So I sent the rebel in for sensor cleaning....

And after it was gone for almost a month I chewed on the tech at Best Buy until he called the factory to find out what the hold up was.
The factory says the camera is hopelessly broken, and Best Buy needs to replace it. Excuse me?? I sent it in for a sensor cleaning. Everything else was fine.
So they give me the XT. Holy cow, that thing is small! It's like a toy! They didn't have a body alone, so now I have an extra kit lens, etc., and of course the extra battery I bought for the reb doesn't fit.
I was tempted to ebay the whole thing and get a 20d, but being a poor college student, I figured a bird in the hand....
I'm wondering what exactly they did to my camera at the factory. Anyone have a similiar experience?

No similar experiance, but now I know what to do If I want to "upgrade" to the xt!!!! lol. Of course if I wanted an XT I would have bought one in the first place! Do some investigating...see if you can find out what the hell they did! lol

L8r,

Beyond repair, I would have expected it to be returned to the store if not to you. You probably have on legal stake in it now, but it sure makes one wonder.

Sure they sent it to Canon, not to their own service center? Coulda tried a sopping wet cloth to wipe it, or let the battery go flat while they were poking around at the sensor, I suppose.

Just cannot understand why people send their cameras in to be cleaned. It is no big deal, cleaning a sensor (unless your in a dust storm). It is about a 5 minute job from test shot to completion.

I doubt that the issue was really related to Canon factory service...

Best Buy I am sure never sent the camera in.. and have no idea where it is ...
For the Employee at best buy it is easier to give you a new camera than to actually attempt real service...

In looking back, some of my shots of buildings, etc. were pretty crooked but I thought it was my own carelessness since it wasn't all my pics. No matter, I guess. I like the xt more than the rebel so I'm happy.
Setiprime- I sent the camera in b/c I didn't have the budget last month for the "copper hill" kit. I've seen several suggestions for using cotton swabs and cleaning fluid, but just as many warning of stray cotton fibers. If you have a better system, please share it.

So I'm guessing you bought the service plan? Haha, I never really bother with those but maybe I should consider it...

I've always coughed up the extra cash for the service plan on electronics- you just never know. It's saved me from having to buy 2 new car stereos as well as this camera and a couple other things. Many see it as a rip-off, but like I said, it's saved my bacon several times.