# My Experience, buying a Dell Laptop in Delhi



## fulcrumreality (Feb 18, 2013)

I had recently posted a thread "Questions for a gaming laptop" a few months ago. I just got my Dell inspiron 15 r turbo (or is it Dell Inspiron 15r 7520 SE?  ). I'll post a review of it shortly, but first i'll share my experience over the past few months in buying a gaming laptop in Delhi.

Having got some some very informative responses in my thread, I got a decent idea about what to look for. From the outset I always wanted a Dell laptop because of my -ve experiences with sony and also because of the complete cover being offered by Dell. HP tempted me a a lot and at times I almost felt like going for it for various reasons i'll list below. Also Dell was familiar because many known ppl had it. Thus I mostly preferred Dell.
                              Only recently was the money ready and I got proactive in getting the laptop. I found a shop right below Karol bagh metro where I was apparently getting a Dell Inspiron 15 r turbo with a 3rd gen I5 3510, 8gb Ram, amd 7730 m 2gb graphics, and full HD screen for 45000 bucks!! Never mind that it came only with DOS(actually even better, nobody would shove WIN 8 down my throat  the price was crazy, hence I paid the deposit and the laptop came in a couple of hours. I had it unpacked, and saw there was only a Ubuntu sticker on the laptop. My first reaction was maybe that's all u get for 45,000  I then bought Win 7 Home basic for 5,750(some drama there, I was first given the 32 bit version, I got it exchanged the next day. Thank god I had not opened the 32 bit one) and was pretty stoked that I got a laptop worth almost 57k for less than 51k with Win 7. Since I didn't have a net connection and the drivers were not installed, the action had not yet begun  
                                 I called Dell to ask them for a solution to my problem (no net so how do I get drivers?). The guy naturally asked for my Service tag no., I gave it, he entered it, hesitated it a bit ,then put me on hold for at least 10 min. I was pretty pissed when he came back online, but he stunned me by asking questions like when did I get the laptop, from whom did I get the laptop and and so on. I answered all his questions and finally asked him if there was a problem. He hesitated and said that I should go and ask the dealer where did he get the laptop from?. I asked why would the dealer answer that question. The guy says because there's a 50-50 chance that your laptop is fake or stolen. I asked him to explain himself and he said that the laptop was registered in Thailand, the warranty had already begun in july and was upto oct 2014(I had not extended the warranty yet) and also that it did not have full HD. He then said that as a customer I had the right to ask the dealer the questions. He however said Dell would honour the warranty of the laptop.
                                  The next day I went to the dealer and told him he had given me the wrong laptop, I asked for FHD. I didn't mention the conversation with Dell because I expected him to lie and defend himself. By then I just wanted my refund. The dealer was taken aback, requested that he would check the laptop by installing the drivers and checking it thoroughly. After probably 4 hrs it was confirmed that there was no FHD  The Dealer had a pretty good shouting match on the phone with his supplier who insisted that it was FHD  The Dealer finally said he would get me the laptop anyway from somebody else for the same price. I said OK, while insisting on him to register the laptop with dell himself and also to help me extend the warranty. He said alright and got to work. For almost 3 hrs he called almost everyone and his father in Delhi to get a Dell laptop with the specs I wanted. He never found anyone having it, infact he tried convincing me to reduce my requirements (why do you need 8gb ram? 4gb se kaam chal jaata hai , why 2gb graphics card, I3 be bahut accha hai, FHD laptop mein bekaar hai), he also cursed Dell numerous times  thoroughly recommending HP. At times I was frustrated myself and thought maybe HP in similar specs may not be a bad idea. However I stuck on and offered to pay him extra if he could order on the dell website. He declined and I then took the refund and went home 
                                 That is when I realized that Dell's business model is pretty anti-Dealer, not very cost effective for the customer. Some models are only available online and the prices are not competitive. Yet I said ****-it and ordered my dell laptop online. The sales rep said that there was 6% student discount but only if I go for the addl. 2 year warranty. That is what I wanted anyway so I took it. My laptop cost me ~63,500 which includes the said discount, a counter vailing duty of around 6100 and a CST of 3000. The duty and CST were pretty psychologically ball busting but it was too late by then. On their part Dell service has so far been impeccable. I transferred the money on 7 feb in the evening, got a confirmation on the 11feb and it was delivered today in the afternoon. The time mentioned was 26 feb . Even now when I see Samsung and HP laptops with same specs selling for much less it hurts  but I am happy so far with what I got.
                                  I am now creating recovery disks to back stuff up and hope to format my comp at the earliest and install WIn 7. Win 8 is really beginning to piss me off. 
                    So guys good night and watch out for my review due in a couple of days 


