. Simple and effective customer service that is personalized. Now which windoze based PC has this type of customer service?
 
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