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Resolved Apple refused to fix iMac with faulty graphic card

H

hulk2012

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 13, 2012
336
5
I'm well pissed off. Just got back from Apple Store in the UK after waiting 25mins passed the Genius Bar appointment time to be seen..

The story is I got in 2012 maxed out 27" iMac with apparently faulty graphic card which apple admitted on their website. They run a 4 year program fixing it free of charge.
I been told that I'm apparently 4 months out of the program therefore have to pay £395+VAT for repair.

Been told I can chase the dealer I got the iMac from as they obliged to fix it under 6 year consumer law protection. Apparently company went bust..

Apple manager told me that simply because I got iMac not from them but a dealer - I entered a contract with a dealer therefore I'm out of any option apart from paying for a repair..

I cannot afford the repair at the moment due to other heavy financial commitments and don't really know what to do..

I'm gutted I will appreciate any advice or help..
 
EnderBeta

EnderBeta

macrumors 6502a
Aug 5, 2016
559
520
6 years is a really long time to demand a piece of equipment works. You will probably have to prove your machine isn't super dusty or negligence on your part wasn't a contributing factor to the failure of the machine. That said I'm very sorry, these machines are not easily replaced because of the asking price of new machines.

The 2012 is the first year of the sealed design. I'm also 99.99% sure the GPU is soldered onto the logic board.

You can buy the tools to take the LCD off and buy a replacement logic board. The board will cost you about $400 give or take.

If you are not confident in making this repair yourself you can have a repair shop do the work for you.
 
tjgonzo

tjgonzo

macrumors member
Mar 14, 2013
38
1
California
hulk2012 said:
The story is I got in 2012 maxed out 27" iMac with apparently faulty graphic card which apple admitted on their website. They run a 4 year program fixing it free of charge.
I been told that I'm apparently 4 months out of the program therefore have to pay £395+VAT for repair.
Click to expand...

I believe you are talking about the 2011 iMac with the AMD 6970m? Which was sold up to October 2012 I believe.
 
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EnderBeta

EnderBeta

macrumors 6502a
Aug 5, 2016
559
520
hulk2012 said:
That prices are quite high. Mine was 2GB card tho..
Click to expand...

The parts are not being manufactured anymore. You might even be able to use different MXM cards in the slot as long as they have the same thermal and power constraints. It's worth researching. :D

I really wish my late 2015 iMac was built the same way yours was with a socketed CPU and MXM graphics card along with replaceable memory.
 
A

apfelmann

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2007
396
129
hulk2012 said:
I'm well pissed off. Just got back from Apple Store in the UK after waiting 25mins passed the Genius Bar appointment time to be seen..

The story is I got in 2012 maxed out 27" iMac with apparently faulty graphic card which apple admitted on their website. They run a 4 year program fixing it free of charge.
I been told that I'm apparently 4 months out of the program therefore have to pay £395+VAT for repair.

Been told I can chase the dealer I got the iMac from as they obliged to fix it under 6 year consumer law protection. Apparently company went bust..

Apple manager told me that simply because I got iMac not from them but a dealer - I entered a contract with a dealer therefore I'm out of any option apart from paying for a repair..

I cannot afford the repair at the moment due to other heavy financial commitments and don't really know what to do..

I'm gutted I will appreciate any advice or help..
Click to expand...

I would call Apple Care Hotline. maybe they are allowed to make an exception and get you the free repair ...
 
H

hulk2012

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 13, 2012
336
5
EnderBeta said:
The parts are not being manufactured anymore. You might even be able to use different MXM cards in the slot as long as they have the same thermal and power constraints. It's worth researching. :D

I really wish my late 2015 iMac was built the same way yours was with a socketed CPU and MXM graphics card along with replaceable memory.
Click to expand...
What makes you say you wish?
 
EnderBeta

EnderBeta

macrumors 6502a
Aug 5, 2016
559
520
hulk2012 said:
What makes you say you wish?
Click to expand...

The new iMacs are not built like yours. The LCD is glued on to make it very difficult to get to the part in side. The CPU is still socketed but you void the warranty opening it so if you break the LCD getting to it you have to buy a new one. The GPU is soldered on and no longer a MXM board.

In addition since I bought the 1TB SSD I don't have the cable for the SATA drive. So I would have to buy that cable and have someone that know what they are doing to get to the LCD, install the cable and in order to add a second internal SSD. I'm very much considering this because another internal 1TB worth of space would give me a little more room to work with.
 
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H

hulk2012

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 13, 2012
336
5
EnderBeta said:
The new iMacs are not built like yours. The LCD is glued on to make it very difficult to get to the part in side. The CPU is still socketed but you void the warranty opening it so if you break the LCD getting to it you have to buy a new one. The GPU is soldered on and no longer a MXM board.

In addition since I bought the 1TB SSD I don't have the cable for the SATA drive. So I would have to buy that cable and have someone that know what they are doing to get to the LCD, install the cable and in order to add a second internal SSD. I'm very much considering this because another internal 1TB worth of space would give me a little more room to work with.
Click to expand...
Completely agree with you..
 
J

jeastwood1975

macrumors newbie
Jul 28, 2009
11
11
Dukinfield, Cheshire
I had this issue in December 2015, I took my iMac in to a local authorised repair centre and Apple informed them that, in their opinion, I'd had my fair use of the iMac since 2015 and they declined the repair.

I was however able to get the iMac repaired, free of charge under the warranty, by approaching Apple as a consumer rights issue - they had sold a machine with defective parts amd acknoeldeged this by issueing the recall. Apple immediately agreed with this and the iMac was repaired same day.
 
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H

hulk2012

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 13, 2012
336
5
jeastwood1975 said:
I had this issue in December 2015, I took my iMac in to a local authorised repair centre and Apple informed them that, in their opinion, I'd had my fair use of the iMac since 2015 and they declined the repair.

I was however able to get the iMac repaired, free of charge under the warranty, by approaching Apple as a consumer rights issue - they had sold a machine with defective parts amd acknoeldeged this by issueing the recall. Apple immediately agreed with this and the iMac was repaired same day.
Click to expand...
Consumer right issue apparently works between you as consumer and a trader. That's what Apple Store manager told me. Because I bought my iMac back in 2012 from an authorized apple dealer but not apple themselves - my contract is between myself and this dealer. Therefore under consumer rights yes I'm eligible for a free repair but only through the place I originally purchased iMac from... Its also apparent that the dealer is no longer in operation..
 
steve62388

steve62388

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2013
3,090
1,944
hulk2012 said:
Consumer right issue apparently works between you as consumer and a trader. That's what Apple Store manager told me. Because I bought my iMac back in 2012 from an authorized apple dealer but not apple themselves - my contract is between myself and this dealer. Therefore under consumer rights yes I'm eligible for a free repair but only through the place I originally purchased iMac from... Its also apparent that the dealer is no longer in operation..
Click to expand...

Did you pay by credit card? Because the manufacturing fault has been acknowledged by Apple you would have a strong case to hold your credit card company liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
 
H

hulk2012

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 13, 2012
336
5
steve23094 said:
Did you pay by credit card? Because the manufacturing fault has been acknowledged by Apple you would have a strong case to hold your credit card company liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
Click to expand...
It was a while ago 2012 so no I don't have this card anymore. It expired I guess sometime around 2014-2015
 
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