Dell notebooks....NOW is the time to buy

[Rio Rebel]

$150 off new notebooks...says it ends today.
$150 off refurb notebooks...I believe it ends tomorrow.
Free shipping

I just picked up (refurb) an Inspiron 5000e P3-600, 64mb ram, 15" XGA TFT screen, 24x cdrom, 5 gig HD, internal v.90 modem and 3 year onsite warranty for $1400.

Note: On the refurbs, the 3800 series is cheaper, but the floppy and cdrom use the same bay. It also only comes with 1 yr. onsite, and the next two parts only (they charge labor if it has to be sent in). All of the refurbs get Win98SE and MS Works Suite (the one with Word), and I believe MS Streets as well.

Compaq, IBM, HP, and even Toshiba can't touch these prices. And who wouldn't rather have a Dell, if for nothing else the resell value?

Final note - pick up a case to go with it for an easy $25

 

[da bastard]

I wish I could afford one, but can not on a student's salary.....



at least thats what mom and dad says

 

[rdgr8]

I just received fm FEDEX tonight the Inspiron 4000 notebook I ordered 2 weeks ago during Dell's last free shipping. As I was testing it, I've noticed three dead pixels in the LCD...the two are small and barely noticeable while the other one is kind of big enough to be annoying specially when the background is not white. It is located at the upper center portion of the LCD close to the locking mechanism.
What should I do? Should I return this to them and ask for a new one or ask for a discount cuz of this defective or should I say imperfect LCD? Paid big bucks for this and of course one would expect a superb product. Need advice on this one... :Q

 

[bkdiem2]

THIS IS A RIP FROM TECHBARGAINS

ell C600 14.1 Laptop $1299! Free shipping, Oct 25

Last day with free shipping Dell Small Business has this awesome deal. Click on Small Business, Notebooks, Inspiron, 3800, Customize, Celeron 600/14.1 screen/MS Works. Inspiron Laptop 3800 Celeron 600, 14.1" Active matrix screen, 32MB/5GB HD, 1 yr ON-site warranty, Windows ME $1299. Only $50 more for a Pentium III 600. (Worth it for sure!)

GO HERE FOR MORE INFO...

TECHBARGAINS.COM

Scroll down about half way.

at first glance, it seems a mush better deal than a refurb.

 

[Chatterjee]

moks78,

you should definitely call them up and tell them what the story is with your laptop. Refurbished items are NOT suppose to be sold as defective products. They should replace your laptop...

-S

 

[Unsickle]

there is usually a clause about dead pixels. it's too hard to make a perfect LCD.

 

[Atrac]

I don't know about Dell, but I do know that Apple Computer considers 3 dead pixels within one square inch to be "Defective."

I'm sure that if you b*tch and moan enough, they'll replace it for you.

Of course, it may be "refurbished" because another customer returned it as "defective." Dell probably saw "only" 3 dead pixels and decided to sell it as a refurb (probably nothing else originally wrong with it).

I am using one of the clearance Office Max 15" Flat Panel LCD Monitors and it too has 3 dead pixels. Of course at $299, I'm not going to complain.

 

[mikebill]

Deal with dell is not that easy as I originally thought. Their return/replacement policy isn't that clear as Staples and others. Anyway you should moan a lot and call a lot. They should find a way to calm you down. Good luck.

 

[Shrike]

Dell has a magic window of 30 days. If you bought it from the Factory outlet then they have their own policy. Call in and ask or go the website.

In order for a lcd to be considered defective it must have 10 pixels in a row or pixels of massive discoloration. Or just lots scattered all over the place.
.
5000e is a rockin system at any price. Personnally I like my 7500 with the 75 gigs of hard drive space .. anyone say,, mobile server.


Da bastard. If you are going to college check with your micro center. you might be able to get a good deal through them. You might also check the Leasing options. A friend of mine got a Dimension 4100 fully loaded at a cheap monthyly payment. Plus it'll help you build a credit history.


All of this stuff in on their website. Check it out for the small print

 

[rdgr8]

Guys...thanks for the advice.
The notebook I have is a brand new one...Inspriron 4000 is the newest notebook model Dell is offering. I'll call them and check their policy abt dead pixels in the LCD.:frown:

 

[jjm]

Don't even ask about the policy. Just call and politely state that you are not happy with the product. Tell them that you are not asking for a refund (at least not yet), but that you want a replacement. Dell should accommodate the request.

