Refurbished laptop I sold just died - now what?

[TechLady]

Refurbished, used, new...I've had all of them mess up on me. Ironically, until now refurbished machines gave me the least trouble.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

[NETWizz]

And that would be why I took it home with me--there were a number of symptoms that all said "motherboard." The lights do not do anything at all. The ONLY thing it will do at this point is the battery light will flash orange for a second when you press the power button, and that's it. No sounds, no effort to spin up. I have seen this before, and it is not usually good news.

And yes, I intend on getting my warranty paperwork in order for the future. The customer is not livid, in fact she is not really even what I would call upset..."concerned" is more like it. I gave them the loaner netbook this morning so she is happy for now.

Use this as a reference in-case I missed anything:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd620/en/UG/trouble.htm#wp1281112



Have you checked the voltage of the power adapter with a multi-meter & ensured its green power light comes on?



The battery might be totally dead and not receiving a charge too. Some laptops can't run without the battery connected... some can.

When you press the button, the green bar should go up like this:

http://www.brand-new-battery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/dell-latitude-d620-battery.jpg



If the light on the top of the laptop is yellow, it usually means the battery is low and needs charging. Obviously, if the green bar is not all the way up to 5, it needs charging. If attaching the AC adapter charges the battery, the DC power jack is good.


If the battery flashes yellow... sometimes they totally die and refuse to charge though it is uncommon. I am presuming you have another Latitude battery to try.

 

[Elemdee]

My local recycler currently has some D620's for $70.00, no HD's in them. For that price I'd buy one, swap the HD in, her battery if it's better, Ram, etc, and give her a working laptop back. No fussing with opening up the laptop and replacing the motherboard on your part. If you want my help I can go to them, boot one up to be sure it's in working order, ship it out to you, etc. We could work out details. PM me if you'd like.

 

[red12049]

My local recycler currently has some D620's for $70.00, no HD's in them. For that price I'd buy one, swap the HD in, her battery if it's better, Ram, etc, and give her a working laptop back. No fussing with opening up the laptop and replacing the motherboard on your part. If you want my help I can go to them, boot one up to be sure it's in working order, ship it out to you, etc. We could work out details. PM me if you'd like.

Heh. I'd look to do something similar, if at all possible. In fact, assemble/repair stuff like that with some frequency.

That said, if you read some of the oither threads in here, that would make us unethical, immoral, and only out to cheat our cutomer and make money for ourselves.

Rick

 

[Elemdee]

Heh. I'd look to do something similar, if at all possible. In fact, assemble/repair stuff like that with some frequency.

That said, if you read some of the oither threads in here, that would make us unethical, immoral, and only out to cheat our cutomer and make money for ourselves.

Rick

That's why I don't get involved in threads which get too wound up in opinion.

 

[red12049]

That's why I don't get involved in threads which get too wound up in opinion.

Laughing. Did you happen to notice that I've been posting about as much as you have?

Rick

 

[dgast]

Refurbs

Your warranty period was definately to long. If you check around most of the big box retailers are looking at 90 days parts and labor. But if you have told your client 1 year then that is what you have to abide by. Just remember a contract whether written or verbal is binding, offer and acceptance. The ethical and moral thing to do is make her happy be either offering her another machine of equal value or fixing the existing machine especially if she balks at changing machines. Good luck, do the right thing...

 

[Cornerstone Technologies]

Heh. I'd look to do something similar, if at all possible. In fact, assemble/repair stuff like that with some frequency.

That said, if you read some of the oither threads in here, that would make us unethical, immoral, and only out to cheat our cutomer and make money for ourselves.

Rick

I don't see Elmdees offer to be unethical. I'm pretty sure the idea of ethics to some people are widely varied around here to begin with. I do think the use of the PM system to notify a poster of such an offer would be best as to not detract from the thread and attract trolls. Most annoying are the posts to inform a member that they've been PMed. I'm betting the poster will notice the bold notification at the top the bedtime they reload the forum.

In any case, replacing the machine would probably be a fantastic idea. When doing refurbs, I like having spares handy or readily order-able to satisfy issuesnlike this. Incidentally, my warranty terms for all used computers is written as 30 days. However, I will secretly warranty most items for up to 90 days. That way I can use that nugget of information to look like a hero and it Giles incredible goodwill. It's all case-by-case, but works out very well for everyone involved. Beyond 90 days I generally charge something, even if it's 50% or something. Like other threads constantly suggest, you never want to get yourself into a position where it appears you freely give away services. People will see it and try to take advantage.

 

[Elemdee]

I don't see Elmdees offer to be unethical. I'm pretty sure the idea of ethics to some people are widely varied around here to begin with. I do think the use of the PM system to notify a poster of such an offer would be best as to not detract from the thread and attract trolls. Most annoying are the posts to inform a member that they've been PMed. I'm betting the poster will notice the bold notification at the top the bedtime they reload the forum.

Thanks To clarify, though, Red was being facetious. He had just commented on another thread which brought ethics into question right before this one. I caught the connection but not sure others would. Red is my bud though so I got it.

It did cross my mind to PM the offer but I didn't for two reasons...1)The OP is new to the forums and might not be accustomed to looking for incoming private messages (I've had that happen with a new member before) and 2)I thought if anyone else might be interested in that model laptop they might contact me in which case I'd be happy to put them in touch with the recycler directly.

 

[TechLady]

My local recycler currently has some D620's for $70.00, no HD's in them. For that price I'd buy one, swap the HD in, her battery if it's better, Ram, etc, and give her a working laptop back. No fussing with opening up the laptop and replacing the motherboard on your part. If you want my help I can go to them, boot one up to be sure it's in working order, ship it out to you, etc. We could work out details. PM me if you'd like.

