How to choose a good laptop repair shop?
Jun. 1st, 2009 01:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciphergothOK, looks like we need to put both Toshiba R500s in for repair. One repair place has quoted us between £90-£120 for a fix, based on my description of the fault.
However, I can't seem to find a way to find out whether this or any other repair place is any good, and I worry that if when they've got their hands on our laptops they phone us back and say the repair will be more expensive, I'll be left in something of a bind: should I just grumble and pay up guessing that anywhere else would also charge the same, or do I treat it like a bait and switch and try a second repair shop about which I know as little as the first?
So, can anyone recommend a laptop repair place in London, or failing that, can anyone think of what might be a way to pick a good one?
However, I can't seem to find a way to find out whether this or any other repair place is any good, and I worry that if when they've got their hands on our laptops they phone us back and say the repair will be more expensive, I'll be left in something of a bind: should I just grumble and pay up guessing that anywhere else would also charge the same, or do I treat it like a bait and switch and try a second repair shop about which I know as little as the first?
So, can anyone recommend a laptop repair place in London, or failing that, can anyone think of what might be a way to pick a good one?
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-01 02:02 pm (UTC)As far as repair shops go, once you find one I suggest you get them to give you a binding price for an estimate -- e.g. £25 to tell you exactly what's wrong wiht the laptop and how much it will cost to fix. Then if their estimate's too high you can cart the box around other shops and ask for quotes against the first shop's repair spec. (Yes, it's a pain, but it tends to keep them honest.)
Might also be worth schlepping them to Dabs in person, rather than trying to go via their website. I'd trust Toshiba to do the job properly over J. Random Repair Guy.
As a longer-term note, I had a poke at an R500 when I first saw one, and decided then and there that I wouldn't touch one with a barge-pole; the case flexes worse than anything I've seen since the old Mac Powerbook Duos (which flexed so much that the battery contacts tended to lose contact if you held them while they were running, resulting in much wailing and gnashing of teeth). Yes, they're great on spec, but cases made out of limp rubber bands don't play well with printed circuit boards.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-01 07:01 pm (UTC)If you go with Toshiba for the repair, they will give you a fixed price including a warranty.. But my guess is it would be around £130-£150.
There are other places online that do good repair work.. Eg. http://www.topazsupport.co.uk/