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fredr123 · 03-07-2012, 08:05 AM

Bump/Update.

I wasn't really keen on paying the quoted prices for repairs at MyMacDealer so I went online and ordered a replacement cable from Powerbookmedic.com. The cable itself cost $24.99 but with a few tools and other materials and shipping I ended up spending a total of $54. Last night I set about replacing the upper case flex cable using a guide on ifixit.com. Took me a couple hours from start to finish (kids wanted to "help") and it was moderately difficult as far as computer repairs go, but I now have a functioning laptop again.

I'm more than a little POed at MyMacDealer for a few reason. First, I was already fairly confident that the cable had failed and told the tech as much. In my mind, there wasn't a whole lot of diagnosin' to do.

Second, he told me the entire top case had to be replaced. I explicitly asked if just the cable could be swapped out and he told me no. On top of that, he said that you couldn't buy just the cable anyway so it didn't really matter. This is false on so many levels. The part I purchased had the same model number and other markings as the part I replaced. If it's a Chinese knockoff, they went through a lot of trouble to make it look authentic.

Third, when I opened up the case last night, I noticed three or four loose cables that the guy didn't bother to reconnect when he had my laptop in the shop. I'm not sure if that's lazy or sloppy or both. I paid $62.42 for him to diagnose the problem so it's not like his time was free or anything. The least he could have done is to put things back together properly.

My iSight camera still doesn't work. He told me I needed a whole new display because, again, you can't buy and replace just the camera or the camera cable. That's a $600+ repair. I call BS on that one and might try to undertake this repair on my own too.

In fairness to the tech, perhaps this is the practice he is forced to adopt from above. Maybe it's even an Apple policy: make repairs sound expensive and onerous so that the customer will purchase a whole new machine.

Long story short, I highly recommend the parts from powerbookmedic.com and the guides on ifixit.com. If you have the time, patience and a little bit of know how, you can probably fix most problems on your out of warranty Apple products and save yourself some cash.

03-07-2012, 08:05 AM	#9
fredr123 Franchise Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Exp:	Bump/Update. I wasn't really keen on paying the quoted prices for repairs at MyMacDealer so I went online and ordered a replacement cable from Powerbookmedic.com. The cable itself cost $24.99 but with a few tools and other materials and shipping I ended up spending a total of $54. Last night I set about replacing the upper case flex cable using a guide on ifixit.com. Took me a couple hours from start to finish (kids wanted to "help") and it was moderately difficult as far as computer repairs go, but I now have a functioning laptop again. I'm more than a little POed at MyMacDealer for a few reason. First, I was already fairly confident that the cable had failed and told the tech as much. In my mind, there wasn't a whole lot of diagnosin' to do. Second, he told me the entire top case had to be replaced. I explicitly asked if just the cable could be swapped out and he told me no. On top of that, he said that you couldn't buy just the cable anyway so it didn't really matter. This is false on so many levels. The part I purchased had the same model number and other markings as the part I replaced. If it's a Chinese knockoff, they went through a lot of trouble to make it look authentic. Third, when I opened up the case last night, I noticed three or four loose cables that the guy didn't bother to reconnect when he had my laptop in the shop. I'm not sure if that's lazy or sloppy or both. I paid $62.42 for him to diagnose the problem so it's not like his time was free or anything. The least he could have done is to put things back together properly. My iSight camera still doesn't work. He told me I needed a whole new display because, again, you can't buy and replace just the camera or the camera cable. That's a $600+ repair. I call BS on that one and might try to undertake this repair on my own too. In fairness to the tech, perhaps this is the practice he is forced to adopt from above. Maybe it's even an Apple policy: make repairs sound expensive and onerous so that the customer will purchase a whole new machine. Long story short, I highly recommend the parts from powerbookmedic.com and the guides on ifixit.com. If you have the time, patience and a little bit of know how, you can probably fix most problems on your out of warranty Apple products and save yourself some cash.