So earlier this year, I was trying to write my dissertation when my Acer broke down. After some research on the internet, I found that it was a common problem that most Acer Aspire S3 have (the screen turns white when opened at 90 degrees) and plus machines break down.
I thought I was eligible for a warranty because I had been using the laptop for just about 7months, but to my horror I found that it had already been registered to someone else and the warranty was up. Thing is, I remember registering this same serial number with Acer on the internet when the laptop was bought (I wasn’t told that it was already registered).
I was therefore resigned to having it repaired at a cost to me. Acer has 2 partners in Ghana; Redington and Compudist.
I headed off to Redington and was asked to leave the laptop for an appraisal after which ‘I would be called’ (I insisted on being called because I didn’t have a laptop so couldn’t check my mail). I didn’t receive the call, I went back the next day to enquire; guess what? They sent the mail. I was told my laptop had ‘a burnt chip in the motherboard’ and the whole board would have to be replaced, at this I told the technician that the laptop works fine when it is connected to a plasma TV so it can’t be the motherboard at which he quickly replied that ‘Oh, then it is the screen and it would cost 1,384GHC’.
I felt that was too much for a laptop that was bought at 1,200GHC and it didn’t make any type of sense to pay over the retail price when I can buy a brand-new notebook at the same price.
So, I continued my search to Compudist, where I was told that I had a damaged LCD FLAT CABLE that Acer doesn’t sell alone (it comes with the screen). So I would have to purchase a new screen which would cost over 1,000GHC. I was advised to discard the laptop and buy a new one that wasn’t Acer. In fact, I was informed that Compudist have stopped dealing in Acer products because of the troubles they get from their customers after making sales.
Speaking to an insider at Compudist he asked me ‘why I bought an Acer?’. I replied that it was a gift at which he said Acer is all about affordability and beautiful designs not durability. He added that Acer hopes at providing people with their first laptops so that when they decide to buy a new laptop they remember their first laptop and buy an Acer again.
I don’t understand why Acer won’t make only the LCD cable solely available as it seems to be the part that breaks down often on the Aspire S3.
I finally had only that cord in the laptop replaced at 250GHC at Rocket-Tech. The advice from the people at Rocket-Tech was to sell it quickly and get something more durable.
If Acer won’t make spare parts available at a reasonable cost in Ghana what’s the point in wasting your ‘hard earned third world country money’ on their products?
P. S. – I STILL HAVE ALL MY RECEIPTS AND DOCUMENTS FROM THIS EPISODE.