Does this sound like a good/safe buy? (Used TV) (1 Viewer)

[KyleST]

Hey-
I was hoping you guys could help me out here- I'm trying to decide if this is a good buy or not.
I have a chance to buy a 43" Hitachi TV (43UWX10B) wide screen TV. The seller says its 2 years old and in perfect condition, and is asking $500 for the TV and the stand.
It sounds like a good deal to me, but I'm worried about what I've heard with the reports of hitachis breaking down after a couple years of use.
I'm a poor college student so $500 is just about the top of my budget, and I would love to get a TV of this quality without spending $1000+.
So what do you guys think the chances of the TV dying on me soon after I buy it are? I would go and see the TV in use before buying it, but I'm just worried about having a $700 repair bill after a couple months of use.
Are there any decent new TV's in that price range that are widescreen/HDTV capable?
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Jim Mcc]

Kyle, there's no way to know how long that TV will last, or any other TV. There are no other NEW TV's near $500, widescreen and HD ready. They seem to start about $750 for a 30" TV.
Why not buy a smaller 4:3 TV, 32" or 36" and upgrade when you're out of college? With DVD, satellite or OTA antenna, you'll get a great picture on a set like that. Consumer Reports rated sets this size in the DEC. issue.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Kyle: I would go see the set in person, and test it out. If it is in good condition, there's no reason to believe that it would up and die on you i don't think. TVs can last a long long time. Some won't, but even if you buy a new set, it could die on you just the same.

 

[Jimi C]

It sounds like a great price to me.. personally i wouldn't hesitate to buy it if i was looking for a tv.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I owned the larger version of this set for 3 weeks and returned it out of utter frustration. It was purchased new in fall of 01, over 3 years ago. Mine was the 53UWX10B. It had posterized fleshtones (people's faces looked like flat latex paint), horrible green tint in the lower end of the grayscale, lousy stretch modes for 4/3 stuff, and horrible line doubling that made every part of a picture that was sorta solid colored look like it was crawling with tiny bugs. True HD looked quite good on it but everything else looked like utter crap.

I wouldn't buy a brand new UWX10B series Hitachi for $500, much less a 2 or 3 year old one.

Before any Hitachi fans get upset, my remarks apply only to the UWX10B series sets, not the newer ones. My observations of the problems with that particular model were widely reported at Home Theater Spot and AVS, so I am not alone in not liking this particular series of sets. I do not see similar complaints about any of Hitachi's current line of crt based rptvs, so I can by no means express any negative opinions on them.

 

[KyleST]

hmm, ya that had been on my mind because searches for those models did return a lot of negative feedback...
I think I am going to hold off for now. Maybe go with a smaller set for the time being

 

[Ryan Wishton]

Personally, if money is tight and you cant really afford it, I would be logical and not buy anything.

It sounds like you are doubtful already? If so, dont do it. Dont buy anything unless you are 100% sure it's the right choice for you.

Go to Walmart or somewhere, buy a decent 13 inch TV/DVD combo for $100 or so. It will give you very good performance for the money. TV is a luxury, not a need. Though some may disagree of course. You wont suffer. My cousin has a 13 inch combo that was about $100. I was actually surprised how well it handled cable/gaming/DVD's even though it's small and cheap. It did look nice too actually. It didnt even look cheap. Cant think of the model. Handled all those items just about as well as my 20 inch sony direct view I used which I paid more for.

Start saving money. One day in a few years when your out of college and have some extra cash, you will be able to buy a very nice setup, pay cash for it (financing such items is a terrible way to start out and I would never recommend it) to make you very happy if your money careful. Plus resolutions, quality, etc., will even be better and cheaper then as well.

Then if you want Plasma, LCD, Flat Panel to be announced, etc., you can do so in a few short years.

I went years without (though not that many years when I think about it) and can now buy what I want really and pay it off immediately. I am still in my 20's as well. I still wont pay thousands upon thousands. I just think it's a joke and a ripoff. $10,000 for a tv? I think not. You better be throwing in a car with it.

So, it's not like you have to wait until your 75. Just be logical and really think about this.

Do you really want to spend $500 you probably really cant even afford on something that is already old and outdated when you can wait longer and buy something that you will really want and be happy with?

Do you pay for your own schooling? If I had $500 and had bills, I would pay off a bill or something. Number one priority of any person should be getting rid of these bills, especially if your paying higher interest ASAP.

You will have a mortage and other bills to worry about eventually and dont want the burden of student debt, charges, etc., as well. Just try to avoid sinking in a hole is all I am trying to say. Once you get in, it's very difficult to get out. I have seen people suffer through it and it's absolutely horrible to watch someone in a 24/7 depression.

Just really think about it. Personally, if I had the money or didnt, I wouldnt go for this specific deal. Why? The person could be selling it because of problems you might not even see. It's older. It's probably had many hours of use and abuse. No warranty of any kind. So, everything you will have to pay for if it breaks.

Sure, you could get lucky. But, if you cant afford to mantain or fix the item if something happens, you never really could afford it to begin with.

 

[KyleST]

Hey-
Thanks for the reponse- its funny, right before I read your response, I was actually going through similar thoughts in my head. I really dont need a TV right now, I actually dont even have much time to watch it anyways...
As far as the bills go, I understand exactly what you're talking about- I just recently finally dug myself out of debt and it feels great. I really would not buy anything eles using credit.