Thanks, Elemdee. I think this might be the best all-around solution. I can fuss with the broken one later and in the meantime the customer will have a working laptop. (The other laptop would give me a chance to test the battery theory as well). You da bomb!

 

[Cornerstone Technologies]

On a separate note: Am I the only guy turned on by all these ladies working on tech stuff? It's a guys dream really.

 

[Elemdee]

I'm proud to be one of the few. The shock factor alone is worth it, lol.

 

[TechLady]

That's why I have this shirt.

 

[Elemdee]

That's why I have this shirt.

LMAO I'm ordering one!!

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I just might have to get that for my girlfriend.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

I'm not sure if this is the right section for this, but here goes. I sold a customer a refurbished Dell Latitude D620 in January for $400. 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo with Win 7. Well it just died. The woman was just playing music or something--nothing special--and it all of a sudden died and will not turn on for anything. Based on what I've read and the symptoms my instinct tells me it's probably the motherboard (or the jack, which is just as bad).

What do I do now? She only got 10 months of life out of it, and the warranty went out on it last year. Also I don't really do motherboard replacements on laptops--don't have the tools, and most of the time it isn't cost effective.

I am bringing her an Acer netbook tomorrow as a loaner to keep her happy until I can figure this out. I can't just buy her another laptop but I don't want her to hate me either. (And yes, now I realize it was dumb to buy a refurbished laptop out of warranty. Hindsight is 20/20). I DO have an old Eeepc 900 running Jolicloud I could give up I guess, it mostly sits around, but it has a really annoying micro keyboard.

So...first step...do I fork over to have a shop that works on laptops to definitively diagnose? And secondly, if it IS the motherboard, then what?

No warranty or guarantee paperwork was signed, but I still don't want an unhappy customer.

Thoughts?

I've sold hundreds of refurbs laptop and otherwise and can't remember a major failure. With that said, I give a 90 warranty which is what my supplier gives me. So I am only out if It takes me 90 days to sell it, then I have to honor the thing for another 90 days. I double my money so if I buy a refurb for $205, I sell it for $410. So even if I do have to honor the warranty I am only break even with not selling it in the first place.

I think your mistake is trying to warrant something too long. 10 months, I'd tell the lady that was bad luck would you like me to send it out for you to get fixed? With her paying the bill.

In any case it is Heresy to give her a loaner when you don't even know when and how you are going to get her laptop fixed.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

My local recycler currently has some D620's for $70.00, no HD's in them. For that price I'd buy one, swap the HD in, her battery if it's better, Ram, etc, and give her a working laptop back. No fussing with opening up the laptop and replacing the motherboard on your part. If you want my help I can go to them, boot one up to be sure it's in working order, ship it out to you, etc. We could work out details. PM me if you'd like.

Charge her $100 to backup her data and put it on the next system. Tell her the warranty is 30 days.

 

[donte10]

If you sold it 10 months ago, no one would give that much warranty on something that was not new at the time of the transaction, but for the future, you may want to consider a receipt that states how long is the warranty good for

I'm with you hear... 10 months is a long time from the data of purchase and most placed only warranty refurbished machines for 30-90 days. I would also recommend you implement a receipt for all of your transactions. If you want to create good will, you can offer a discount off of a replacement system.

 

[PWD]

I'm not sure if this is the right section for this, but here goes. I sold a customer a refurbished Dell Latitude D620 in January for $400. 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo with Win 7. Well it just died. The woman was just playing music or something--nothing special--and it all of a sudden died and will not turn on for anything. Based on what I've read and the symptoms my instinct tells me it's probably the motherboard (or the jack, which is just as bad).

What do I do now? She only got 10 months of life out of it, and the warranty went out on it last year. Also I don't really do motherboard replacements on laptops--don't have the tools, and most of the time it isn't cost effective.

I am bringing her an Acer netbook tomorrow as a loaner to keep her happy until I can figure this out. I can't just buy her another laptop but I don't want her to hate me either. (And yes, now I realize it was dumb to buy a refurbished laptop out of warranty. Hindsight is 20/20). I DO have an old Eeepc 900 running Jolicloud I could give up I guess, it mostly sits around, but it has a really annoying micro keyboard.

So...first step...do I fork over to have a shop that works on laptops to definitively diagnose? And secondly, if it IS the motherboard, then what?

No warranty or guarantee paperwork was signed, but I still don't want an unhappy customer.

Thoughts?

Did you give her a time frame for warranty?

Thinks to maybe check if you have not already.
No Lights?
-Adapter
-Battery

Have Lights, No POST?
-Memory
-check ports for something inside causing a short.
-Next guess I would be looking on the motherboard for a blow cap.

Hope this helps.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

It seems to me that the full standard warranty with Dell, HP, Compaq pretty much all computers through Bestbuy or walmart are limited to 90 warranty and only the first 30 days of that can they bring it back to the retailer.

I tell my clients they get 90days warranty through me. Some components are warranted for a year but they have to pay my time to process that warranty or buy the replacement part. If they pay 10% of the purchase price to me, I will extend the warranty to 36 months through me. The warranty extension does not include complete system failure where two or more subsystems fail as that indicates ESL or lightning damage not warranty.

When I worked for CompUSA I noticed they would rather sell extended service plan. Their pay out on them was next to nothing as a percentage. So I decided to self insure for that and offer it to my clients. I've not sold many but the few I sold were all profit as I have not had to replace any parts.