Sony VAIO PCG K115S

Purchased the Sony Viao PCG K115S in the April of 2004.for £1,100

When the computer was 1 month out of warranty it refused to boot up (Upon pressing the "on button") the unit would briefly flash the starting light but would then be dead. I took it to a local repair centre who said that they were unaware of any way to repair the unit, but had found a way of bringing the unit back to life. This was to remove the RAM chips then the battery, put both back in then hit the start button. This worked probably 9 out of 10 times. I got a bit fed up with this after few months so contacted Sony and explained the problem.

Laptop was collected by Sony and taken to Belgium (or France) for repair. The unit was returned within 2 weeks, after the repair bill of £160 was paid (Common problem with Mother Board). Upon starting up the unit did exactly the same thing, would not start. Contacted Sony and they collected. A few days later I was contacted by the Sony call centre to tell me that they had checked the unit out, only to find that the back light on the screen had now also gone (additional £300 cost). I refused to pay this and told them to return the unit with the original fault repaired. I also complained about the back light problem and asked that this was repaired at Sony's cost. Various letters of complaint were sent to Sony stating that the unit was not in my possession when the backlight failed. Sony's reply was that I should have taken the additional insurance against the unit failure after 12 months!!

The laptop is currently in my daughter's bedroom running of an old LCD display unit

A few things to note that I found while calling the telephone number supplied by Sony:

The telephone number goes to a call centre in Ireland while the unit is sent to Belgium or France. Therefore you get a lot of the old "We will call you back".

When you ask a technical question expect to be put on hold for at least 15 minutes if not 30 (This is probably the call centre rules). This is no disrespect to the operators as they are probably not employed to be technically minded.

There is a website that you can create your own case number and would appear that you can pass info on via the internet regarding you problem.... the only thing is, the operators cannot see your comments, so don't bother posting any questions or queries!!

Generally I feel very let down by Sony and never intend to purchase another Sony product again. After a while, I have now purchased an Acer Aspire unit which has a battery life that far outweighs the Sony unit (Although about 2 years younger) but was also half the price. I purchased the Sony unit thinking it would be a long term investment and last a few years , but, unfortunately this was far from the case!!

I don't mean to sound bitter but I have also spoken to my Brother in-law who has also been an avid Sony user, but he has also complained to me recently regarding the build quality and battery life.