Quoted 300$ for mobo replacement, fair?
Posted by busangirl97@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 31 comments
I wanna know if I made the right decision here.
My secondhand pc that I bought from marketplace died on me randomly and I know enough to be able to build one since I built my gf’s but since hers was ddr5 I couldnt test which parts broke down on mine which I suspected was the mobo.
I took it to a shop and was charged $40 for diagnostics which I thought was reasonably priced and fast forward 2.5 months later he diagnosed that the mobo was the issue and he tried to source one but it was doa on arrival.
So my only option was to source my own or upgrade and I found one on marketplace for 160 and told the shop that I could bring one in and I’ll pay for the assembly fee but when I went to drop it off he quoted me $300?? I laughed and was genuinely shocked and asked how could it possibly cost that much.
He didn’t really give a clear answer and we negotiated down to 220 and even still I did not feel comfortable paying anywhere near that, as well as he’d have me wait till next month since he was busy etc and I ended up just taking my pc back home. Is the price justifiable at
MarxistMan13@reddit
A mobo swap is one of the more involved upgrades you can do, since everything is connected to it.
That said, $300 for what amounts to a quick reassembly is robbery, and waiting a month is even worse. Fuck that shop.
Ythem@reddit
If you know how to build it, why did you not just do it yourself when you got your replacement mobo. Better question, why did you not just get the mobo after he diagnosed it for $40?
I can understand paying a shop to figure out what's wrong with it if you don't have the spare parts to do it yourself, but all your actions after that seem like bad ones, especially with the long wait times.
busangirl97@reddit (OP)
Basically called around and he had the best rate in terms of diagnostics and for the replacement board and so I just trusted the process. What I didnt expect was the 3 week diagnosis. It didn’t really bother me waiting since he had already ordered the board and it was ready in 2 weeks, which was amazing since all the ones I tried sourcing online would take minimum 1 month but fast forward after waiting 3 weeks and no answer I was just done and let him know about my frustrations and his poor communication. But yeah I guess with how disappointing his service was and after waiting all that time I asked him if he could just assemble it for me for a good price and well yeah
Rare-Break-8547@reddit
2.5 months just to get a diagnostic?
I wouldn't wait for more than a week.
nuked24@reddit
This was a massive flag to me, that's insane. The furthest out the little dinky repair shop I'm at (which is literally 1.2 techs, a full time person and then me on the side for a few hours a week) has been 6 business days, and that's normally during tax season when it's absolutely nuts. Computers on every surface available and it doesn't take that long to actually fix them, let alone just do a diag and get back to them.
busangirl97@reddit (OP)
Looking back on it I definitely should’ve just taken my pc after a week and half waiting just for diagnosis but the dude also just had a dinky little repair shop in his garage and it’s just him so I just trusted the process and well
2raysdiver@reddit
To replace a motherboard, they are taking it completely apart and then completely reassembling it. So yes $300 is perfectly reasonable. No one is forcing you. Go someplace else or do it yourself if you don't like the price.
$160 for a used motherboard? You can get pretty decent new motherboards for $120 or less.
busangirl97@reddit (OP)
Pure labor math yeah I guess that doesn’t sound outrageous, I maybe would have been more inclined to pay that if I was sure he would get it done the same week but he had me wait almost a month just for diagnosis lmao. With my 10th gen cpu its unlikely to find any “new” ones without spending more than 200 and a month wait so I’d gladly pay 160 for a replacement that was 20 min drive away.
busangirl97@reddit (OP)
Pure labor math yeah I guess that doesn’t sound outrageous, I maybe would have been more inclined to pay that if I was sure he would get it done the same week but he had me wait almost a month just for diagnosis lmao. With my 10th gen cpu its unlikely to find any “new” ones without spending more than 200 and a month wait so I’d gladly pay 160 for a replacement that was 20 min drive away.
TokageLife@reddit
Sometimes people don't want to do something for you and they quote you an outrageous price as a softer rejection. If you're adamant than you want to pay that outrageous price they'll suck it up and do it for you. From your perspective it is "only" a motherboard upgrade but since everything else in your computer connects to your motherboard it is basically a full system rebuild.
