What is up with this warranty and insurance crap? You buy something, after they go on about how good the quality is. And then they ask if you want a warranty? Is this just a cash grab? Does anyone really get the warranty? I think business should stand behind their products. Another weird thing is shipping insurance…what the fuck. If you company lost my shit in the mail you should give me some money back. (I know this concept has practical issues.) But really, I guess your shipping service isn’t that good if it offers insurance. Keep track of your shit. —Poodle Shit
This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2010.
I’ve had two +$1000 42″ TV’s in 3 years. Both croaked… one just prior to warranty end and now it’s replacement has croaked just barely out of warranty. I’m positive they do “quality” testing that pushes the product ONLY to the end of warranty then off to the assembly line… in some other country. Nice.
I always buy my warranty on headphones. Three free replacements. I’ve used up 3 warranty’s(9 replacements…12 sets of headphones). Deffinately worth the price. $90ish for the whole span….woulda been $480 without.
Then again, warranty’s…insurance…it’s all gambling.
THINGS MADE IN THE LAST 30 OR SO YEARS HAVE A BUILT IN DIE DATE ON THEM. THEY MAKE THE SHIT TO LAST A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME. THEN IF IT GOES OVER THAT, THEN YOU ARE ONE LUCKY SON BITCH. THE EXTRA CRAP THEY TACK ON, IS FOR SHIT THAT THEY KNOW WILL HAPPEN, GIVE OR TAKE A FEW MONTHS.
Kay, had mine die as well… picked up some replacement capacitors, sodered them on and it’s better than ever now. 15 bucks and 25 mins to fix instead of just turfing it and forking over $1K +.
when they first started making the big lcd’s, they used cheapo capacitors that pop like mad… the new ones they have now are way better…
if your tv was squeeling when you turn it on before they blew, that’s one of the signs….
Here’s the story, from someone who spent as a few years in electronics retail, and a good portion of that as management.
The manufacturer does back up it’s product. Usually, the warranty covers just about everything except for physical damage (i.e.: broken screen). As a part of that warranty, usually, the business you bought it from can administer the warranty, which in most cases, is a repair warranty. Beyond that, the store may offer a warranty (or insurance policy) that, yes, you pay for. It’s up to you to see value in it. If you don’t, don’t get it. But don’t expect the store to exchange the item 6 months into the life of the product if it’s defective. Pretty straight forward of you ask me.
Lotto tickets and Extended Warranties = Idiot Tax
My parents bought an hitachi 24 inch back in 1990 and I swear to GOD it’s still as awesome today as the day they bought it. I have a 42 inch plasma in my living room, and the hitachi in my room. I’ll never get rid of that fucker. The picture and sound is still amazing, and when the cable guy came to hook my digital cable up he couldn’t get over the picture and sound quality and said he’s seen some flats screens that don’t have the same picture/sound quality.
I guess my point *is* they really don’t make things they way they used to. I’ll probably have to replace my plasma before the hitachi conks out.
It’s kind of a shame Hitachi’s flat screens are kind of lame (apparently they’re called “baby killers” because they kind of lean forward a bit when on their stand :|). I know they could do so much better *sigh*
Hitachi TVs were great.
Hunger, Q-Tips are on sale this week and they’re not so hard on the environment, ya know? Just sayin’.
waltercronkite is on the money, man. On the money. Sorta like buying insurance on insurance (accident forgiveness).
zZz, same problem with two different LCD models. You turn it on and instead of it making that familiar click (antennae initialization?) it tries, then tries again, and again… makes for a good metronome now and a mediocre mirror. Any ideas?
My research says buy a Sony next time… hardly any complaints filed on z’net about Sony TVs
post the make and model if you can find it… I’m willing to bet it can be fixed.
when I opened mine up, the problem was quite obvious…
the capacitors had exploded and were leaking the grey goo all over.
I’m willing to bet it’s a similar problem.
they’ve installed them just under the capacity that the TV uses while on and running (12 000 uf 16 V in my case)… but when turning the TV on, it spikes over the allotted amount in the capacitor (even if just for a fraction of a sec) and so the more and more it goes off and on, the more wear it has until the burst.
here’s what I did and was my first attempt at such with resounding success.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unuS3CvmWtw
CRT TVs are beasts because they’re essentially a giant vacuum tube, which has been around for about 120years, versus LCD/Plasma tech which has been around for maybe 50? There’s a time line there that is insurmountable. I’m sure in 50 years time that LCDs or any particular variant (LEDs) will be just as reliable. I don’t think Plasma will survive the next 10 years though, especially with the advent of 3D LCD/LED models, plus the issue of power consumption, and the actual waste at the end of it’s life cycle.
kay— buy Samsung, they use Sony parts usually, and the prices are usually 100 or 200 dollars less for a less comparable Sony model. Same reliability as well. I purchased a Samsung 42″ back in December to replace my 40″ Sony demo model I got back in ’05 for a pittance. The Sony model I wanted was about $1200, meanwhile, the Samsung was $800, with better features.