Chronic Problems with a T43 -- Preparing for 5th Depot Service

Question

I've had a T43 since August 2005 and, for the most part, it has been a great machine.  I appreciate IBM/Lenovo's technical support and their expedious responses to service requests, but I need my system to function properly for more than 3 months.
Previous history (this only includes major issues and depot service):
11/15/05:  Fan was making a grinding sound.  Replaced under warranty.
02/25/06:  System was freezing constantly, fan was making sounds, basically nothing worked.  System board replaced.
10/06:  Battery problems, machine wouldn't boot properly unless I took the battery out, held the power button for 30 seconds, reinserted battery and tried again. 
11/06:  System board was eventually replaced again.
05/2007:  More freezing issues, system stopped working completely.  System board replaced.
01/2008:  Optical drive replaced (CRU).
02/2008 to 03/2008:  Long series of memory errors (PFN_LIST_CORRUPT), blue screens of death, memory exceptions.  Progressed to hard disk failure, corruption of multiple files, entire files/folders were lost from the hard disk (but backed up).
03/12/08:  System board replaced.  Memory replaced.  Hard disk replaced.  Keyboard replaced.
05/01/08:  System couldn't be restored from hibernation.  Hard disk error.  (Multiple hard disk errors/corruptions are found in event viewer)
Now:  Machine runs slowly.  Simple programs take ~30 seconds to start.  Folders take ~2-3 seconds to open.  Hard drive light stays on for a long time while opening Word documents, starting programs, etc.
My warranty ends in August and I am afraid that once this hard drive problem is fixed, I am going to have another problem in a few months.  The case has been escalated with IBM customer service but the resolutions manager has assured me that my request for a replacement will more than likely be denied. (The list above is only for major issues--as the resolutions specialist said, I have called "millions of times" for other problems)
Am I being unreasonable in asking for a replacement machine?  I feel as though I have had far too many issues so far and I am not looking forward to replacing a $2,000 computer right after my warranty expires.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Message Edited by MangoGT on 06-24-2008 07:41 PM
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Answer 1

Welcome to the forum!
There's a couple of possible perspectives of evaluating the situation, and I'll try to be as impartial as humanly possible...hear me out if you will...
I've owned an A31p (remember those?) that went through two system boards and three LCD replacements during thirty months of ownership. After the second board died (the infamous GPU problem) I was considering a request for a replacement unit, it was within the first year of us having it, but I didn't. Furthermore, before selling it, I extended the warranty for two more years. The machine is still alive and has gone through another system board as well as another LCD. The price tag for original purchase, including upgraded warranty and all the bells and whistles at the time (2002) was just a tad under $4,000.
It would be fair to say that during these thirty months the aforementioned A31p had earned its weight in gold. And no, I haven't mentioned the smaller things (hard and media drives, keyboards, ) that got replaced along the way...
My question here would be: do you feel that you've gotten your money's worth out of that T43? Has it earned its keep? If you felt that you've been dealt a lemon, why haven't you asked for a replacement unit earlier? Personally, I'd bet on your request getting denied, but that's not my point.
No company that I know of will turn around and say: "You know what, we've sold you a lemon in the first place. You've made lemonade for two years. Now here's the replacement, free of charge. Enjoy."
Your choices, the way I see them:
a) Be optimistic and shell out $199.00 + tax to extend the warranty for two more years, keep the machine and hope for the best. T43s are nowhere near obsolete.
b) Be pessimistic and eBay it while it's still under warranty. T61s are cheap enough nowadays, you won't take much of a hit financially.
My $0.02 only...
Good luck with whatever you course of action you decide to take.
Cheers,
George
In daily use: R60F, R500F, T61, T410
Collecting dust: T60
Enjoying retirement: A31p, T42p,
Non-ThinkPads: Panasonic CF-31 & CF-52, HP 8760W
Starting Thursday, 08/14/2014 I'll be away from the forums until further notice. Please do NOT send private messages since I won't be able to read them. Thank you.