The Core: Macbook repair, what next?

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AidanS

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#236055 16-May-2018 00:48

Hi everyone,

Hoping to please get some advice on what my rights are here (consumer guarantees act maybe?), any help is much appreciated.

My (out of Apple warranty) Macbook pro started randomly shutting down on me a couple months ago so I took it to "The Core" in Newton to get it repaired.

Two weeks later they said it was the "logic board" and it would cost $649 incl gst to have it repaired - no problem, paid and collected supposedly with a new logic board.

1 hour later it randomly shutdown on me in the middle of a meeting. I took it back the next day, they said they'd fix it again for free given I'd already paid them $649 the first time.

A week later I collected after the technician "touched up the logic board" (hmm?). 3 hours later, boom, shutdown on me again.

Obviously I want it fixed one way or another but as a software developer I need my machine for my day job so going on nearly a month now without my regular machine is frustrating to say the least.

Is it fair to ask for a refund of the repair so I can up and take it somewhere else like iStore? Or do I need to give them yet another opportunity (and another week) to do some more "touching up"?

My assumption is they didn't actually diagnose the issue but hoped that a generic "logic board replacement" would surely solve it instead of just saying they couldn't do it and letting me go somewhere else.

Thanks in advance for any advice here :)

MikeB4

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#2016608 16-May-2018 07:55

You have mentioned this failing in meetings, if this is a work device it is not covered under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

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antoniosk

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#2016625 16-May-2018 08:15

Is 'TheCore' an actual apple service centre or one of those many 'we use ifixit.com to figure things out' shops?

________

Antoniosk

Coil

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#2016643 16-May-2018 08:52

Try and find your model on a video of this guys: https://www.youtube.com/user/rossmanngroup

He has covered pretty much every Apple laptop and sings their woes till the cows come home and basically labels them as scam artists given they have many faults like your one and have never fixed them even when the fixes are easy..

Chances are if those muppets have messed with it the laptop will be a write off, If the logic board was replaced they all do the same stuff as per his videos like shutting down and it could be caused by another part of your laptops hardware.

I'd cut your losses and get a recent model Ultrabook.. Stay sway from Mac Crap. You will understand why if you watch his videos.
Even the fan boys can deny the facts that they are over priced trash :)

Coil

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#2016644 16-May-2018 08:54

1101

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#2016761 16-May-2018 11:57

AidanS:

My assumption is they didn't actually diagnose the issue but hoped that a generic "logic board replacement" would surely solve it instead of just saying they couldn't do it and letting me go somewhere else.

Probhably. Given its an intermittent fault, that they possibly couldn't replicate , it may have been an educated guess
That may have the the best option . How long did you want them to keep it for, how many hours do you want them to sit in front of it
testing it.
You wouldnt be willing to pay the cost of a 100% guaranteed to work 1st time fix .As that would be a new laptop.

There are very few companies in NZ who actually board level repairs of laptops . I only know of 2 in AK & dont know if they do MAC's
Even these companies , with all their equipment & skills , dont have a 100% success rate.

Many companies have the attitude 'we'll repair anything' , when they dont have the tools or very specific skills to do so (Ive worked in such places)
Chances are , they took a educated quess hardware repair. As expected .

The repair didnt work, thats their issue . Not yours . They need to refund or repair

AidanS

458 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2016766 16-May-2018 12:11

antoniosk:

Is 'TheCore' an actual apple service centre or one of those many 'we use ifixit.com to figure things out' shops?

They're not an apple repairer themselves but they're one of the more reputable repair shops around.

1101:

My assumption is they didn't actually diagnose the issue but hoped that a generic "logic board replacement" would surely solve it instead of just saying they couldn't do it and letting me go somewhere else.

Probhably. Given its an intermittent fault, that they possibly couldn't replicate , it may have been an educated guess
That may have the the best option . How long did you want them to keep it for, how many hours do you want them to sit in front of it
testing it.
You wouldnt be willing to pay the cost of a 100% guaranteed to work 1st time fix .As that would be a new laptop.

I understand that fully but they said "we've diagnosed the problem to be the logic board" which I would now assume to be a blatant lie. Which misled me as the consumer to think they've actually found the problem and can fix it guaranteed.

MikeB4:

You have mentioned this failing in meetings, if this is a work device it is not covered under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

It's mixed use, however as the service (mac book repair) is normally purchased for consumer use (and isn't exclusively a commercial service) and there was no written agreement to contract out, I believe it should still apply here surely?

Going to drop it in today and see what they say / can do.

dan

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#2016773 16-May-2018 12:22

AidanS:

A week later I collected after the technician "touched up the logic board" (hmm?). 3 hours later, boom, shutdown on me again.

wow, alarm bells there.

Dairyxox

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#2016777 16-May-2018 12:29

CGA might still apply, things like laptops & phones have a crossover between personal & business usage.

If it doesn't apply then you're still covered by the Fair Trading Act, and possibly by a warranty on the parts and labour.

Either way let them know:

1. You want it sorted.

2. You are considering action via either CGA, FTA, or their warranty (might be best to clarify their warranty)

3. Giving them a chance to rectify the situation, but if its not sorted you will escalate. (you may now be at this step?)

Then do it, don't let them mess you around any further.

I'm not sure what you're entitled to regarding your downtime due to being unable to use your computer, maybe someone else here can chime in about it.

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#2016781 16-May-2018 12:33

dan:

AidanS:

A week later I collected after the technician "touched up the logic board" (hmm?). 3 hours later, boom, shutdown on me again.

wow, alarm bells there.

baked it in the oven perhaps?

antoniosk

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#2017346 17-May-2018 09:17

TBH I think what matters is that a repair was attempted and was clearly not up to snuff. They havent solved the problem and probably made it worse.

Regardless of brand a botch is a botch

Unless ServicePlus refuse to look at it because its out of warranty, I would go to them for repair... they've always been really good with my repairs, if a little slow.

________

Antoniosk

AidanS

458 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2049073 4-Jul-2018 15:27

Update:

After weeks of going back and forth, a logic board replacement, some logic board "touching up" they've come back and said that the problem is non-repairable and that the device is as good as parts.

They've offered to refund the $649 repair fee and if I like, to buy this "faulty" machine off me for $200.

Does anyone have more insight into how these machines are built?

I was under the impression that the CPU was apart of the logic board, so by replacing the logic board, you're also replacing the GPU?

Any help or insight here would be much appreciated :)

Cheers,

Aidan

Andib

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#2049083 4-Jul-2018 15:46

My understanding of macbooks is that everything is on the logic board so that if anything goes wrong the only Apple provided solution is to replace that. I'm surprised that a replacement board doesn't solve your issue as there aren't a lot of other components to go wrong (Display, Battery, SSD & RAM depending on what model you have).

Also they're short changing you on the $200 offer. List it on trademe and you'll get a lot more than $200 for it.

Signing up for Frank Energy? Use my referral and we both get $50 credit.

Batman

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#2049095 4-Jul-2018 15:58

Take the money and run. Sell it as faulty but with (apparently) new logic board