To answer your question about why anyone would buy from the Dell Outlet. That decision is dictated by money (usually cheaper) and sometimes quick availability (computer already built) and sometimes configuration (when Win 7 came out, some still wanted computer with Vista or XP, which Dell was no longer selling new.

It seems they DID repair your laptop under warranty (you did not mention paying for parts or labor). I am assuming the $88 was the in home option that you requested. That is not a free service - many people choose to pay extra for that convenience whane they configure their wearranty service online.

That is too bad it took a third attempt, but glad it all worked out in the end for you.

Baloney. They didn't repair my laptop as contracted. The "contract" was for me to send my defective laptop, within the 3 year time frame,  to their repair facility, wait the time for shipping (which I had 0.00% issue with) The $88 was for a 1 time on site repair. This included parts and labor. With 2 strikes against them,   I justifiably had no confidence in their repair facility to repair the laptop so this repair was tantamount to blackmail, i.e. I get to have the tech right there and make sure the motherboard is replaced and not defective. So, no to your assertion that "It seems they DID repair your laptop under warranty", you're wrong .  I was buying MORE warranty when the original defect was NOT repaired as contracted. I didn't want to go another round of shipping etc and caved to the gods of expediency. Dell should have picked up the on-site repair expense. Not only will I not purchases a Dell but, being a desktop support tech at a large corporation, with Lenovo and Dell on standards (Lenovo being 90% of users..) guess which laptop I'll recommend?

What part of this do you not get?

The $88 was for a 1 time on site repair. This included parts and labor.

It included parts and labor because you were under warranty. Otherwise, you could not get an on site repair for $88 including parts and labor. Therefore, I  stand by my statement that they repaired your laptop under warranty.

What part of this do you not get?

There is no part I do not get. You requested in home service, a service that is not free. They granted that and billed  accordingly.

On a different note.... After years of only Dell computers in our house, our daughter got herself a MacBook for college, I got a Lenovo desktop to replace an old Dimension 2350, and my son received a Lenovo laptop as a gift, replacing an old Inspiron 1150. No complaints about them, but I understand if the laptop  or desktop had an issue, we'd have to send it back in. And I also understand that the people doing the repairs are human, so it is possible it would have to be sent in a second or third time... Would I like it? No... But that wouldn't mean that they were not meeting their warranty....

Responding to you other post, no I am not a Dell employee. They are clearly marked in the forums as Dell - name.

Also, hrova, who has 4566 posts and likely a Dell employee,  I'm aware of the difference between a depot and onsite warranty. I'm a tech with 11+ years of brokering such repairs.

I love how some of the biggest whiners always throw it in our faces that they're a "computer tech with such and such years of experience". A bunch of hooey. Who cares!

My last post on this. You would not be so magnanimous and understanding if you were on the receiving end of this egregious service. This is beyond human error. This is bad process, hence bad management.  There are no checks and balances clearly, like popping a diagnostic disk in at the end of a repair (5 minutes tops for the quick gui test) and the customer is made to pay the price.

Gee, hyperbole much.

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i have repeatedly heard that there are bargains to be had at the dell outlet, but i have never seen them.  i find the prices to be just about the same as new, and often higher since new computer prices are always dropping or offering a newer/better technology for the same money.  i suspect the do occasionally sprinkle the outlet with true bargains so that they can garner this reputation of being a bargain, but i suspect that unless you value your time at zero then the amount of time spent trolling the site looking for bargains to appear actually makes those machines cost more than new.

That is very true. When I made an outlet purchase, it was over 5 years ago when prices of computers were higher overall, so the bargain aspect was reasonable for the risk of a refurb. 

Since new computers are so inexpensive now, combined with the fact that they really made the website for it a pain to use, I generally do not even bother to check the outlet anymore.

I buy from Dell Financial Services which are PCs that come back from lease.

I have had very good results a Precision M6300 and a Latitude D531 that I bought from them on eBay.

For people who still want XP, www.dfsdirectsales.com is often a good way to go.

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to satisfy the occasional need of a machine running windows xp, i have bought new machines with windows 7 pro which come with 'downgrade' rights to install/use xp instead so that they are the same hardware as other in the office and becuase they will be able to run window7 when the time comes.

I am having problems finding from a Latitude laptop that comes with the downgrade option these days.

I am looking at the Latitude E6420, but it only offers Windows 7 with XP mode.

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That's more work for me.

Looks like I'll stick to the older laptops on Dell Financial Services for which the XP drivers are readily available.

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