How would you deal with this issue?

One of my tenants had a Lenovo Y310 damaged by rainwater when a roof leak developed during a torrential downpour. Without accepting liability I have agreed to compensate the tenant as a goodwill gesture.

The manufacturer's date says that the Y310 was made in September of '09, although my research tells me that the design goes back to '08. Assuming that it was spec'ed out to the max, the processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo T7100(1.8GHz), it has 2 GB of RAM, a 160 GB (5400 RPM) HD, and a 1280 x 800 13.3" display,

The tenant wants me to pay the cost of repairs. I see that a local big box store is selling an Acer Aspire 14.0" Laptop with 2.13 Ghz Intel Pentium P6200, a 500GB HDD, 6GB RAM, and a 1366 x 768 display (for $300).

I'm assuming that it makes no sense to repair the Lenovo inasmuch as it would likely cost at least $300 if parts were available, and that if such a machine were in A+ condition it would not be worth $300. But I get the feeling that the tenant will not be happy with $300 in compensation. Also, I presume that Lenovo has a better reputation for build quality than an Acer, so the tenant might legitimately argue that I am not replacing the machine with one of similar quality. The closest match that I can find in a Lenovo has a touchscreen and costs $660.

Thoughts anyone? What would be a reasonable settlement?

 

Honestly, $300 is more than a generous offer...he can buy a better-spec'd Lenovo ThinkPad (used) for that amount...I mean, a T410 with a Core i5 CPU can be had, and that's head and shoulders above what he originally had...

Good luck.

 

Look up the market value for a Lenovo Y310 on eBay. Be sure to look for prices on completed auctions, and not just asking price of active auctions.

Offer that in cash to your tenant in exchange for the damaged machine. If s/he refuses, then buy a used Y310 from eBay and give it to him/her to replace their damaged laptop.

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Thanks to all.

AP