Plastic monitor casing cracking - Should I be worried?

[IJM]

I've had my Macbook Pro for a little ove 3 years now, and the thing still runs great. The only problem is it's starting to show its age. About a week ago I noticed a crack on the plastic around the monitor. It was nothing serious, until the other side cracked, as well. Then the bottom of the casing, where the monitor meets the keyboard area, began to crack, exposing the innards. Once this last crack happened, I was unable to completely close the monitor all the way. The laptop goes to sleep when I shut the monitor, but it won't lock.

As of now the monitor can still stand upright, and the actual screen has no issues at all, it's purely cosmetic. I'm putting masking tape on the monitor for now just so it covers the cracks. But I'm wondering if this could lead to further complications with the screen down the road, and I'd like to address this issue early on before it gets worse.

I'm also wondering if there's anything I can do to fix it myself, or if any of you have an idea of what it would cost to fix it. The closest Apple Store to me is pretty far away, and I'm really strapped for cash, so spending top dollar on repairs for a laptop with an expired warranty isn't in my best interest now. Any help is greatly appreciated!

I've included some photos of the damages below. The first 2 are of the original cracks around the screen casing. The third photo is of the back of the laptop, where the monitor meets the base. And the fourth is a photo showing the laptop closed, with a giant gap between where the screen and base should lock.

 

[chscag]

The only thing I would suggest - and this assumes you're handy with taking things apart... is to look for an exact same model MBP as yours on eBay. One that's being sold for parts and is inoperable. If it's cheap enough, buy it and use the case parts from it to replace yours.

Instructions for replacing the case can be found at iFixit: The free repair manual. I honestly don't know how much it would cost you to have it done by a qualified tech at Apple but I'm sure you can do the job yourself including parts for much less.

The other option is to live with it the way it is until you can afford to purchase a new machine.

 

[IJM]

Thanks a lot, chscag! Yeah, I called my local Apple Store, as well as Applecare, and they all just said make a Genius Bar appointment. I wish there was a store closer to me, but I guess I'll have to suck it up and head in for an appraisal.

As of now I'm trying to live with the cracked casing, but the monitor now won't even stand up on its own. I have to prop up something behind it to be able to see it. And it's too bad, everything else on the laptop works fine.

If the estimated repair costs are too much, I'm thinking of just cutting my losses and buying a new laptop. My warantee has expired, and who knows what may go next, so it might be cheaper just to get a new laptop.

 

[duncanbrodie1]

I would also probably just buy a new laptop. But don't give up on this one. Having a new one may give you the freedom to try the repair without worrying about making it worse.
At the very least it could just become a dedicated desktop machine.

 

[IJM]

I would also probably just buy a new laptop. But don't give up on this one. Having a new one may give you the freedom to try the repair without worrying about making it worse.
At the very least it could just become a dedicated desktop machine.

Yeah, I'm debating about whether or not to get a new laptop. As of now the casing is falling apart even more, but I'm keeping it taped together with duct tape. It's working for now, but the monitor problem is more of an annoyance. The laptop still works perfectly fine, monitor included, so until I save up more I'll probably just have to do routine tapings.