Early 2009 MacBook backlight inverter problem?

Question

My early 2009 MacBook is having a bit of trouble with the display backlight. Nowadays in order to get the backlight to turn on I need to fiddle around with the display until it comes on, then I have to keep it steady or it may go out again. I have traced the problem to the backlight, because when my screen blacks out if I look real closely or shine a light on it, I can see the stuff on the screen.
I know this can be fixed. I do not want to risk opening the MacBook to do so, because I could probably break something (this once happened when I attempted to repair a PowerBook G4; I wound up disabling the Wi-Fi.) I did hear from someone who had the same problem with the same model early this year, he took it to his nearest Apple Store, and even though it was no longer under warranty, it only cost $45 for the inverter to be replaced! (It also had a chipped palmrest and that helped with the fee too; mine has a somewhat chipped palmrest as well.) Does Apple really do something like that, or would I be better off with a local computer repair shop?
Plrease reply ASAP

Answer 1

The inverter regualtes the power to the back light,  i had macbook 2008 inverter break on me and attempted the fix myself.  £10 ($15) for the inverter on ebay and about an hour of my time.  The reason its a tricky fix is because the inverter is in the hinge of the screen so the whole screen needs to be removed! as i put it back together i was silently praying that i had put everything back right!
it worked fien though! i no 2 year ago when the original owner of that mac took it to be looked at they quoted her £ 150 ($230) to have it fixed so its good to see the price has come down for you!