Reliability and repairs

[britabroad]

So my two year old 17" iMac just flickered into darkness. Took it to Genius bar, they did some tests, it's the logic board. They want $1000 to mend it. So that's it? An iMac lasts 2 years, then it costs the same as the whole thing cost in the first place to mend it? Last month, exactly the same thing happened with my iPod - two years, then dead, not worth the repair cost. My last Powerbook died three times in the first six months - logic board, power supply and monitor - before I made them take it back. I've been buying Apple products since '88 - what the hell happened to quality control? I like Apple stuff, but two years? I presume I have to factor the cost of the extended warranty into every Apple purchase now.

 

[brop52]

You seem a little unlucky... How long after two years did the iMac die? I've had pretty good luck with previous Macs and it seems like the CRTs died long before the computers would. I'm not sure about the current Intel computers, but I'll have to see how this computer goes. It seems to be going well at the moment. I haven't purchased Applecare but I do plan to. (Not that expensive for students). So I'm guaranteed 2 years out of it. If anything happens after that hopefully it's something I can repair on my own. (HDD).

My iPod was a second generation and it died after about 3 years. It was about time to upgrade anyway. I was pretty tough on it and it was the HDD that was likely the issue. (I decided to pay $50 and get the regular iPod rather than a nano with the purchase of my iMac last summer).

 

[SaSaSushi]

So my two year old 17" iMac just flickered into darkness. Took it to Genius bar, they did some tests, it's the logic board. They want $1000 to mend it. So that's it? An iMac lasts 2 years, then it costs the same as the whole thing cost in the first place to mend it? Last month, exactly the same thing happened with my iPod - two years, then dead, not worth the repair cost. My last Powerbook died three times in the first six months - logic board, power supply and monitor - before I made them take it back. I've been buying Apple products since '88 - what the hell happened to quality control? I like Apple stuff, but two years? I presume I have to factor the cost of the extended warranty into every Apple purchase now.

Applecare for the iMac is $119 from L.A. Computer and WELL worth it even if only for the peace of mind. Sorry to hear about your situation.

FYI there are some companies that will attempt to repair Apple logic board problems at MUCH less than Apple's replacement fee. Alternatively you could go to DT&T for a full logic board replacement for $425. It's still extremely expensive but less than half what Apple is asking.

I don't understand how Apple charges $1000 in the US. I had a logic board replacement done on my previous 20" Core Duo iMac that I didn't bother to buy Applecare for (never again!) and Apple charged me about $450 US for the job which they told me is the flat fee here in Japan for such replacements.

 

[britabroad]

You seem a little unlucky... How long after two years did the iMac die?

The iMac was two years and one month old. The iPod was two years and four months old. The Powerbook just six months old when the three components died. Just getting a bigger picture here of reliability issues....

 

[britabroad]

FYI there are some companies that will attempt to repair Apple logic board problems at MUCH less than Apple's replacement fee. Alternatively you could go to DT&T for a full logic board replacement for $425. It's still extremely expensive but less than half what Apple is asking.

Thanks for the tip... just checked out DT&T's website... looks good... will give them a call tomorrow...