Cheers,
fULCRUM

P.S My specs are Inspiron 15r  turbo (7520 SE) - I5 3rd gen 3210m, 4gb X 2 1600 MHz, AMD HD 7730 M 2gb DDR3, Win 8(no media kit),backlit keyboard (No numpad  ),full HD , 1tb 5400 rpm, 1+2 yr complete cover warranty, Targus synergy backpack .


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## Gtb93 (Feb 18, 2013)

I'd never go for these sneaky deals like so-so config at unbelievable rates. The same thing goes on in Lamington road in mumbai.I agree dell's system is pretty anti-dealer. I was pretty interested in this laptop a few months back, and I couldn't find one place selling an FHD model. All I got in response was 'that's available online only' etc.
Anyway, congrats on your purchase. I still maintain that the 15r Turbo is one of the most 'stable' and well performing laptop in the price bracket, and dell's ASS is so good you'd never have to worry about it. 
Have fun!


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## achyutaghosh (Feb 18, 2013)

People know very well what they sell- Most authorized Dell stores will tell you upfront that the FHD models can be ordered only online. This dealer probably thought he could dupe you and get away.


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## dashing.sujay (Feb 19, 2013)

Congrats 

Though I had come across a dealer (when I was to buy my laptop), who told that though he would order laptop online from Dell's site, but he can waive me off 3% of taxes, somehow.  But in course of time I knew that he would get the laptop with either student/employee discount (6%), and give me 3% and rest steal!


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## RON28 (Feb 19, 2013)

your experience will surely help many people  when i was going to buy a laptop, a dealer told me to get a GREY MARKET laptop which was having I7 quad processor with 8GB RAM and GT 555M graphic card for 35K, the moment he told me the price i knew that this is going to be very hectic for me.  so i would advise all new buyers of laptops, to know the SPEC and PRICE so that you won't get cheated.


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## tkin (Feb 19, 2013)

You know what they say, if its too good to be true, then it probably is, saved my @$$ many times in the past, always ask yourself, where's the catch?

And FYI you could have visited a Dell Flagship store, they are present in every city. They offer almost all dell configurations and if they can't they'll get it imported from dell warehouses.


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## sam142000 (Feb 20, 2013)

I've never faced this kind of stuff.
I just follow 1 simple rule. If I buy any electronic device, I always buy it from an authorized dealer by looking them up on the company's website.


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## hari1 (Feb 20, 2013)

Don't even think of going with windows 7. Windows 8 is just a performance optimized version of windows 7 with lightweight extra touch screen UI. If you don't like the new UI then just disable it with any free software. This is a true price of advice by user whose 5 year old dual core computer has breathed a new life with windows 8.


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## fulcrumreality (Feb 20, 2013)

Thanks all for the good wishes 



hari1 said:


> Don't even think of going with windows 7. Windows 8 is just a performance optimized version of windows 7 with lightweight extra touch screen UI. If you don't like the new UI then just disable it with any free software. This is a true price of advice by user whose 5 year old dual core computer has breathed a new life with windows 8.



Too late, already bought Win 7  but will the compatibility issues of old games be resolved by just installing some software in Win 8?



tkin said:


> You know what they say, if its too good to be true, then it probably is, saved my @$$ many times in the past, always ask yourself, where's the catch?
> 
> And FYI you could have visited a Dell Flagship store, they are present in every city. They offer almost all dell configurations and if they can't they'll get it imported from dell warehouses.



I was under the impression that the only utility of a store was for the discounts u could get . Else by default I would have ordered it online from the word 'go' 



RON28 said:


> your experience will surely help many people  when i was going to buy a laptop, a dealer told me to get a GREY MARKET laptop which was having I7 quad processor with 8GB RAM and GT 555M graphic card for 35K, the moment he told me the price i knew that this is going to be very hectic for me.  so i would advise all new buyers of laptops, to know the SPEC and PRICE so that you won't get cheated.



