UNSOLVED
Closed
Would you do Dell again?
My laptop has broken again; I am probably in the market for a new system. I'm trying to decide if I should order from Dell again.
While still probably (slightly) the cheapest on the market, the longevity and tech support of Inspirons appear to reflect the price. I'm leaning towards ordering a toshiba, as several friends of mine have nothing but good things to say about the product and the support. Another friend has had many problems with his 600m (a more recent example reflection my problems with my older 4200.) Further, these forums reflect the problems that many dell owners currently have, granted, that may be the nature of these forums.
So, fellow Dell owners, the question is:
Would you buy a Dell laptop again?
I am 90% leaning towards no, because I am unhappy with the product performance :
- Video card didn't work initally, still crashes the system freqently
- Dell representative destroyed lcd ribbon in the process of fixing it and had no replacements
- Power adapter died six weeks later and was replaced six weeks after that
- And I'm still waiting for a replacement of that recalled power adapter
- Never able to make that Free Three Months of Internet work, no local provider with Dell
- From day one any dvd drive activity created static from speakers and headphone jack (which made it impossible to listen to cds or watch dvds). But it was within Dell specs.
- Keys broke off (ok, this one is my fault, but the option was to let the system fall to the floor)
- Battery life was never good, about 50 minutes with minimum word processing. I didn't know this was bad untill off warrenty.
- And now the motherboard and maybe the processor are dead. Cause unknown.
And of course, all the headaches, hours on hold, countless emails, etc, to try and get anything to happen.
I'm 10% maybe, because the prices are pretty good.
I purchased an I8000 back in 2000. It has been a very good machine for me. Like Lazyhound, I had to replace the DVD drive but only once. I have now passed that on down to my wife and I have a brand new I8600. I have bought from Dell. I also own 2 Dell Dimension 4300 desktops. Dell's service it not what it used to be but I find that it depends on the customer service rep that you get.
I used the chat online service the other night. Though it took me a while to get in because it was busy, my service inquiry was handled quickly.
liang_mike
19 Posts
1246
0
Posted December 11th, 2004 06:00
Definitely not.I bought my I8000 in 2000. At that time, not too many companies sold laptops in Canada. So, I narrowed down my choice to IBM and Dell. I considered both to be ugly (sorry, just my personal opinion), but Dell seemed to offer better warranty. So, I went with Dell. Now, there are more choices on the market, and I probably will not buy a Dell again.I bought my I8000 in 2000 and am still using it (coming up on 4 years). The one and only unusal problem I've had with it is the LCD backlight going out when the inverter heats up. The original hard drive and CDRW drive both lasted a full 3 years and the DVD drive is still going strong. I can't comment on Dell technical support as I've never had to use it. Overall, the machine's been terrific and I will be purchasing a I8600 in the near future.
I8000
PIII 800
Winme (clean install)
320 SDRAM (256x64)
15'' UXGA (IBM)
ATI RAGE MOBILITY 128 AGP 4X (32 mb)
ESS Maestro 3i
Drive C: Toshiba MK3021IGAS (20gb)
CD-RW: Sony CRX700E (fixed)
DVD-ROM: Toshiba SD-C2402 (modular)
Floppy (standard - modular)
LT Win Modem
OS Update A00
BIOS A21 (floppy method)
Fangui 2.2.0cobra_2004
2 Intern
•
217 Posts
1246
0
Posted December 11th, 2004 20:00
Just remember. What parts are in a dell? Not dell parts, Dell doesn't "make" too many parts. For example, my CPU is Inter, my vid card is Nvidia, my HD is a fujitsui, my screen is a Toshiba, etc. So please tell me how "dell hardware" is troublesome again. They don't make hardly anything, they just put it together, slap their name on it, and away you go. So what would be the difference if you bought a toshiba, it probably has like 10 different company parts inside of it. So chances are, other companies have the same issues as Dell. But all in all yes, my dells have been very reliable and I have had no issues yet (except when lightning struck the house and zapped my desktop through the ADSL modem, but that's not their fault :D ).- Yes, I would purchase dell again. I may well be one of the lucky ones as my I9100 has worked well from day one. I have not had any problems since removing it from the box. I am pleased with the performance and it just keeps on running. The only thing I did was to remove all the dell programs and install XP Pro with the original drivers.
BP_Eggbert
3 Posts
1271
0
Posted December 12th, 2004 11:00
I seriously would not purchase another Dell laptop. Within the past 6-8 months I had to have the power supply replaced (original burned out) The DVD+RW drive replaced and now the video card is acting up (Loses picture as well as crashing my OS). The tech support is pathetic, it's obvious they're reading off of scripts and have no technical knowledge. So far thier final resolution is to format and reinstall the OS before shipping out the hardware thats obviously bad. Looks like now I'll be forking out the cash to extend my maintenance plan in fear that the system will "fry" after my current one expires. My experience so far has been very disappointing.
Inspiron 9100
80GB HD 128MB ATI9700 512MB RAM
countryboy03
2 Intern
•
210 Posts
771
0
Posted December 12th, 2004 13:00
:smileyvery-happy:I have to say that I would buy dell again also. The customer service really is bad now, but as Bay Wolf Mentioned the Dell Chat is a nice new feature. I have had 6 Dell systems since 1999, and I am overall Happy. I have had to have 2 replacement systems and my first one was my I8000 and they upgraded that for me which made me happy.
The second system I had to have replaced was about 3 weeks ago, which was a Dimension 4600, and it took them 3 weeks, no joke to send me a replacement system. I wish it would have been 3 days, but o well. They didnt upgrade it so I was disapointed because I had to wait so long.
I ordered a Dell DJ the beginining of November, and Ill be darned just recieved my 3rd shipment delay notification and it says on or before 12/22, and I had to call them to continue my order and of course i did. The DJ20 Gen 2 looks cool and it looks well worth the wait.
The warantys are here to protect you so you should always put some sort of investment into them and not be cheap, if you are cheap you might end up having to pay more in the long run
Best Regards,- >>The customer service really is bad now<<It is that very sentiment, as mentioned by Countryboy, that worries me. There is more of it now than a few years ago, and Dell's rating has declined from the very top of the heap in customer satisfaction ratings to the middle or high-middle.In 2001 I sent this Inspiron 7000 in for warranty work -- the speakers quit. The screen had one pixel that was messed-up, always being a bright white. Without my asking, and contrary to a then-existent policy of a minimum number of bad pixels before a screen would be replaced, Dell put in a new screen.After receiving the laptop, I sent it in twice for warranty repairs, both times going to Airborne Express, getting a free shipping box, and waiting only a day or two for the repairs to be made at Dell's facility. The last time I shipped on Friday afternoon, and Tuesday morning the computer arrived back at my house. I have had nothing but good experiences with Dell.Perhaps customer service has been in decline across the board from computer manufacturers, I'm not sure. There is no one external, objective standard for it -- all we can do is look at Dell versus other manufacturers. I have seen Dell go downhill some, over time, in rankings and that's a bummer, though I have yet to have any personal complaints.Doug
Lazyhound
8 Posts
1246
0
Posted December 11th, 2004 01:00
EDIT: I also ended up with one of the crummy Hitachi 15" SXGA+ screens, but that wasn't a problem until I looked into upgrading the video card. : /
Message Edited by Lazyhound on 12-10-2004 09:28 PM