What should I do about my Macbook Pro?

Question

I have several issues with my MacBook Pro two years ago (some which I've had since I got it, however due to my busy work/part-time college schedule I haven't had the opportunity to get them fixed).
1) When I got my MBP I had nasty denting on the top corners of the laptop near the screen hinges (the screen was intact but the base laptop was not) and because of this there are big protruding dents coming out of the laptop above the DVI port and the MagSafe power port, and a small bump above laptop open screen button (The thing in the front that allows you to open the screen when it's shut). There is also a small open gap in the top right corner above DVI slot where you can see into the case (large enough to stick your thumbnail in with a lot of wiggle room). Because of this I've had to avoid using a second monitor at work when possible, when I can't, I've had to push down on the dent to have the DVI connector go in all the way.
2) I suspect this is because the case is dented in, but the several screws on the outside of the case keep slowly coming out and I HAVE to screw them in once every two to three weeks otherwise I fear they may come out completely.
3) Another problem I suspect might have to do with the case being damaged is the DVD drive is screwy. I have yet to burn more a few CDs on the thing, but at least when I try to play CDs/DVDs I've had massive problems with them reading properly. I rarely ever used the drive, but for my birthday this past July my friend gave me the first season of Battlestar Galactica on DVD (brand new factory sealed discs that were scratch free) and whenever I try to put it into my DVD drive even before DVD Player comes up, it ejects the DVD. I had to put it back in no less then a dozen times for some of those discs to stay in. When they did work, they would randomly skip while playing saying that there was an error while reading the discs. Also whenever I would pause and walk away for a while, just to come back and hit play again, the issue would come up again. (Note I tested the DVDs on several other laptops and DVD players and they worked perfectly fine, even in the problematic areas that my laptop said the disc had and they worked perfectly fine)
4) I recently was told about a heating issue with MBPs and I've found out that my laptop runs significantly hotter then others I've read about online (can someone please confirm this for me). While IDLE and the only things running in the background are:
-I have Dashboard permanently turned off
-iStat Menu Bar (for processor and network monitoring only)
-PeerGuardian
-GMail Notifier
-Adium
-You Control:tunes
-SMC Fan Controller (set to 3600RPM for both fans at minimum at all times)
-Wifi is turned off, plugged into Ethernet
-power plugged into the wall with brick sitting on the ground'
-Nothing else is plugged into firewire/usb slots
My laptop temperature runs at 124F ~ 127F. It's to my understanding that the average IDLE temperate at the default fanspeed of 2000RPM is around 100F (plus or minus 10F). When I try to run things such as Firefox or have other thing plugged in, the temperature stays between 127F ~ 130F. (And when I put it on my lap it rarely stays below 130F). If I run Adobe Illustrator CS3 and just have it open to a blank new file, and let it sit, the temperature spikes above 130F (I had to uninstall due to this issue, so I don't know the exact temperature), causing the fans to auto increase to combat the increased temperature.
5) The screen has several problems:
a) There are random black splotches all over the top portion of it, they were not there when I originally purchased the laptop. However over time, they grew larger and in two other areas. I've heard to this problem being called uneven lighting.
b) There's this weird spot in the middle of the screen where I randomly see a big thin red tinted splotch. At first I thought it was in my head, but while I was browsing a website with a black/gray background, it came up quite clearly (I took a screen shot of the website so I have something to reference).
c) When the lights are completely out, no matter what brightness setting my laptop is on, outside of no back light at all, after about 5 seconds or so, the screen tents to flicker in brightness. The dimmer the light setting, the less erratic the flicker, but it still happens even on the lowest setting. (I tried putting small books over my speakers where I suspect the ambient light sensors are, but that doesn't fix the situation either.)
I still have 1 year or so left on my Apple Care, I'm just wondering what I should do about getting my MBP fixed or if I should just ask for a new one, or anything else that you might recommend.

Answer 1

Hi. It seems like you have quite a few different sources of problems.
1) I have had similar dents coming out of the bottom case. I was able to restore most of the ones (like the one above the latch button in the front) by just opening it up and pinching it with pliers. However, if your case is really beat up like mine you might want a new bottom case. If Apple isn't convinced this is part of your AppleCare warranty then they will charge heaps for it, but you can also get one off eBay. Thing is, you'll have to have a very good idea of what you're doing to be able to replace it yourself. There are very good guides for this here, to see if you would be capable of performing the replacement:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Core-2-Duo/Lower-Case/115/29 /Page-1
2) I think you're probably right.
3) You could try a lens cleaner CD. It does seem like the superdrive is damaged though, but I don't think it's due to a dented case. Does it make a loud noise when the disc is spinning? If not, it might have been damaged at the moment you dented your case, but replacing the case might not fix the problem with your drive. Instead of replacing it, you might want to consider getting a faster external one instead.
4) That does seem a bit hotter than usual, considering your fan speed. I can't help you here because I don't know what could cause this, although maybe your dented case is obstructing airflow somewhere but that's a bit unlikely.
5. a) This indeed has to do with your lighting. You might need to replace the entire display if you can't replace just the backlight.
b) Did you take the screenshot using a camera, or internally on the macbook? If you used the macbook, did the red splotch turn up on the screenshot?
c) This could have to do with the lighting as well seeing as its already bad, if not it might still be the sensors.
Because of the many different problems, Apple might have to replace most of the internals (and the case) of your macbook. If Apple finds that that's not cost effective, they might give you a replacement instead. You can try to ask for one, but I can't say whether or not you will get one.