 

[Nomad10]

I used to work for Dell (in the Optiplex division, not Latitude, but those guys were about 100 ft. away). Call them up, tell them that you have a problem with the LCD. All products have a 30-day return for new policy, and then the standard 1/3 year parts &service/parts only policy (unless you buy the extended. Either way, call them up, tell them there is a problem with the LCD. They should offer the replacement right away, as with a monitor LCD there is not much an on-site tech can do. Either way, just call them up, wait through the queue, and explain the situation. If they try to give you a line, demand a replacement, and ask to speak to a manager.

Hope it helps.

 

[rdgr8]

Nomad10 and jjm...thanks for the advice. I'll call them today and air my gripes.

 

[navap]

I bought Latitude couple months ago. I remember calling them evey Friday for the first four weeks. Every time I called I got $150 back to my CC ($150*4=600+free leather case). Trust me, Dell people are nice and they really sensitive about returning product.

 

[superjsuh]

3 dead pixels in an LCD is not uncommon. My compaq had 5. I believe Atrac is right about the Apple policy. But keep in mind thats 3 dead pixels per SQUARE INCH! A very small area. Even though Dell is a very high quality OEM, I don't know how far you'll get by complaining. Good luck to you though.

 

[silverspear]

Dude just call them up..... i have a dell laptop, there are really cool about service. as for compaq i dont believe in their cust service or their laptops.

if u have dead pixels they WILL replace the laptop with a new one.

 

[bigd480]

My girlfriend works at Dell and she said even employees are buying these notebooks via the regular channels (by calling Dell)

I definitely agree with navap... Dell makes $40 Million profit a day selling computers... They wouldn't be able to do that without the best service in the business...

 

[abracadabra1]

i would love to get one for my son, but i don't have the money either.
colleges and universities should include the damn laptops in their tuition.

 

[MrBond]

Some colleges do give their students laptops upon entering. However, its usually a private college, and the tuition is much higher. I'd much rather have a desktop anyway, I've NEVER seen a person with a laptop in class, and people find it harder to steal a desktop system, then the nice, shiney, new laptop sitting unchained to something.

Of course, I still like my Thinkpad for surfing from the Lazy-Boy . I think they should build ethernet jacks into the arms, like their fridge/chair combo...

 

[darthtony]

I don't want to rain on your parade, but 3 dead pixels is not a big issue. I do know that if you complain long enough, you can probably get a replacement, but odds are the replacement will have dead pixels as well.

Decide if the pixels are acceptable or not (that will be a personal preference issue) - are they so noticable as to make the laptop unusable? If the answer is unacceptable, call up and politely ask for a replacement. You may need to escalate to the phone techs manager to get it resolved. Having worked tech support for 2 years, I know that you can accomplish a lot more if you are polite to the tech on the other end of the phone than if you demand satisfaction up front.

Good luck

 

[Fallen Kell]

MrBond:
The reason you don't see students with laptops in class is because your University does not provide WIRELESS Ethernet across the ENTIRE campus Probably the only thing good going on at Drexel University.

Only downside is that the students with the laptops are no longer paying attention to the lecturers they are busy playing games and chatting

 

[crzyc]

i bought a latitude csx its pretty sweet, got a great deal on a refurb with the 150 off, no problems with it, i just have to put win2k on it now =)

 

[jebus]

You guys must be lucky because I have had a headache with Dell and their support. They never answer my questions, or if they every do, it's always a few weeks after that I completely forgot what the original question was. Also, to make it worse, they always return with a generic answer, making the entire wait pointless and frustrating. I personally have built up a grudge against Dell and would not buy from them again.

Show me a good deal, however, and I might reconsider!

 

[Rio Rebel]

If you have a problem with Dell's service, I would predict you haven't deal with the others very often.

Compare "long waits and generic answers" to "completely inaccessible and unresponsive"...

 

[Xe0n]

dell has a great service policy, i have a inspiron 3200 i got 2 years ago, ive dropped it so many times i lost count, every drive has been replaced atleast 3 times, and thye dont ask any questions either