Unless you're the type who hates getting their hands dirty you should save that $220 by hopping on Youtube to learn the basics then doing it yourself following the instruction manual for your hardware. The first time is pretty miserable since you don't have any experience to fall back on but once you figure it out it's smooth sailing for future upgrades and servicing.
busangirl97@reddit (OP)
Yeah definitely gonna have to do but it I just hate the cables 😭 But I guess it means i’ll have $300 to spend on some pokemon cards
samkoLoL@reddit
i mean, you dont really need a 300 dollar mobo if you dont want to, theres good number of good boards much cheaper than that, unless you oc or need some specific stuff on it.
TokageLife@reddit
Yeah just spend a few hours on the weekend to get it done with, could probably use a nice cleaning as well if it's a few years old.
Good luck!
94358io4897453867345@reddit
Yeah OP didn't get the hint
grump66@reddit
That's a pretty crazy fee for swapping in a motherboard. Even if he had to pull everything and re-do it all, that's still a very high amount. Why did it take him 10 weeks to diagnose ? I'd be fairly suspicious of his competence.
What does "tried to source one" mean ? I'm guessing he bought a used one without any safety net and his "assembly fee" is trying to recoup what he spent on a board he never should have bought.
the_lamou@reddit
Is there some magical different way to replace a mobo that doesn't require disconnecting everything from it and then reconnecting it when you're done?
Regardless of anything else, doing a mobo job right is likely at least a two hour job, and easily three. Pull everything (extremely carefully, because it's not your computer). Remove all fasteners. Remove CPU. Clean CPU. Install new mobo. Repaste. Return all components. Run and clean up cables.
At that point, the shop rate is about $100/for, which is incredibly reasonable when compared to any other repair service — good luck finding a mechanic with a lower shop rate.
busangirl97@reddit (OP)
That’s what I thought as well. It took him probably 3 weeks to diagnose for some reason and another month to wait for the replacement to arrive. I was incredibly patient with him and would rarely get a response but luckily I didn’t really need my pc and would have preferred to upgrade but my younger sibling’s been wanting mine. Im also guessing he was trying to recoup the money he lost on the doa replacement lmao.
RumbleTheCassette@reddit
Something is fishy here. It doesn't take three weeks to diagnose nor a month to get a replacement that is somehow also DOA.
This feels scammy.
busangirl97@reddit (OP)
Yeah my dad said the same thing and was worried he was stealing my parts or something lol but I had a 10th gen cpu and it is pretty hard to source a mobo, all my options were refurbished from amazon or newegg from overseas and it would take almost a month to come so I guess the doa was plausible in that sense.
XiTzCriZx@reddit
You'll just want to check your gpu, ram, and ssd when you get your PC back to make sure he didn't swap it for a worse part to sell your components.
VoraciousGorak@reddit
There's Z490 and Z590 boards for sale pretty regularly on /r/hardwareswap, that's where I get most of my used stuff now. Saw a listing for a Z590 ITX board for $100 recently, it got snapped up real quick though.
Antenoralol@reddit
Go on ebay, get a Z490 / Z590 motherboard from a high feedback seller with high positive % for like $80.
For example here's one -
https://www.ebay.com/itm/397968587406
Fit it yourself - gg.
twhiting9275@reddit
If you can do it yourself, do it . Quit bitching about what he’d charge you and just do it
The problem here is that you disrespect time and labor . Swapping this out isn’t the only thing involved , but you know that . You just want to abuse his time and labor
kokosgt@reddit
Are you OK?
Stratostheory@reddit
300 is a bit much for me because I know how to do it myself, but I wouldn't be particularly opposed to paying half that just so I didn't have to.
Happy_Brilliant7827@reddit
Coukd could have upgraded to ddr5 at microcenter usa
No_Spare1827@reddit
what motherboard is it? I mean I get it if its an old platform and boards are tough to find but damn
busangirl97@reddit (OP)
My system had an i9-10900k on a magz490 so 10-11th gen intel so not too old but also not easy to source but yeah, damn def not $300 to replace
CZsea@reddit
I mean, you built one before, just do it again if you have time.
babarsac@reddit
$300 seems really high to me. For comparison my local Microcenter charges $99.
Replacing a motherboard is pretty straightforward, just unhooking and rehooking the components. You just have to take some care when applying the thermal paste. I've goofed that before. Plenty of good guides on YouTube.
Additional-Pie8718@reddit
The price is worth it to someone who has no clue how to build a pc. For you, of course it won't be worth it because you can do it for free. Just do it yourself man if you don't wanna pay the price (which there's nothing wrong with).