Dell Reliability/Durability

I know several people who own Dell notebooks, one of whom has had theirs for 4 years, one who has had it for 2, and all of which still carry and use them every day. I have heard both good and bad things about Dell, and I would like to hear some experiences that people have had with Dell products.
So, if you have/had a Dell laptop:
Which model do/did you have?
How long have/had you had it?
How well does it still work?
Would you recommend buying/buy a Dell again?
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

I have a 4+ year old Inspiron 2650 and an ~6 month old E1505. The 2650 is still running like new. Only thing wrong with it is a small crack in the case by the hinge on the lcd from opening and closing it so much. I'd still be using it but the battery life was getting down to under an hour. Sure a new battery is cheaper, but it needed more ram (only had 256mb) and I figured it would be better to just buy a new one than spend money on an obsolete system. I would strongly recommend Dell products. 5+ year old desktop, 4+ year old laptop, 2 year old desktop, and the E1505. None have had any problems and still run like new.

 

Which model do/did you have? I didn't actually own it, but my father-in-law has an Inspiron 9200 (with all available options at the time).
How long have/had you had it? He's had it for roughly 2 years now.
How well does it still work? It works very well. From the times I've used it (I do his tech support), it's a strong machine and very well built. He uses it for business and to this day it hasn't failed him.
Would you recommend buying/buy a Dell again? Yes, because of my experience with that laptop, I purchased an Inspiron 6400 with all the bells and whistles.
My advice:
I'd say if you want a solid, well built laptop that doesn't run into any problems over the years.. then Dell is for you. It's also a machine which you can fully customize yourself and that's the part I like the most. I ordered online, so I haven't had to deal with any Dell CS for the order (except for initial verification of order and credit card purchase). I hope I didn't sound like the commercial, but that's exactly how I feel. I'm very happy with my Dell, apart from getting used to Vista and it's quirks.

 

Which moded do/did you have?
Inspiron e1505(see sig)
How long have you had it?
going on a year now
Would you recomend buying/buying a dell again?
only if you can't get a better deal through a company like Sager, Compal, Asus, or HP(business class)
I would consider getting a new Dell but from the experience I've had, I'm not incredibly keen on getting another one. this is my first and only laptop, so I have no Idea if all laptops give the problems I've had. All I know is that out of the many many desktops I've had, only one gave me such troubles.

My Advice:
If you must get a dell, look into the XPS or business lines of laptos they offer. the inpsiron line is far from solid and well built. The XPS and latitude(I'm not sure of the other bizz class lines) are superior in terms of build in comparison to the inspiron line.

 

Which model do/did you have?
Dell Inspiron 6000D

How long have/had you had it?
1yr/5mo.

How well does it still work?
It has some scratches and creeks more than it used to. But it is 100% functional.

Would you recommend buying/buy a Dell again?
I would probably go with Dell again. But I would look at the Latitudes rather than the Inspiron.

Any advice would be appreciated!
I agree with Phillip. Support is also much better via Dell Business.

 

I've had:

* Inspiron 4600 (or whatever the 14.1" was) for 3yrs before selling to a friend
* 700m for two years
* e1705 for 1yr
* m60 @ work for 1.5yr + boss had it for 1yr before that (handmedown)

All are still functional. the 4600's HDD gave up the ghost shortly before I sold it. Any sort of seemingly exaggarated counts of problems are just that, exaggarated -- as a given, people voice their opinions more when things aren't working (since it's a given that these things work).

Support from Dell's been a pain when i've had to deal with them, but this is to be expected. You'll pay for quality tech support, and whether you want to pay for the (relatively) low chance of failures is up to you.

Would I buy a Dell again? If the price is right and the performance exceeds it, maybe. The older you get and the more money you have, the less it really matters whether a quality laptop costs $1500 or $2000. Well, it does matter, but you start realizing that it's worth taking certain tradeoffs and not taking some others. I first realized this with office chairs and replaced the $35 Staples chair with a $600+ Leap Chair -- both function fine as a chair, but the latter was worth the extra cost to me. The main beef I have with Dells are their inconsistent displays (some of their LCDs gave me huge headaches just looking at them); my next lappy will most likely be one of the smaller portables from Sony or another brand, after checking the quality of their LCD and their keyboard.

Extra suggestions: similar to what I said above, don't hesitate to pay an extra $500 if it means getting the laptop that REALLY works for what you need. Yes, laptops depreciate at the speed of sound; however, that's not any reason to not spend a little extra cash so you don't go wishing for the next two years that you gotten a lighter/heavier/stronger/faster/more comfortable/etc notebook. Once you start working you'll be supplied with more than your fair share of subpar notebooks that feel like a headless chicken with gimped feet; make sure your own PC isn't.

 

I'm sorry for any confusion caused by the word "durability." I don't need anything as strong as a Toughbook or anything, I just need something that I'll be able to carry every day for about 3 years that will run strong the whole time. I've heard great things about dell, and especially with their "Road Ready" technology, I thought a Dell would be good for me, as I can't afford to buy a new laptop every year.

 

As others have said DELL has several notebook lines; Inspiron: marketed for home use (cheapest of them all), XPS : for gamers and built better than Inspiron, Latitude and Precision: meant for business users and has the best build quality (most expensive in terms of price /erformance). Therefore if you buy an XPS, Latitude or a Precision they are as good (if not better) than any non rugged notebook out there. But that doesn't mean Inspirons are flimsy, its just that they are not as solid as more expensive business line notebooks. But they will last a long time if you take proper care.

Which model do/did you have?
Had: Inspiron 630m (1 Year)
Have : XPS M1210 (2 months)
How well does it still work?
630m : Worked without any trouble till I sold it to get a smaller M1210. I was quite happy with it except for the size and the integrated VGA option (which had nothing to do with it being a DELL )
M1210: Very satisfied !
Would you recommend buying/buy a Dell again?
Yes, I myself will buy again, and I can recommend it to others since my personal experience with DELL has so far been good. Their warranty/after sales service is quite good, especially the complete care option.

 

Which model do/did you have?
Had: XPS M140
How well does it still work?
Despite the fact that it's been out of warranty for over 6 months, it has had NO problems other than a DVD drive that needed replacing. I know this as I still talk to the new owner of the machine.
Would you recommend buying from Dell again?
Yes, just don't get a laptop with white bumpers. The laptop wasn't the most solid one out there, but the Latitudes are of even higher quality and I would recommend those first.

 

I have an I8200 2G, 512M,Radeon 9000, Ultra display,40Ghd, bought in late 2002.
I work in Alaska, live in NY. This brute has been trouble free from day one,traveling back and forth from home and living quarters to job site.
I just purchased an E1505 and will pass the 8200 on to my wife for her business travels.
I also have two Dell desktops at home, 2002 and 2004 vintage both still operating perfectly since new.
I love my Dells. The wife has a Compaq desktop for her office, nice machine, but not up to the Dells quality as far as I'm concerned.
My Best,
Walt