Can't you get a refund off the second hand dealer? He gave you a faulty product.

As long as you don't need the SD card reader a bit of duct tape does wonders.

Not sure I want a refund. Trying to resell this unit online. I can trade it for a decent IBM Thinkpad with Windows 7 if I want. Never had a Thinkpad before. No need for tape as there is a screw in that area that holds it together just fine.

in my opinion the biggest worry would be with the hard drive having received such a large impact,(hopefully the hdd is NOT seagate(also known as 'SHITGATE' or 'shockit it died WITH all the data and there ain't no way you can get the data back').

with laptops the main performance pointers is AMOUNT of ram(and speed of ram), then cpu mhz(ghz), number of cores, and screen size (and if it has a separate video chipset all the better, but most if not all laptop drives other than ssd are 5400rpm OR SLOWER. and the only thing I do NOT like about the thinkpads is the eraserpoint mouse in the middle of the keyboard.

harpo

I would keep it, a little wear-and-tear gives a sort of scruffy-looking vibe. If everything still functions, that is.

I'm seriously considering getting the Thinkpad. No worries about the hard drive. It's not a Seagate. It's a Western Digital drive. I need something a bit smaller anyhow.

IMO. I'd keep it. Use it until you get the bucks to replace it, strip it for parts and build a laptop from both and make it work like it was on steroids. Nah...just kidding. Whichever is going to work better for you. Keeping it or the thinkpad.

Keep it.  Just watch the HDD as harpo indicated.  If it looks like it is having issues, replace it. They are cheap enough.

I think the main factor here would be what you paid for it in the first place... and how much longer is it under warranty?  The answers to those questions would very much impact how I'd handle things. 

If the components aren't exposed some cosmetic damage shouldn't affect performance. Obviously what you paid for it would be a factor in it's worth too. I've never owned a Acer product but I'm on my fourth ThinkPad in nine years and have had absolutely no problems whatsoever with any of them (IBM or Lenovo)...

I paid $250 for it if I recall correctly. I still haven't decided if I am going to trade it in yet.

What's the retail value?

I'd keep it. Check for any other damage first- boot, run it for a reasonable time, maybe install and play a few graphics-intensive games, that sort of thing. If it works, just duct-tape over the bad spot and avoid any future hard knocks.

In matters such as these, to trade, to sell or to keep, there is always one who benefits at the expense of another.

I say keep it.

You see, if you keep it, you won't lose any more money by selling it or trading it.

Further, by keeping it, you will effectively prevent any potential buyer from experiencing your concerns/worries, regrets and sense of loss.  So why pass on the misery?

And should you actually profit from this potential trade/sale, then you'd be just as sneaky as the seller who gave you this misery in the first place.

Keeping it will be the most honorable thing.

-.-

There is no need to tape anything as there is a screw in that area that holds everything together just fine. The only thing that got damaged was the plastic trim. Acer can fix it at my expense.

If I sell it I can buy a brand new Compaq. In my CL ad I clearly show the damage so nothing is going on that is dishonest.

As obvious as the damage is, and since it by and large still forks fine, I'd keep it for the inherent theft deterant.  People are less likely to steal it if they see it's broke.  (Not saying they won't, but still.)

But, if you can trade it in for something you would get more use out of, then definitely go for it.

-Twilight Storm

Beats me why Acer wants $300 to replace the least expensive part of the machine.  You can buy plastic case parts (see here for example).  Of course, I can't say how easy it would be to do the fiddly work of fitting them, but it's a possibility.

Sorry, Still works fine, was in a hurry.

-Twilight Storm

I traded it in for a HP DV9000 notebook. Now I have to worry about a faulty video card. I wonder if this model had issues. Another question comes to mind. Should I get Windows Vista and suffer the yucky woes of that OS or use a pirated copy of 7 until I can get a copy from school...

Yucky woes versus pirated copy. Hmmmm tough choice. The pirated copy you may or may not be able to activate unless of course it already is. Then there's a possibility of yucky woes with that. Kinda like bein' caught between a rock and a hard place.