Comments on: Never buy the Warranty: Repair it yourself

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:53:38 +0000

I came across this page by chance and love the sentiment. I work in the third world, and own a Macbook Pro that I have (by necessity) repaired myself many times. I’ve replaced one of the fans, the hard drive, DVD drive, LCD panel and backlight control board. As a result it has survived two years in a hot dusty environment, plus a car crash that wrote off the vehicle it was in!

Thanks for posting… and for the great photos :) Now I think I might just go and read some more of your blog.

By: ComputerWerks

ComputerWerks — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:12:16 +0000

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By: Justin Ryan

Justin Ryan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:07:58 +0000

Hey Lance,

Loved the pics, story and sentiment. We do live in such a throw away society now, its easier to replace than just fix stuff. Luckily for me my dad was an engineer so taught us all the fun you can have pulling stuff apart and fixing it, in some cases better than the original.

You heading down to the Burt Munroe Challenge later this month as would love to catch up for a coffee. J

By: Lance Wiggs

Lance Wiggs — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:02:54 +0000

Not for me – I didn’t do a diary, there have been plenty of others that have written books and I’d rather spend the time on the next trip. Gareth and Jo are remarkably efficient at producing books and videos of their trips – but they have to work hard at it

By: Adam J

Adam J — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:50:23 +0000

I’ve just been reading a few of Gareth and Jo Morgans motocycle tour books. ‘Bout time for you to write one about your adventures Lance?

By: Lance Wiggs

Lance Wiggs — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:25:19 +0000

Yup the Dell screen was very tricky to get apart and back together (I wish I had the photos), but I had plenty of time and patience.

By: Eric Crampton

Eric Crampton — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:15:50 +0000

I’d make one amendment to your suggestion: never buy the warranty BUT ALWAYS ASK ITS PRICE. The price of the warranty should be the upper bound of your expected repair bill over the period of the warranty. If the car dealer will only sell you a one-year warranty for a high price, then you probably want neither the warranty nor the car.

By: Glen Barnes

Glen Barnes — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:58:01 +0000

Embarrassing but true story... I have a 12 inch PowerBook which did me well for years until one of the display parts went bung. The cost for a replacement part was only $80 and I thought I would replace it myself. Lets just say that if iFixtIt doesn't even have instructions replacing the part you should probably leave it to the experts. 3 screws left over and a non-working laptop later I sheepishly took it into a different store to get it fixed. On a more positive note a mate and I did a 3 month stint in Mexico and the US in an old Chevy Van. Replacing your own oil filters and other basic maintenance turned out to be enjoyable, cheap and quite satisfying.

By: Thomas Beagle

Thomas Beagle — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:28:44 +0000

“I have no excuse for this photographic journey through prior travels while discussing warranties.”

Don’t apologise. The photographs illustrated the story and were cool. After all, what’s the point of taking photos if no one ever looks at them?