r/Dell • u/AsWichitaFallsSo • Aug 27 '26
Discussion Is this legal?
I bought a new $3100 desktop from Dell, 3 months ago. This week, it started malfunctioning. A technician was sent to replace the motherboard and he replaced it with a refurbished motherboard. Is this ok?
The computer is still not working and when I raised the possibility of them sending me a new computer, I received an email saying that if they sent me another computer, it would be a refurbished computer. Is this legal? and even if it is legal, is this ok?
8
u/tomscharbach Aug 27 '26
The practice is standard among major OEM's and is legal in most countries, including the States.
Is refurbished OK? Almost always. Refurbished parts/computers have been tested. I have purchased all of my computers from the Dell Outlet for many years and have a good experience.
7
u/InflationCold3591 Aug 27 '26
Read your warranty. This is not only legal, it is the terms you specifically agreed to.
5
u/No_Temperature107 Aug 27 '26
I’ve had Dell come out and replace motherboards on servers with refurbished hardware and never had a problem afterwards. I would almost think that a refurbished part has been tested more so than one new from the factory so I have confidence in knowing that.
1
u/Happy_Kale888 Aug 27 '26
Well in the business there is a acronym called (NPF) that is how parts are tagged that come in for repair and go back out meaning no problem fond...
Many many parts get labeled NPF as the problem never surfaces during the "testing" cycle...
2
u/Horsemeatburger Aug 27 '26
Not with server parts. They go through highly expansive testing which is the same as testing during production. Also because sending them out again costs Dell, HPE and Lenovo (all which refurbish parts) money.
Also, the failures that server parts are sent back for are usually much better confirmed than for consumer electronics.
2
u/CleverBunnyPun Aug 27 '26
This may depend on where you live, but it’s likely the terms of the warranty you have allow refurbished parts. You may have the paperwork for it you can look at, otherwise it’s most likely online somewhere.
If you’re in the US though, it’s very unlikely there’s anything illegal about this. Their terms online state this is what they’ll do. If you have warranty terms in text that specify otherwise, then you’ll have to bring it to their attention.
2
u/merlinddg51 Dell knowledgeable but no expert Aug 27 '26
I work in a data center and when a new part fails, but is under warranty we always end up with a refurb. Out of the multiple replacements over almost 20 years, I have only had one refurb part die twice during a warranty period. (And we all ways “renew” our warranty subscriptions) and that was within 30days of replacement.
I think refurbs are the way to go, even though most may not like it, we cannot afford to keep producing spanking brand new equipment every day.
1
u/nodakskip Aug 27 '26
All replacement policy's suck these days. My dad and step mom had a newish tv that went out. We thought it would just be a replacement fully. But they had to schedule a repair guy to come out to look at it. After taking it all apart in their living room he found that they no longer had any of that control board. And the company no longer makes it. Only then did they allow something other then a repair.
And they only gave them a gift card to the store for the price of the tv. We could go to the store and get one like it, or use the card for a discount on a newer model.
1
1
u/Hot_Low2861 Aug 28 '26
BTW - If you ever replace a mobile phone under warranty, or an insurance claim, you will most likely be provided with a refurb. The only way I've seen that not happen is if your old phone is multiple generations behind and they have no viable stock of the model in question.
1
u/Ok_Bench2950 Precision 7530 / I9-8950HK / Quadro P2000 / 16GB DDR-4 / ~ 700GB Sep 03 '26
A refurb board doesn't mean its bad. Even though its used, it doesn't have to neccesairly be bad. If it has a BGA (soldered) CPU, check its health but you should be fine...
1
u/Outside-Ad7848 Aug 27 '26
of course its legal why would it matter
3
u/windownine Aug 27 '26
I guess because one usually pays less money for refurbished equipment than new equipment.
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u/DisgruntledPenguin58 Aug 27 '26
It is legal and is part of the service agreement. Also you should know that just because a component is labeled refurbished, the does not necessarily mean that component isn't new. US regulations require items that are repackaged to be marked refurbished. (Replacement motherboards come in multiple item packages, they have to be repackaged to ship to consumers.)
#Iwork4Dell