Dell Support and Build Quality

Question

I am getting close to purchasing a laptop. I am looking at an Inspiron 8600 or Apple Powerbook. I have been hearing that Dell Support is horrible at this point and the build quality of their laptop is equally as bad. Any thoughts or comments appreciated.

Akash84 · Answer

I hope this does not kick me back in the face but this laptop is my first dell product as far as it being a personal item to me. We've had lots of dells in the house and family ...

I've never had problems with their support. If anything does go wrong, they are quick enough (considering how larger a company they are and number of queries they support a day) to reply back with solutions.

You have to understand that dell is not your corner shop. They are worldwide and deal with thousands of queries over phone, forums, emails etc. so if they cant help instantly, its expected no matter how large they are.

As for the build quality, its brilliant. the laptop i purchased last week is strong and sturdy. LCD screen is brilliant too. packaging could have been better, considering it came from quite far, it was simply a laptop in those foam pads at either end at the bottom... with another box of the cds/mouse/cables on top. would have been nice to have bubble wrap at hte bottom to prevent it hitting the ground when thrown around by fedex :)

as stated by another user, (cant see the name from here), all companies have its fair share of problems... its just that dell sells a heck of a lot more so its bound to have a lot more queries. i cant see you being disapointed by them to be honest... obviously if its your first dell and you have a problem first time, then you could be put off but ive seen dells with problems and i still havnt been put off... afterall they are still up there in the league and not shutdown like half the other companies!

anyway just thought id say that and i dont work for dell... just a student in the UK :)

Akash84 · Answer

Well one thing i do in my job is to repair laptops along with other electronics.

Dell is one of the very few laptops that have been difficult to open and defintly well built.

As far as apple's are concerned, i dont want to touch them.... why?

1. i want to run windows!

2. although very nicely built in visual terms, it can feel a bit weak and plasticy. also, its not easy to upgrade, and repairs can cost a bomb! As most laptops are universal as far as buying parts is concerned, when it comes to ibooks, we've had to send it to apple everytime because we cant get hold of parts. if its under warranty apple is greata, within 2 working days, they have a repaired or replacement for you... the problem here is that the replacement units are infact refurbished. so if you spent all your savings on a laptop, and have a problem as minute as say... faulty hard drive... they could give you a fixed motherboard problem laptop! but im biased too... ive not really liked apple simply because of what ive seen come into repair to us

NemesisDB · Answer

The only negative comments I've heard about dell manufactoring quality concern the "value" lines of notebooks (11x0 and 51x0s). Most of these issues involve heat and dust and most of them happen to all notebook owners regardless of brand. I personally own a 5100 and have never had a serious problem. What specifically have you heard about the type of dell you are interested in?

Also, should you have a problem, dell does seem to be very good at honoring their warranty -- their service has been excellent to me in that regard...

Samaaron · Answer

I have just been hearing a great deal of negative comments about Dell recently. I do not want to invest tdollars into a laptop that is not going to be solidly built and supported by the builder.

NemesisDB · Answer

i can't comment on the feel .. . see if you can find an actual one to test out / hold somewhere

also, if you're not happy, you have 21 days from invoice to return the product for a full refund (less shipping)

Samaaron · Answer

I have just been hearing a great deal of negative comments about Dell recently. I do not want to invest tdollars into a laptop that is not going to be solidly built and supported by the builder. Anyone have any opinions about Apple Powerbooks

NemesisDB · Answer

Dell support is *no* worse than any other company I've ever used.  Nearly everyone is outsourced now.  Dell support, like most other companies, is good at two things: 1) solving basic issues  and 2) arranging to have your computer repaired.  They're not going to be able to help with advanced problems -- and I wouldn't expect that anywhere.

Samaaron · Answer

I am considering an Inspiron 8600. What I have heard is that feel cheaply made, it takes forever to get issues resolved with support, etc..

Oditius · Answer

@Samaaron wrote:

I am considering an Inspiron 8600. What I have heard is that feel cheaply made, it takes forever to get issues resolved with support, etc..

