Cost of repairing cost for unibody?

So my new macbook fell today on the floor, it was in my backpack without it's soft case too . This was the result:



It looks worse than it is, the opening is only about 1.5 cm wide. I can't tell which part is causing it to be off center now and what part needs to get replaced. Now I can see that blue light through the crack when my macbook is closed too... What worries/bothers me the most is now that there is a crack I can hear the right fan faintly and not the left one at all. How much do you think it would cost to get this repaired? I can't stand the noise and dust or moisture could potentially get in the crack. I'm well aware that this won't be covered under warranty. God I hate aluminum!

It's more likely that the bottom panel is bent rather than the unibody (palm rest).

As a test, I would remove the bottom panel and set it on a flat surface like a table. Does it sit flat? If so, then set the machine (with the panel off) on a flat table as well and see if it sits flat.

That should help to determine where the fault lies. If it's just the bottom panel, that's pretty easy to replace (and not horribly pricey). If it's the Unibody assembly, that's another story.

Check iFixit.com for repair manuals and parts.

From what I'm seeing…it's possible that 1 or 2 of the screws that hold the bottom panel into place…may have popped out…or the part of the laptop structure that the bottom plate retaining screws screw into may have been seriously bent (or broken) when the MBP fell.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

From what I'm seeing…it's possible that 1 or 2 of the screws that hold the bottom panel into place…may have popped out…or the part of the laptop structure that the bottom plate retaining screws screw into may have been seriously bent (or broken) when the MBP fell.

- Nick

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I agree. Of course, that picture makes it hard to really tell the extent of the damage. A few more might be helpful.

cwa107 said:

I agree. Of course, that picture makes it hard to really tell the extent of the damage. A few more might be helpful.

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Yeah…just theories & guess's!

I forget exactly (I haven't opened up a unibody MBP since I upgraded my ram about 6 weeks ago)…but I'm pretty sure that the metal that the bottom plate screws "screw into" is not that "beefy". It's either threaded holes in the internal framework…or little metal tabs (aluminum...maybe 2-3mm in thickness) with a threaded hole it.

@OP: These tabs aren't super strong…and they could either be severely bent…or they may have been sheared off in the fall (this would be very costly or prohibitively costly to repair if they were sheared off). In the end (if the computer is working ok)…this may just be something that would have to be lived with.

Again…just guess's with the info so far.

- Nick

I can not speak of the damage or how to fix. I feel that having an over the head, shoulder type bag, and always trying to carry laptop in the bag is the best way to keep from damaging a laptop by dropping.

aqua397 said:

I can not speak of the damage or how to fix. I feel that having an over the head, shoulder type bag, and always trying to carry laptop in the bag is the best way to keep from damaging a laptop by dropping.

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I have a hershel supply backpack, which has a built in fleece laptop holder. I didn't have my extra case because I was in a rush for an exam yesterday morning. I bought a $100 shoulder laptop bag from the apple store for my older macbook and never used it because it killed my shoulders. Like I said the fan is my main concern... I'll just take it to an apple store after class I guess.

goleafsgo said:

... I'll just take it to an apple store after class I guess.

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Still hard to guess how much damage these is from there one photo. But prepare yourself for possibly a big number (or at least bigger than you would like) to repair things.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Still hard to guess how much damage these is from there one photo. But prepare yourself for possibly a big number (or at least bigger than you would like) to repair things.

- Nick

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They said it would be anywhere from $300-$500 (1/4 the cost of my macbook, yay) because it's the main unibody corner that is dented, the bottom is fine. They didn't say much about the fan though. The timing couldn't be worse right now... I only just bought this macbook at the start of the month and I also leave for vacation tomorrow so I don't have much money saved up! I don't see why the casing is so expensive if it's so fragile. My other macbooks in the past didn't dent or chip until I had them for over a year ugh.

goleafsgo said:

My other macbooks in the past didn't dent or chip until I had them for over a year ugh.

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Well in this case your MacBook Pro wouldn't have gotten damaged if it wasn't dropped! So comparing this MacBook Pro to previous MacBooks really isn't fair.

$300-$500 is pretty pricey…and it's only 1/4 the price on the MacBook Pro's value…only because it's a fairly new model. If it was an older model (say 2-3 years)…this repair cost would most likely be the same ($300-$500)…but with the reduced value (due to being older)…the repair cost could have been 50-60% or more of it's value.

$300-$500 is actually pretty expensive…and it must mean that something significant was damaged (not something minor).

Good luck,

- Nick