Can't believe this has happened... Why, Apple?

[Soulstorm]

I have a G5 (see sig). For many years, I have been a fan fo apple. I have many apple computers. A year and a half ago, I bough the G5 you see in my signature. And it's been two months that the processors of my G5 melted! Yes! They told me that the liquids of the G5 (what liquids) have been spilled. And the whole damage is approx. 1700 euros.

I have paid 3500 euros to buy that machine, which would probably keep me active for 6 years or so. Heck, my iMac G4 is 5 years old and keeps going. And I have a G4 tower and a G3 that have shown no problems so far. And suddenly, the fastest mac in the world (at the time I bough it), which was supposed to be a proffessional tool, breaks down in a way that even for PC's is unacceptable!!

I was outside the one-year warranty (one year warranty and in one-year and a half, my computer breaks down. No comments!) so I am forced to pay 1700 euros.

But this is not the end of it. I have given the order to fix my machine a month and a half ago. And NO ANSWER FROM APPLE AS TO WETHER THEY CAN REPLACE MY BROKEN PARTS HAS BEEN RECEIVED!! And they still don't have a clue as to when they will be able to fix my machine.

So, to sum up:
1)I bought the best thing apple had to offer at the time
2)I gave them 3500 euros just to make sure that this machine will keep me going for years
3)Apple is supposed to have a long tradition with good hardware
4)I expected that since, I have payed my *ss off, I would at least have a proper technical support.

None of these things happened for me.

Now, where am I supposed to continue working for my University? This situation has taken me back for 2 months.

I'm sorry, but I'm losing faith in Apple. Why don't they have my parts ready to be replaced? Could it be because of the switch from IBM to Intel?

 

[bartelby]

"Liquids"


Aren't the processors liquid cooled?

 

[Sdashiki]

i sympathize with you.

i think the liquid would be the liquid cooling your machine uses to cool itself. if im not mistaken, your model uses that.

also, the model you have is rather "old" when you look at what apple has produced since.

so, with that in mind, id think theyd have a harder time finding parts for it than if it was an Intelmac.

But this is still no excuse I know, its deplorable.

 

[jaguarx]

Apple Europe Repair is ******, truly inexcusably awful. About a year ago the HDD in my powerbook died, under Applecare. I shipped the machine to apple, who promptly claimed that they wouldn't replace the hard drive until I agree to PAY to replace the case which had a couple of small dents, so I paid 800CHF to get the case replaced, then they sent back the laptop without replacing the hard drive! I had to send it back again to get them to actually fix the problem!

 

[panoz7]

I remember reading in one of those apple care threads that apple has to honor a two year warranty in the EU. I'm in the US, so I don't really know, but it would be worth checking on.

 

[Dunepilot]

Apple Europe Repair is ******, truly inexcusably awful. About a year ago the HDD in my powerbook died, under Applecare. I shipped the machine to apple, who promptly claimed that they wouldn't replace the hard drive until I agree to PAY to replace the case which had a couple of small dents, so I paid 800CHF to get the case replaced, then they sent back the laptop without replacing the hard drive! I had to send it back again to get them to actually fix the problem!

That is absolutely scandalous. There's no excuse for this at all on Apple's part.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

Apple Europe Repair is ******, truly inexcusably awful. About a year ago the HDD in my powerbook died, under Applecare. I shipped the machine to apple, who promptly claimed that they wouldn't replace the hard drive until I agree to PAY to replace the case which had a couple of small dents, so I paid 800CHF to get the case replaced, then they sent back the laptop without replacing the hard drive! I had to send it back again to get them to actually fix the problem!

Why should you pay to replace something that is only cosmetically damaged and something that you are obviously werent worried about?

To be honest you were a little (how can i put this gently?) stupid to pay.

Thats like me taking my car into a garage to get the gearbox fixed but the garage says it wont fix it until i pay them to fix the scratch on my bumper that I couldnt give a rats ass about.

You were 'stupid'. Apple was disgusting.

Sorry but its true!

