I am hoping on of the Asus reps here would respond to this.
All and all, my G73 has been a mostly trouble free machine. I never had GSODs, but I upgraded the vBios just to be sure. I has some missed keys, but it was livable, and the updated BIOS fixed that. Two weekends ago, I tore apart my G73, as its almost a year old, and my wife and I have cats. I knew it needed a serious deep de-dusting, and I was right. The tear down was mostly uneventful, except while removing the speaker cable, my tweezers slipped, and severed one of the black cables. Not the end of the world, I pulled the speaker bar, and figured, either I'll replace the part, or I'll see if I can get it repaired locally.
I know that they did not list it on the estore as an available part, which I expected. So I called Asus Tech Support, and they told me I have to do an RMA/Purchase request. I did the RMA purchase request, assuming I would have the option to repair my own laptop. RMA said that would not be possible, that they do not sell that part. This really bothers me for a few reasons. Take Dell for example: I was checking for upgraded WiFi cards for my wife's cheepo Insperon. Not only did they have the wifi cards listed, they had just about every part in that laptop listed for sale.
With all that being said, I work as a Network Engineer for a regional non-profit. I cannot do without my laptop I use for work, due to Asus wanting to make me RMA my laptop just so I can pay for a speakerbar. Thats right, I am not asking for anything for free. I know I broke it in the first place and all, but on a daily basis, I tear apart routers that cost 2X the amount of this laptop, and replace ram, PVDM modules, power supplies, sometimes even main boards if we have a piece of donor equipment. The point is, I can handle replacing parts on expensive hardware.
So it all boils down to this: Why does ASUS refuse to sell replacement parts for an Enthusiast-type laptop with a proper serial number? If things stand as is, I think I will be going Alienware with my next purchase, as if they feel you cannot replace the part by yourself, they will send a tech to your location and replace it for you, without massive down time (granted this is only on the higher level warranties). I don't want to be forced to RMA a laptop that I need for work, just so it can go into the voids known as the ASUS repair centers for 30+ days. That is 30 days I cannot work, so I would most likely lose my job.
