You get what you pay for. You can’t custom build a Laptop from nothing, so if you want a laptop and you want a good one, you have to pay for it.
That's just it: "YOU DON'T GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR!" My point with that line is: there's people with large pockets for whom - seems to make very little difference if they spent 100$ to replace a shorted MOSFET in a local service - or go with Dell's advice and replace the whole motherboard (which on a laptop has the CPU + GPU soldered on the board) by spending 700$. Don't even bother question Dell's expertise or ask a second opinion - just pay for it and go on with their day.
Tho - i get it, most customers - don't understand the system's components (don't understand their specifications, their quality, their actual value or how they really work). Same way i know very little about a car's engine and other internal components. Thus, i would never go to a car dealer alone - cause he could take me for a foul and sell me some crap that looks good on the outside. Instead, i would go with an experience mechanic - to check a model i'm interested and listen to his advice (over the car dealer).
And back to "you don't get what you pay for". I dealt with some Alienware products before getting acquired by Dell - and yes, those too were overpriced - but at least back then you kinda got what you pay for - as in - all the components where High End (Flagships of that time), of highest quality - quite fitting for the name Alienware. Opening one up - i was in awe (less impressive now - but back then was quite impressive to say the least). Price wise a Dell Alienware is quite similar (if not more expensive) - but opening one up - the more i dabbled with its components the more i got filled with disgust (laughing ironically while feeling bad for anyone who wasted money on that overpriced crap). It's like buying an iPhone 15 Pro (old Alienware) but getting an iPhone 15 Pro
Clone (Dell's version of Alienware) - same feeling. Dell... cut corners everywhere (far from the highest quality you'd find in the old Alienware - quite mediocre to say the least). For example, whoever payed 5000$ for the next Alieware model...
...got scammed.
Dell isn’t incompetent. Good laptops, fair price, good after service. You obviously had a bad experience that you like to push onto others. I have read this from you before.
You misunderstood me, again. Last Dell product i own was a monitor - which i RMA-it the day i bought it (back in 2006). But that has less to do with Dell and more to do - with it being the first TN monitor i ever tried and was disappointed with its viewing angles - so spent more and bought an HP with VA panel instead (Dell's equivalent was $100 extra at that time). My actual experience with Dell products is purely service wise. I lost count how many customers i had - who came to me for as 2nd opinion - after dabbling with Dell services - which more often than not recommended replacing fixable components (which is ether incompetence or a shady way of doing business). Or worse - they replaced a fully functional component (like the GPU) - while the issue was the motherboard (more exactly - a swollen capacitor). Thus, the system would start and work while idle - but shutdown while running a demanding app (when needing more power). Which tells me - they replaced the GPU, booted it up and decided it's fine - without bothering to run any stress tests (the standard in every service). Just some example from the top of my had, since it's been over a decade of all kinds of experiences - enough to write a book about similar stuff. If anything, based on this past experiences - and for quite some time now - i don't recommend brands (buy a product under this brand or anther) - i recommend products. So if a Dell product seemed reasonable enough - while being the best bang for the buck - i'd add that as an option too. Experience wise - it's just my least favorite as a brand (a brand i prefer to avoid for general recommendations). Last but not least, Dell is a worldwide corporation with fairly large number of employees. So obviously, i can't talk for every Dell employee. Maybe the ones in your area are fairly competent. But some of the shady decision Dell made (Apple like) - while selling or offering customer support - are clearly tied to enforced rules within the company (the way the upper management trained their support line). Which makes it a Dell policy.