I love my 8600b since I got it. Not one problem with it. Wide screen, not that heavy. LCD screen doesn't twist like the the cheaper models. It's fast and cool, use the 7200rpm drive and 1 gb ram and it's a speed demon even with all the programs I run. :-)

NemesisDB · Answer

just to be fair to apple, 2 points:

1) i've never had any problems at all opening my dell laptop

2) dell repairs are usually refurb parts as well -- that's fairly standard in the industry though I think

Bay Wolf · Answer

The computer manufacturers get their parts in bulk.  If they unpack them and then repackage them for resale, they must by law in the US call them refurbished and not new.  So you may very well be getting the equivalent of a new part whether it be Dell or Apple.   I own many Dell computers of which 2 are notebooks and I do have a third but that belongs to my place of employment.  The two that I own are an I8000 (4 years old) and an I8600 that is brand new.  The one for work is a C610 and will be three years old in January.  (YEAH - it goes off of lease and I will be getting a new D-series notebook).  I have not had any problems with the I8600 or the C610.  Both are working well and I am very pleased.  The I8000 had to have the LCD hinges and the keyboard replaced because of the heavy use, they just plain wore out.  This was not the fault of Dell.   As to which notebook to get - Apple vs. Dell - that pretty much depends on what you want to do with your notebook.  Are you heavy into graphics or video editing workings?  If so, then Apple will outperform the Dell or any other Intel/Windows based system.  If you are using it for business applications and/or email/surfing the web, the Intel/Windows will give you more computer for less money than the Apple.   Personally, I prefer Dell over other computer manufacturers.  Yes, their customer support is not as good as it used to be, but then Apple is in the same boat.  Would I buy another Dell.  A resounding Yes.

Samaaron · Answer

I appreciate everyones comments. Apple Powerbooks certainly look great but they are not user friendly in terms of repairs, you really needs to spend far too much time to do minor repairs or upgrades. I am not doing video editing nor am I a graphics designer. It seems that windows people that go over to Apple seem to say very positive things about the operating system and the design of the Powerbooks.

TimW_of_NY · Answer

You cannot compare Dell to Apple because they're two different platforms. If you want to compare Dell to another manufacturer, try IBM or Sony or Toshiba or HP.

It depends on what your number one priority is when purchasing a laptop. Is it build quality? Is it the long-term reliability? Is it the lowest price? Is it the aftermarket service and support?

The main reason most people buy Dell is the lowest price! That's why I bought the Dell 300m. If I was better off financially, I would have bought one of IBM's ultra portable notebooks. But for comparable performance, IBM was much more expensive!

It's no different than buying a new car. If you put it that way, Dell is the Ford or GM of laptops. Ford and GM make good cars. They all take you from point A to point B. But how often do you see Ford or GM at the top of safety lists? Reliability lists? Resale value lists? The only lists Ford and GM are at the top of is recalls!

Tim

Charmee · Answer

Since you asked, I'm quite certain will not buy from Dell again, and I regret my purchase of a Dell  Inspiron 5150. Today's Dell just isn't the same as they used to be. My 5150 is plagued with problems. It was only 6 weeks old when it started having problems. They should have known what the problem was, but they didn't. They've had to revise the BIOS 37 times, and they still don't have it right. They sold me my 5150 as a 'desktop replacement,' but it can't run a game, edit digipics, burn CDs or view DVD's for more than 45 minutes without overheating. I was shocked when I found out the video card isn't upgradeable, I kept my last system going for years with upgrades, but this one will require replacement. I wish i could replace it now. I've lost so much time and work to it's unreliability. I'm very disappointed with how Dell has handled my requests for solutions.  2 keys have fallen off for no apparent reason (Q and D). I could go on and on with my problems with Dell, but you get the idea.   I've been buying PCs since 1985, and I've never  had so many hardware problems or difficulties in getting tech support or my warranty honored,  Good Luck,   Charmee

Samaaron · Answer

Given what your experience has been with a Dell, what brand is better in your opinion?

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Dell Support and Build Quality

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