Lol..1st time I've come across 'assembled laptops' 



achyutaghosh said:


> People know very well what they sell- Most authorized Dell stores will tell you upfront that the FHD models can be ordered only online. This dealer probably thought he could dupe you and get away.



I prefer to think he didn't know what he was talking about , I asked his ppl if they stock Sennheiser headphones, the person said she never heard of this brand . They seem more like the conventional wholesale supplier.


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## Jripper (Feb 20, 2013)

Feel bad for the hassle you went through mate. But now,enjoy your FHD and legit model  Cheers.


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## harshilsharma63 (Feb 20, 2013)

Was the shopkeeper's act il-legal? I mean, Dell CC did say that the laptop is fake or stolen, so was that shopkeeper punishable by law?


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## fulcrumreality (Feb 22, 2013)

Jripper said:


> Feel bad for the hassle you went through mate. But now,enjoy your FHD and legit model  Cheers.



Thanks mate  it wasn't a hassle though..considering I had zilch first hand experience in buying a laptop..it was a pretty good learning experience 



harshilsharma63 said:


> Was the shopkeeper's act il-legal? I mean, Dell CC did say that the laptop is fake or stolen, so was that shopkeeper punishable by law?



I thought a lot about it..i do remember the dell guy assuring me that Dell would honour the warranty of the laptop.. so maybe Dell was probably scaring me enough to smoke out the dealer and understand how he was coming up with these odd laptops.. also the guy I spoke to directly was basically a retailer, so both of us got conned by a third supplier. So the answer to your question is no


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## rider (Feb 22, 2013)

This is common malpractice in delhi specially for customers who say I need a dell laptop. I always recommend people to get it from reseller/official store. You would have to spend few more bucks. But the satisfaction is guaranteed. There are many shops in delhi who sell these imported laptops by removing small parts like battery and other stuffs. Seal it like brand new and sell it at unbelievable price. Specially for dell I recommend everyone to get it online from dell official site or reseller. The problem with dell is their mostly laptops assemble in India and parts come from china. This is why they provide option for customization. Other brands like apple, hp, lenovo  completely packed and come from abroad (china). Models numbers are specially made for Indian market.


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## tkin (Feb 22, 2013)

rider said:


> This is common malpractice in delhi specially for customers who say I need a dell laptop. I always recommend people to get it from reseller/official store. You would have to spend few more bucks. But the satisfaction is guaranteed. There are many shops in delhi who sell these imported laptops by removing small parts like battery and other stuffs. Seal it like brand new and sell it at unbelievable price. Specially for dell I recommend everyone to get it online from dell official site or reseller. The problem with dell is their mostly laptops assemble in India and parts come from china. This is why they provide option for customization. Other brands like apple, hp, lenovo  completely packed and come from abroad (china). Models numbers are specially made for Indian market.


*You cannot customize the hardware of dell laptops in India, only softwares etc:*

*i.imgur.com/pAckjms.png

All laptops sold in India are assembled in India or China, parts come from various places like Taiwan, Malaysia etc, but ultimate assembly takes place in India or China, what the OP got was an imported customized laptop, most probably second hand.


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## rider (Feb 22, 2013)

What? Last time (months ago) I checked there were options to customize hardware in dell india site. 
My hp laptop is manufactured in china and directly imported to hp india. Nowadays most companies shifting their parts business to china from taiwan and malaysia for better outcome.
PS I was talking about general malpractice not totally concerned to OP.


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## tkin (Feb 22, 2013)

rider said:


> What? Last time (months ago) I checked there were options to customize hardware in dell india site.
> My laptop is manufactured in china and directly imported to hp india.
> PS I was talking about general malpractice not totally concerned to OP.


Its no longer there, you can't configure hardware on dell India site any more. Not even alienwares, just the OS etc


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## rider (Feb 22, 2013)

tkin said:


> Its no longer there, you can't configure hardware on dell India site any more. Not even alienwares, just the OS etc



I appreciate that because assembling parts in India is not good as other countries like china and taiwan. These dell laptops seems to totally manufactured abroad like apple and hp. Hence no customization now. Most of the issues like screen flickering, touchpad not working use to come in dell laptops may be because of customization.


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## Hrishi (Feb 24, 2013)

How about buying imported laptops from Nehru Palace ?? 
DO they cost lesser than same config. models with different brands in India ??


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