tkrow21 Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 First off, I know that people repair computers for a living, and that it's only fair that they have to charge prices, but isn't this example a bit ridiculous? My brother has a laptop, and he dropped it, right where the power connector is. The casing broke off and the wire was exposed. It worked fine, of course, but after a few months, all the tugging on the wire ripped it. I didn't want to be responsible for repairing the laptop, in case anything went wrong, so I went with him to a computer repair shop, thinking it'd be $30 max to solder the wire back together or replace it. The guy working there told me it would be $60 to open the laptop and examine the problem (this price doesn't include fixing it)... after I told him what the problem was. I walked out of the store, took the laptop home, took it apart in 20 minutes, checked out the part number of the wire, bought a replacement on E-bay for $15, and when it came in, I superglued the connector to the edge of the laptop so it wouldn't be tugged at again. It took me 20 minutes and $15 (plus 1 dollar and something cents for superglue). Do you think it's ridiculous that someone would charge $60 to unscrew the back of the laptop and look at a wire, especially after being informed what the problem was? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonerboy779 Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 Not really because these workers need to put there warranty on work. So for some cheap part its not worth it for them to work on it if they dont charge the inspection fees. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ir_cow Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) not really, that guy was cheap. i make bank when i do repairs for people and i try to avoid doing laptops because they are so hard to put back together. I think Dell is the easiest one compared to Sony or HP. but if you run a legit business you have to offer a warranty which is part of what is put on the customer. the other half is just BS, because its the same with cars if you don't know what you are personally doing someone is going to rip you off. comon Best Buy charges $70 an hour for virus repair and they just put a auto-boot cd in lol. Edited August 13, 2011 by hornybluecow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathmineral Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 I've seen worse prices than that. Doing it yourself will always be the cheaper option pretty much though, personally I work really well with laptops, I can typically replace the motherboard in one without much trouble in about 30-45 minutes depending on the laptop. Many people, even tech savvy people, can't do laptops, laptop repair is considered more difficult than normal computer towers. However what it usually comes down to is luxury, I'm not sure how other PC businesses look at it but it's my belief that I'm not simply there to fix the problem but more importantly to make the customer happy, and many people are happy to buy their happiness. I know that sounds a little bit greedy or something but it's the truth, our prices are actually the cheapest in town but on a personal level, as someone that is tech savvy as well as a fan of bargain hunting, I wouldn't feel comfortable paying the kind of prices we charge for things. Like others are saying, that price isn't very unreasonable compared to what you might be paying at a Best Buy, and personally I don't find Best Buy takes great care in hiring people, many times when I've been in a Best Buy, they couldn't tell me the basics of many different electronics, that being computers, audio equipment, TVs, or even gaming consoles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCcomputers29 Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 do it yourself, lesson learnt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCcomputers29 Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 on thursday i opened my laptop and replaced the thermal paste in less than an hour since it was overheating Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeiilll Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 DIY is the best if you can do the work. I try to be fair to people when I do repairs but I live an hour and a half away from the closest city to find any real stores. It is at least a half hour drive to the closest town here so I have to incorporate travel time into my repair prices on jobs as well. Some people will really balk at travel time but there is nothing I can do expecially with the price of gas as is and climbing. On the bright side though I do get a lot of repairs from people who try the DIY route and REALLY screw up things. I am apt to charge them more just for stupidity especially if the repair is something that could have been avoided by a simple phone call. Or the fun when you get a laptop that has obvious signs of someone prying the poor thing open and then they have the gall to try and say that I did it (yes this really happens) !!! So sometimes the pricing will seem high, but repair people have to "CYA" to make anything now days. I have to buy a lot of programs, hardware, and tools to be able to do the job right and that stuff has to come from somewhere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 not really, that guy was cheap. i make bank when i do repairs for people and i try to avoid doing laptops because they are so hard to put back together. I think Dell is the easiest one compared to Sony or HP. True. I won't even bother with an IBM Thinkpad unless it's something easy. If you have to take it fully apart you might as well throw the POS away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporX Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 Have you looked at what Plumbers charge lately? Seriously, while ti may not seem so to us a computer tech has a knowledge most people do not have and you pay for using that knowledge just like your auto mechanic. At the end of the day repairing a PC is becoming expensive, especially when we start looking at $300 PCs. The PC is becoming like the razor, disposable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeSoprano Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 This fellow was reasonable, just because you told him what was wrong dose not mean it was the problem, too many people think they know the problem and when the tech takesit apart it is a mb problem not a simple solder job.He was doing the right thing by covering his butt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 When you take it in you ARE paying the overhead and warranty for the repair.... When you do it yourself you avoid all that..... Its nice to find someone doing it out of their home who doesnt have to pay alot of overhead because then you get a nice price. You take it to a legit repair shop and they must make enough money to cover the rent, utilities and wages...all that goes into the bottom line of the repair and inflates the price quite a bit. The busier they are and the more workers they have sometimes the overhead is less than if it a busy guy and only himself as he cant fix enough product to successfully lower his overhead enough to remain competitive.... 60.00 sounded reasonable...my dude charges 80.00 to crack anything electronic open and then the repair from there. I take it to him when its something I dont want to do...like Soldering.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zackhaf Posted August 13, 2011 Posted August 13, 2011 Like others are saying, that price isn't very unreasonable compared to what you might be paying at a Best Buy, and personally I don't find Best Buy takes great care in hiring people, many times when I've been in a Best Buy, they couldn't tell me the basics of many different electronics, that being computers, audio equipment, TVs, or even gaming consoles. I went to best buy with a hard drive problem, told the geek squad what the problem was, all the error codes, etc.. (trying to load up a win 7 upgrade on a fresh hard drive) and the guy plugged it in and sat there pressing the RESET button, and then said it would cost $75 to LOOK AT WHY IT WASN'T STARTING UP!!!!! Needless to say, I'm never going there again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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