 

[Soulstorm]

also, the model you have is rather "old" when you look at what apple has produced since.

so, with that in mind, id think theyd have a harder time finding parts for it than if it was an Intelmac.

That's not the case. My model is not so old. It's only 1,5 years old. G5's are still on the market today, and let's not forget that G5s are supposed to serve for what? 6 years? Otherwise, why pay 3500 euros for something that's not going to have proper applecare after 1 year?

If that's he case, then why buy Macs and not just a regular expendable PC?

 

[seanf]

They told me that the liquids of the G5 (what liquids) have been spilled.

If this is the liquid cooled G5 and it has started leaking (look for yellow/greenish liquid) then you should do some research. There are reports of Apple fixing out of warranty machines free of charge due to this.

See: http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/macosgliquid_cooled_power_mac_g5s_leaking - especially some of the comments.

Sean

 

[Dunepilot]

If this is the liquid cooled G5 and it has started leaking (look for yellow/greenish liquid) then you should do some research. There are reports of Apple fixing out of warranty machines free of charge due to this.

See: http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/macosgliquid_cooled_power_mac_g5s_leaking - especially some of the comments.

Sean

I do hope they sort your machine out for you for free, Soulstorm. Best of luck

 

[jaguarx]

Why should you pay to replace something that is only cosmetically damaged and something that you are obviously werent worried about?

To be honest you were a little (how can i put this gently?) stupid to pay.

Thats like me taking my car into a garage to get the gearbox fixed but the garage says it wont fix it until i pay them to fix the scratch on my bumper that I couldnt give a rats ass about.

You were 'stupid'. Apple was disgusting.

It was my primary machine, I was making my living off it and was renting one in the meantime, relatively speaking the money wasn't much and I needed it fixed ASAP. Secondly, if I replaced the HDD myself any future issues wouldn't have been covered under my Applecare. By the time I would have got it back after saying no, I would have wasted two weeks and still have a broken machine. As it turned out, with having to send it back twice due to their incompetence so it wouldn't have made a difference but I obviously didn't expect that level incompetence from Apple.

Something tells me you don't make a living off your hardware.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

It was my primary machine, I was making my living off it and was renting one in the meantime, relatively speaking the money wasn't much and I needed it fixed ASAP. Secondly, if I replaced the HDD myself any future issues wouldn't have been covered under my Applecare. By the time I would have got it back after saying no, I would have wasted two weeks and still have a broken machine. As it turned out, with having to send it back twice due to their incompetence so it wouldn't have made a difference but I obviously didn't expect that level incompetence from Apple.

Something tells me you don't make a living off your hardware.

I agree with what you say but why did you have to get the case fixed when it has nothing to do with the HD?

 

[Bjerre]

I have heard that Apple in Greece has had horrible support. Have you tried calling the Apple US and tell them your story, they might help you out. Best of luck.

 

[Soulstorm]

I have heard that Apple in Greece has had horrible support. Have you tried calling the Apple US and tell them your story, they might help you out. Best of luck.

Indeed they do have terrible support. I will do that. But what phone should I call? There are tons!

 

[gekko513]

I have paid 3500 euros to buy that machine, which would probably keep me active for 6 years or so. Heck, my iMac G4 is 5 years old and keeps going. And I have a G4 tower and a G3 that have shown no problems so far. And suddenly, the fastest mac in the world (at the time I bough it), which was supposed to be a proffessional tool, breaks down in a way that even for PC's is unacceptable!!

I sympathise with your problems, but your expectations are a bit off. You didn't pay 3500 euros to have something that was guaranteed to last 6 years. You paid 3500 euros to get a top of the line computer, at the time, with a good reputation and you paid for a one year warranty. You could have paid for a three year warranty, but you didn't.

You took a gamble that it would last you 6 years, but you have to realise that any hardware does break down on a random basis. PowerMacs less so than most other computers, according to statistics, but they can break down, and if you don't keep that in mind and get extended Applecare, then you can't come and blame Apple if you're the unlucky one.

