Macbook screen broken - suggestions ?

Hi, my son managed to have his 9 month old macbook (13 in) fall off the desk at school and - surpise, the screen is now substantially cracked. It will work for a bit more, but long term it is a goner and needs replacement.

I have heard rumours of $ 1000 bills attached to the repair, which is similar to total replacement cost. If this is true, this thing is more or less just a disposable computer. (so much for the insurance plan)

If it really is that much, it is the last mac I am buying.

Anyway, I could use some suggestions on where / how to get it fixed for under $ 500 if possible.

Thanks

HarryN

maybe a DIY solution?

http://www.screentekinc.com/lcd-removal-instructions_en,macbook.shtml

Should not be a problem. I think it's about $400 at mac.

Take out a PIP (Personal Insurance Policy) with your home insurance provider (i.e. Mercury, State Farm) on your tech gear. I am a photographer with my MacBook Pro, camera gear, electronics all insured (over $10k of gear) and it costs me $60 per year through State Farm. The insurance covers accidental damage, theft, fire, water damage, loss, ANYTHING. I bought the AppleCare warranty from Apple because if my software stops working, or 1 component stops working, I don't want a new computer, I want MY computer fixed! Plus their customer service is the best in the business....

It should still be covered under Applecare.

You may want to check out this site:
http://www.ifixit.com/Categories/MacBook-13-Inch/86
Good luck.

Yeah -- iFixit. Even if you have AppleCare it only covers manufacturer faults, now & ever, but in the way olden days that was pretty flexy and your Mac Plus or Quadra could be fixed even if had a few dings, but these days if the product has signs of having been dropped or other similar hazards it takes some very friendly talking or a product recall to get a Mac fixed under AppleCare that looks like it might have gotten the problem because it was dropped.

I've used iFixit for some things. The replacement parts have been new and the instructions can't be better. You can walk through the instructions before buying the part to see if you feel up to the task.

Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt to ask Apple first, since the MacBook is still in its first year.

Thank you for the suggestions. We will of course ask Apple, but they are pretty routinely turning this down as a warranty repair. I cannot say I blame them, but I am not thrilled about the situation either.

I think one of the more interesting aspects of Apple enticing more customers to "casually" use their laptops in their daily life is more breakage. People are used to cell phones being pretty tough and dropping one is not usually a big deal - at least for the Nokia and Motorola's I have used.

In any event, cracked macbook screen repair seems to be a MAJOR business. Interestingly, the older imacs seem to have been much tougher based on my kid's observations around school

I am not sure why I asked for advice here first, as the answer only took a few seconds with a dogpile search - just an addiction to this forum I guess.

Anyway, of the many places out there to do this service, a place called IresQ also does this on many Apple products is also a good lead . http://www.iresq.com/ and will do the complete repair for around $ 250 with shipping.

BTW - don't drop your metal macbook :shakehead - the same screen repair cost is about $ 750 even in the aftermarket world.

I did a quick check for a similar repair cost for (if needed) on my HP 6515b business laptop - looks like about 20 % less for a bigger screen. I guess that is the nature of the beast.