To your latter point, it's certainly possible. You could replace "Ford or GM" with a large 90s computer manufacturer, e.g. HP, but Apple eventually decided they wanted to via Apple stores.
I don't know that Apple is a good model. They have high volume of relatively inexpensive gadgets that they've managed to convince people should not last very long. The lifetime and service expectations of a car are completely different. If I bought a car and the battery went dead, and the manufacturer's solution was 'ship it to us and we'll send you a replacement in x days' that would be a unacceptable. Likewise, people aren't going to put up with streamlining support by saying stuff like 'no you can't replace your battery, if the car dies you just buy a new one.'
My experience with the HPs of the world is on the business purchase side, but I've never bought 'from HP'. I could initiate the conversation with HP, but they always hooked me up with a solution vendor or whatever were calling a dealer at the time. Same w/ Cisco, Dell, IBM, EMC, Microsoft etc.
Assuming you have an Apple Store nearby, the dead battery issue is dropping off your laptop at the store, going to lunch, and then picking up the repaired product.
I'm not convinced. When I had to do anything more serious than basic maintenance, the answer has frequently been "we'll order a replacement part, it should arrive in x days."
gnoway|12 years ago
My experience with the HPs of the world is on the business purchase side, but I've never bought 'from HP'. I could initiate the conversation with HP, but they always hooked me up with a solution vendor or whatever were calling a dealer at the time. Same w/ Cisco, Dell, IBM, EMC, Microsoft etc.
ckrailo|12 years ago
Dealerships are more like Geek Squad.
rubinelli|12 years ago