Problem with a casing crack on 2006 macbook

Woohoo, first post. But on to the important stuff!

So, I got a macbook for a present for Christmas 2006. It's been great, but about three months ago a hairline fracture appeared in the right bottom corner. at first I thought it was cosmetic, but it grew a little and since then I've kept it in place with scotch tape. This is fine for now, but I'm worried if it will affect anything later.


I really want to get at least the lower casing replaced, but I'm out of warranty, and I really do not want to have to spend $400. This macbook has been treated impeccably, and rarely leaves my desk. It has never to my knowledge been dropped and whenever I do take it out I put it in a travel case.

I've done a little bit of googling and it looks like the problem isn't so uncommon. We moved out to the sticks and the nearest apple store is 2+ hours away. I also don't want to get charged unreasonably for calling customer support. Is there anything I can do about this?

There's also some slight discoloring on the trackpad, if anyone cares.


Pic spam:

the fracture


close-up


my desk


carrying case


Thanks in advance for any help!

 

I understand your frustration, but I was actually fairly aware it's a well-known problem. (I know how to do my research ) I suppose I should clarify! Mea culpa.

I live two hours from the nearest apple store, as mentioned above. I can't drive. (Even IF they have the parts at the store and can fix it while I'm there it's still a four-hour round trip, which is difficult to schedule.) Is there any other way to get in contact with Apple so that I can ship my baby off to get fixed? I searched their website and the only email addresses I could find were for iTunes customer support and software issues. They had some telephone numbers but I'm out of the timeframe for free calls. I would rather not be charged god knows how much unless I'm positive that the guy on the phone can do something about it.

So. Anyone else with this problem who has lived out in the sticks and fixed it? Just about everything I've found on google mentions an apple store. That's not really an option, unfortunately