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Dells XPS are made of magic. [long story, major fuckup, 10k+ damages]

It all started in December. One morning I was late to work, drove there as fast as possible. (I live like 3 minutes away so me being late really meant *late*) Parked my car in a secluded car park, grabbed my backpack and ran to work. The car park is like 100 meters away from work so I took my feet into my hands and ran. Next thing I know my heels loose all grip while I go down a small slope and I drop on my back full force. On a sharp edged stone. With only my 1700$ XPS in it. Fuck.

I paniced, but got up and ran to work. I checked on the notebook, praying it would boot. It booted! Holy shit. I flipped the notebook and saw two small dents in the aluminum shell. I was thorougly impressed. I later discovered that it left a small shadow on the display, but given what a hit that was (I am not exactly a lightweight), impressive would be a massive understatement.

Fast forward to February, I am weighing my options to get the screen replaced maybe, as damage on my hardware (even if neglectable) triggers some sort of OCD and makes me feel bad 24/7. Also my laptop tends to shut off from time to time, looked into the Event Viewer and saw kernel panic. I figured that the battery probably still took a hit and that it drops voltage from time to time and the kernel assumes a critical situation, thus shutting off.

It stayed quite snowy in Austria up until March, so occasional snowing wasn't rare. Got out of work one day, saw it snowed a bit. Whatever. I had my moms car at the time, so I tried if it would slide a bit if I donut on the now (5pm) empty parking space. Nothing. Drove done a small hill, ABS triangle lit up red (board computer can't outbalance the snow). I drove out to the main street where everything was salted and drove along towards my house. Took a turn into my street, accelerated for a bit and then went off the gas so the car would smoothly drive along with the speed slowly degrading. So I went off the gas and noticed I was a bit to the right, no wonder, centrifugal forces.

*steers left*
"Huh seems like I need a bit more"
*car still doesnt move much*
"What the- go to the left!"
*steers left hard*
"Fuck that wall is coming closer"
*Breaks*
*car doesnt break*
"FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!"

Everything got quiet in seconds, me waking up to an open airbag, ripped pants, a hurting wrist, the radio somewhere on the ground and fumes that smellt like burning wires. I grabbed my backpack that was now somewhere on the floor instead of on the seat and ran outside, tears in my eyes and the phone on my ear calling my mom. I walked inside as she walked outside, hearing a weeping scream that I haven't heard from her since I am alive. While walking inside I noticed my backpack was wet on the bottom, my 2 litre water jug shattered when my backpack hit the dashboard. I tried to stay calm and act rational, knowing that every second counts when It comes to water damage. I hastely searched for some rice and a bag to put my laptop into, stuffed the bag with both and went outside. The car was totaled, my mom pissed and crying. And I was in shock, sad, angry and hurting.

I kept the laptop on my heater for a few days, bagged in rice. I dared to try a boot after a while and you wont believe me, it fucking booted. Even the keyboard backlight worked, just the screen was obviously broken in the back (no color distortion or bad pixel rows though!!) and the aluminum shell had a dent on the front. I talked with Dell Support a few days later, asking if it would be ok to open the XPS up so I could drain all of the water. She said yes thats fine, as long as I dont touch anything or screw around with it.

She said I can send it in and get it checked, but the pickup and analysis will cost 150$ and I can go from there.

I sent it in and estimated that, because battery, screen and other things probably needed changing, it will be around 900$.

Got a call a few weeks later:

"Hello beggarboy, the repair team reported back to us and said that they will have to replace everything, which will be 1700$."

"Fuck... Buying a new one is cheaper.."

"Yeah I know I am sorry about that, I can offer you a voucher so you can buy a new one for 250$ off if you would prefer that"

"Sorry but I will need some time to consider"

"I understand."

The agent clearly noticed I was bummed about it.

After going back and forth what to do I got another call a few days later.

"Hello beggarboy, we talked a few days ago. I have good news"

"Hello, yes, speak up?"

"I was able to get a special offer for you after putting in a few words..."

The next thing she said seemed unreal to me.

She was able to cut 600$ (!!!), making the new offer 1100$, instead of 1700$ or a new one for 1500$. I figured the reason she probably did that was because I am always very polite with support members. Always.

My XPS is back and healty again.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Dells XPS are made of magic.

Comments
  • 14
    Wow.
    That really is impressive
  • 2
    Crap. They're definitely made of magic. Soo I should buy an XPS over MacBook Pro?
  • 1
    @suprano yes, totally!
  • 0
    Rice does not help.... Your water jug must have been filtered water.

    I'm sitting on (not literally) a HP spectre with a cracked screen and I'm looking at $1600 to replace it

    I think it's insured though? So...
  • 1
    Wow. How are you now?😶

    I don't know about xps but inspiron are surely made of shit. My inspiron had a problem with its charger (it is not recognized) and I called up support because I still had warranty. They asked me to run the hardware tests and I patiently waited for a whole hour. Then since the tests were okay, they concluded charging port is damaged due to wear and tear and I have to get my motherboard replaced and it won't be in warranty because wear and tear is not covered.

    I recall feeling physically pained at their irrationality. Despite my warranty they refused to send anyone for a physical examination and sticked to their conclusion.
  • 1
    The verdict is dells customer support is fantastic! Right?
  • 1
    I also love my XPS such a great device line! Really happy to have invested into one, ever happier after reading your story :)
  • 1
    @Freytag I am planning to buy the xps. Mostly for designing and coding , should i go for it then?
  • 0
    @suprano @AdityaD yes. definitely.
  • 5
    @dr-ant Two months later I have no remaining injuries. The one that hurt the most was definitely my wrist. The adrenaline jolt helped hiding the injuries, but after the adrenaline went away I noticed that my pants were actually torn at my knee and that my wrist hurt like a bitch upon the slightest touch. I am still pretty happy I was driving a Mercedes B Class and not just any other car. My dad and uncle both said I had to go into that wall at 50 / 60kmh minimum given how worked in the front was. A friend of my cousin said later on that my uncle probably has the only wall in my city that would take such a hit with just a few scratches. (He's a master-builder)

    Looking at it post it was the best option. My other three options would've been: the field next to our house (steep slope before so definitely wouldve caught air),
    the trench between our house and my uncles,
    or my uncles house wall.

    I hit the wall with such a force that it engraved the cars license plate in the concrete wall.
  • 0
    @beggarboy wow.
    I can imagine it in vividly and I'm amazed (and glad) you made out of it like you did. Mercedes is the real hero here.
  • 0
    Is Game Development possible on macbook air?
  • 0
    I just did a screen replacement of an XPS yesterday. The laptop had been dropped a few times and there was a bleeding crack from bottom left to top right. Dell wanted something like $600 to replace it and the laptop would need to be sent if for several weeks. I decided to just buy the screen online and replace it myself. Took me an hour to do and the screen works perfectly.

    I don't personally use the XPS, but the specs tell me it's nice, I've got an Inspiron and it's smooth as butter 90% of the time.
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