Apple Powerbook G4 Logic Board problem

[Drinkwaters]

I have owned my G4 since May 04 and had to install a new hard drive just under the three year Apple care warranty. Transfered data, everything fine except it had been slow since, plus some other little annoyances but I let them slide. About two weeks ago, I booted up and got a blank screen but the hard drive was spinning, I could hear it. Well after a few attempts of force quitting and restarting, I finally got up and running and it worked fine for two days and it started again to no avail.
I called Apple Care and spoke with one of their techs and he said that he had never encountered this problem but said it could now possibly be my Logic Board and that I should probably visit an Apple store and see a Mac Genius. Well, I did this and after he had a few private consultations with other associates, they determined that it was probably the Logic Board and that it would cost upward of a Thousand dollars to repair.
I needed the thing to work right away for we had an event that I needed info for and could not go without it for an extended period of time, they told me about a week to fix.
He stated that for about the same amount of money, I could get a new computer and resell my G4 after I had a secondary repair service fix it. I went this route and bought a MacBook with data transfer included. Had it the next day.
Well, hear is the interesting part. Yesterday, I started searching the web for remedies to fix my G4 and started to discover that this was not an isolated problem and that it had been occurring since 2003 with G3's and then G4's. Apple had so many complaints that they extended a special warranty program for Logic Board failure which expired in 2007. It was so bad that either Norway or Denmark (can't at this remember which ) filed a class action suit against Apple. There was a simple remedy to fix this by adding a shim against the Logic Board and the shell of the computer. Many users found this to be the case.
Now, WTF, how can they lie like they did to me at Tech Support and then again at the Genius Bar. Not one word about the problematic PowerBook. I'll admit, I'm no computer genius but a loyal customer who has purchased many things from them and I'm now feeling **** on and distrust the entire organization. I'm not the only one who feels this way. If your an Apple owner, you should visit some of the online help sites and see for yourself what's going on with this problem.
I called Apple Care again yesterday and spoke with a Tech guy who stated to me that I was fed the wrong info from the start and that I should have been made aware of the problem. He then stated that he didn't have the authority to help me and suggested that I speak with his supervisor which will take place today.
I think that they are going to do something but what would you want them to do ?
Fix my old one for free, return this one for full credit. I need some feed back from anyone who might have been here or has had this problem.
Thanks!

Gary

 

[tiger02]

Hey Gary,

1. Apple, through anecdotal evidence, is very good about assuaging customers who have been screwed by low-level customer service. Keep pushing it up the chain and you might find yourself with a new MBP equivalent to your PB, with or without having to exchange the MB.

2. I've never understood the idea of blaming the organization as a whole after getting bad info from a disgruntled $5/hr employee. You had a bad experience; let them try to fix it before totally turning against them.

Cheers
Tom

 

[Brian SD]

I had a logic board replacement on my MBP just a few days ago. Exact same issue as you - I could even access and control my computer through remote desktop, but hte screen on my computer is black. Luckily the apple service people fixed it up within about 2 days time and I have it back and working just fine.

 

[Drinkwaters]

Well, I just got off the phone with a Very accommodating young lady in Customer Relations who is going to replace the Logic Board free of charge. Sort of bitter sweet because I will now own two computers and only need one. So, the G4 might be up for sale if anyone is interested.
I felt she understood that my concern and frustration was that there was no disclosure when there was so much information out there on this issue. Hopefully, I have made it clear to them that they must be forthright with their customers.

Gary

 

[whodini]

I've owned Apple computers for close to 20 years and have found what tiger said to be true: if you push up the chain a little, Apple can be your best friend. I had similar LB problem on a desktop about 10 years ago. The LB died past warranty but I called because the problem began while I was still covered. At first they were only going to charge me $200 out of $600 to fix it but they told me to call back the next week to confirm. When I did so, they had gotten rid of the original guy I talked to, bumped me to some manager, and was told that everything would be replaced for free.

Tech support can be a bit of a pain at times but I've always been super satisfied with the end result.