Russell McMahon wrote: > From: "Gerhard Fiedler" >> So, Russell... question still stands: If Dell service and parts >> availability is bad, which company do you recommend for service and >> parts availability? It doesn't help me if I don't buy Dell, but don't >> buy any other either... :) > [Ken] Dell have every right to behave like this - but customers should > have the knowledge that they do. I can understand Ken, but to me this sounds more like a position of principle rather than an answer to my question. What manufacturer guarantees (or has a long enough track record of) a longer availability for spares -- that was the question (one of them, anyway). "Dell not selling spares anymore" is not a good argument; a better one would be "Dell not selling anymore X years after selling the notebook, but manufacturer Y guarantees selling parts for Z years (and stands up to it)". So far it's only been about the first part, and you haven't really said that any other manufacturer is better in this respect -- not even as a response to an explicit question. Which I take as "I don't really know". Which to me takes a lot off the edge of the argument, to the point of making it none at all. /Every/ manufacturer will, at some point, stop selling parts. It's just a question of 1) when that will happen and 2) whether there will be enough 3rd party sellers. You haven't compared Dell to any other company, just claimed that Dell sucks. Well, they all suck (because we all want to buy cheap :) -- but which one sucks less than Dell, based on actual data rather than emotional preference (which is fine, but not a good basis for a discussion about factual service quality)? > In my case I was thinking more of desktops. I agree with you on this one. But IMO notebooks is a different market: less standardized parts. I was (and am) talking exclusively about notebooks, and so was the original complaint (Inspiron 9300). > I have an Acer [...], 3 x Thinkpads, 1 x HP. For friends recently I have > bought Asus and Acers. Dwayne says there are no parts available for Acers, much less than for Dell. Thinkpads are not available anymore (at least not from the same company, which largely invalidates any past service experiences); how's the availability of spares for these? I'm not sure I'd trust HP anymore than Dell. Don't know anything about Asus. Does any of these have a guarantee of spare parts availability? Or a sufficiently good track record? Reasonable (and working) service contracts? When I buy a notebook, it's usually so I can work while OOO. If something breaks, I don't want to have to search and buy on eBay while on the road... So as long as I need the notebook, I have a service contract. It should be valid in all the places I go. Dell provides this for a reasonable price, and I factor this cost into the purchase price -- it's just what a notebook costs me. From what I heard, IBM had also a reputation for good service, but they don't do this anymore. Who else has? Any of the above? (I'm rather certain that any company that sells service contracts for their notebooks stops selling spares at some point even though they still have some in stock. Think about it. They have to fulfill their service contracts. They will eventually stop production of parts for a 5 year old notebook model. So they will have a limited stock of spares -- and at some point they will reserve the remainder for their service contracts, which they are required to fulfill, rather than selling on the free market. So I just think that you're barking up the wrong tree or no tree at all; especially without any example of a company who does it better.) > For any laptop I expect to be able to obtain RAM and drives when/if > required. All standard in the Dells I have. > I accept that the motherboard and eg keyboard and *internal* power supply > and case components are custom and I am at their mercy. As with Dell. With what notebooks the mobo or powersupply is not custom? Ever tried to fit an Acer mobo into a Thinkpad? :) I'm not saying that Dell is good. I'd just like a factual answer which other company is better with the issue you are complaining about: spare parts for notebooks. So far none came up -- which seems to say that Dell isn't worse than anyone else, maybe even better. Gerhard -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist