I bought a Dell laptop after my old HP got knocked off the couch and had the case shattered. That was less than 3 years ago. A couple of months ago I had to replace the keyboard and now the touchpad is failing. I hunted online for a touchpad but there were none to be found. So, I called Dell replacement parts and I got transferred all over creation. First all they would tell me is that my laptop was no longer under warranty. Really? As if I didn't know how old it was and I had told the person I first spoke to that I wanted to buy a part. It took having my call transferred 3 times before they finally sent me to someone who could sell me a part.
Then the guy I'm talking is barely understandable because his accent is so thick. And he starts asking me again and again if I had dropped my laptop. I hadn't, but what does that have to do with me just wanting to buy a part? Nothing that I can see. So, I spend a half hour talking to this guy before he will deign to sell me a touchpad. The last 5 minutes are spent confirming that he is sending me a palmrest with a touchpad for the palmrest is available with and without a touchpad. The very last thing I ask him is he is sure the palmrest assembly includes the touchpad. He tells me yes. It includes the touchpad. He tells me the part will arrive in 2 days. Well, it arrives 8 days later. I open the box, shut down my laptop and take it apart so I can install the new palmrest and touchpad assembly, then open up the plastic bag it is in and when I pull it out, no touchpad. This is the palmrest assembly minus the touchpad. I spent 5 minutes verifying that the part he was selling me included the touchpad and then don't get one.
The story gets better from there. I call the number the guy who sold me the part gave me and someone else answers the phone. I ask for the guy by name and I'm told they cannot transfer phone calls internally, and that I have to email the guy. So, I email him. No response for 3 days and then he calls when I'm out of the house and leaves a message that I can't understand so I email him again. No response now for another 3 days. So, it looks like I'm out for both the part and the shipping as Dell is not going to respond.
I just ordered a trackball from Amazon, so now I'm out twice the cost of what I had to pay Dell, and it will be several days before I get my trackball.
Never again will I ever buy anything from Dell. They made it a major chore just to buy a part from them, and then when they send me the wrong part stonewall me on taking care of the problem. I spent a couple of decades in a job in which I dealt with the public every day. I never treated one of the customers I dealt with like Dell has dealt with me. If I live long enough to have to buy another laptop you can bet big bucks it will not be a Dell. I'll go back to HP as that laptop was 7 years old when it got destroyed, and I had never had to replace a single part on it. Not being able to find a touchpad online says Dell has had these things fail in very large numbers as site after site had the part number but listed them as out of stock. Junk computers, junk parts, and lousy service. I guess that's what Dell wants to be known for.
One last thing.... The guy who sold me the part kept telling me that he was going to have a Dell service technician call me to set up a service call to install the part. I had to tell him no 3 or 4 times before he would stop, and it was plain that he was not happy that I was going to install the part myself. It was high pressure sales and then, as far as I'm concerned, deliberately sending me the wrong part in retaliation for not wanting to pay Dell to install the part.
Then the guy I'm talking is barely understandable because his accent is so thick. And he starts asking me again and again if I had dropped my laptop. I hadn't, but what does that have to do with me just wanting to buy a part? Nothing that I can see. So, I spend a half hour talking to this guy before he will deign to sell me a touchpad. The last 5 minutes are spent confirming that he is sending me a palmrest with a touchpad for the palmrest is available with and without a touchpad. The very last thing I ask him is he is sure the palmrest assembly includes the touchpad. He tells me yes. It includes the touchpad. He tells me the part will arrive in 2 days. Well, it arrives 8 days later. I open the box, shut down my laptop and take it apart so I can install the new palmrest and touchpad assembly, then open up the plastic bag it is in and when I pull it out, no touchpad. This is the palmrest assembly minus the touchpad. I spent 5 minutes verifying that the part he was selling me included the touchpad and then don't get one.
The story gets better from there. I call the number the guy who sold me the part gave me and someone else answers the phone. I ask for the guy by name and I'm told they cannot transfer phone calls internally, and that I have to email the guy. So, I email him. No response for 3 days and then he calls when I'm out of the house and leaves a message that I can't understand so I email him again. No response now for another 3 days. So, it looks like I'm out for both the part and the shipping as Dell is not going to respond.
I just ordered a trackball from Amazon, so now I'm out twice the cost of what I had to pay Dell, and it will be several days before I get my trackball.
Never again will I ever buy anything from Dell. They made it a major chore just to buy a part from them, and then when they send me the wrong part stonewall me on taking care of the problem. I spent a couple of decades in a job in which I dealt with the public every day. I never treated one of the customers I dealt with like Dell has dealt with me. If I live long enough to have to buy another laptop you can bet big bucks it will not be a Dell. I'll go back to HP as that laptop was 7 years old when it got destroyed, and I had never had to replace a single part on it. Not being able to find a touchpad online says Dell has had these things fail in very large numbers as site after site had the part number but listed them as out of stock. Junk computers, junk parts, and lousy service. I guess that's what Dell wants to be known for.
One last thing.... The guy who sold me the part kept telling me that he was going to have a Dell service technician call me to set up a service call to install the part. I had to tell him no 3 or 4 times before he would stop, and it was plain that he was not happy that I was going to install the part myself. It was high pressure sales and then, as far as I'm concerned, deliberately sending me the wrong part in retaliation for not wanting to pay Dell to install the part.
It sounds like you are better off just building your own. I do understand and share your frustration with Dell, however. Their customer service does not match up to their overpriced computers.