I just got off the phone after a very frustrating 45 min conversation with customer support so I apologize for my tone.

My Inspiron 5547 has a badly broken right hinge that is damaging the body of the computer. I know this is a manufacturing issue because there are about 100 other complaints about this EXACT issue on this support forum. Dell has not listed this issue as a manufacturing error and, as far as I know, no 5547 owners received any notice that this would be a problem. My guess is Dell did the math and figured that it would be less expensive to ignore the problem than it would be to order a recall.

My issue started about 6 months after I purchased my computer. I admit, I'm way past warranty now, but this is so obviously Dell's fault that I find it hard to care. Ordinarily I wouldn't make a stink but I don't think it's fair to offload a defective product in the hopes that your customers won't notice.

The representatives I spoke to said that the repairs would cost $430 (including shipping, handling, parts etc.), which is infuriating. I can't imagine how many people have paid that fee thinking that THEY were the problem. I hope Dell is happy with that stolen cash.

So here's the deal: If someone from Dell helps me then I'll continue buying Dell products. If not, I won't buy one ever again. And by the way, I'm 25 and a new customer, this is my first Dell computer (what's that old saying? "You only get one chance to make a first impression"?) so let's do some math: I'll probably spend about $20k - $30k on computers over the rest of my life. The repair cost for this is $430. So, Dell, what's it going to be? $20k later or $430 now?

It's a trick question, if you choose "$430 now" I'll just buy a new computer from a company that cares about its customers. Oh, and I'll make sure all my friends know about this experience when they're looking for a new computer.

P.S. To the user DELL-Terry B: you dealt with the people on the other forum threads about this issue but you haven't responded to my friend request from over a month ago. If you're reading this, please help me out.