But this is not the end of it. I have given the order to fix my machine a month and a half ago. And NO ANSWER FROM APPLE AS TO WETHER THEY CAN REPLACE MY BROKEN PARTS HAS BEEN RECEIVED!! And they still don't have a clue as to when they will be able to fix my machine.

This part is unacceptable, though. I can only advice you to document your communications with Apple in case you want to or need to make complaints somewhere.

 

[Soulstorm]

I sympathise with your problems, but your expectations are a bit off. You didn't pay 3500 euros to have something that was guaranteed to last 6 years. You paid 3500 euros to get a top of the line computer, at the time, with a good reputation and you paid for a one year warranty. You could have paid for a three year warranty, but you didn't.

You took a gamble that it would last you 6 years, but you have to realise that any hardware does break down on a random basis. PowerMacs less so than most other computers, according to statistics, but they can break down, and if you don't keep that in mind and get extended Applecare, then you can't come and blame Apple if you're the unlucky one.

You are right for the most part. The one thing that gets in my nervers, though is how things are handled here by Rainbow Computers, the authorised reseller by Apple here in Greece. Sometimes they won't answer our calls, and when they do, we always receive a 'leave us a number and we'll call you back' answer. They never call us back. I asked to talk to the supervisor. They denied me that. I swear, I don't know why Apple insists on keeping Rainbow Computers as authorised resellers in Greece, especially since they already have such a bad reputation as a reseller.

IMPORTANT EDIT: gekko513 what you say is true, only that you must take into consideration the fact that there is NO applecare protection plan in Greece.

 

[jaguarx]

I agree with what you say but why did you have to get the case fixed when it has nothing to do with the HD?

From memory their argument varied between that it could cause issues in future and it might be something to do with the HDD failure. I argued the toss for a day and gave in, couldn't afford the time. When it came back with a still dead HDD I was tempted to take the next flight the Ireland (Where Apple's EU repair is based) and start bludgeoning staff with it.

 

[R.Youden]

I have noticed that in the UK Apple do not take machines in to get repaired themselves, they get you to take it to your local Apple repair centre. They give a reason that it is because machines where getting damaged in transport! More like they where getting too many complaints so jacked it in!

 

[Bjerre]

Indeed they do have terrible support. I will do that. But what phone should I call? There are tons!

I would call 1-800-275-2273, it says that that phone number is the US support phone line. Hope that helps

 

[gekko513]

IMPORTANT EDIT: gekko513 what you say is true, only that you must take into consideration the fact that there is NO applecare protection plan in Greece.

Ouch! And these Rainbow Computer resellers don't sell service plans? What are your consumer protection laws like in Greece? Some products will by law be covered for certain kinds of malfunctioning for up to five years in Norway, regardless of what the warranty says. It's harder to go through with these kinds of claims, but if you do have anything similar in Greece, it could be worth a shot.

 

[Soulstorm]

Ouch! And these Rainbow Computer resellers don't sell service plans? What are your consumer protection laws like in Greece? Some products will by law be covered for certain kinds of malfunctioning for up to five years in Norway, regardless of what the warranty says. It's harder to go through with these kinds of claims, but if you do have anything similar in Greece, it could be worth a shot.

In greece, we have the Consumer's Instutute which protects the consumers' rights. I won't get into detail on what is going on here, but I know for a fact that the Consumer's Institute is preparing to sue authorised computer resellers (and Rainbow Computers specifically) here in Greece just for this reason: the warranties given for computer products and the policy on which they sell their products. If I wanted, I could also sue Rainbow (because many complaints have been made and many consumers are ready to take legal action against them, having the Consumer's Institute by their side) and I would no doubt win the case, but would it worth taking legal action that's going to take many months (even years) to complete? I haven't decided that yet.

I just want my computer back. I need it to finish my work that's been left behind for months now. The heck with all those legal stuff.

And these Rainbow Computer resellers don't sell service plans?

No. That's what gets me. In their site nothing is mentioned over service plans.