Extended Warranty on RPTV, Yes or NO ??? (1 Viewer)

[Trevor H]

Hi, I am getting a Hitachi 57SWX20B this weekend and was wondering if I should get an extended warranty, I am wondering what can go wrong with RPTV's. The TV comes with a 1 year warranty but I imagine if something went wrong I would have to take the set to the shop, where if I had extended i'd get in home service.
What do most of you guys do? Yes or No

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Trevor,
I just bought a Panny 53", and chose to go w/ the 4-year EW from Best Buy.
Originally, I was hoping to get a shorter one since I was mostly concerned w/ the 2nd year when the manufacturer's warranty would've expired. I figured there must be a reason these TVs are only covered for 1 year and that RPTVs are more delicate than direct-view's and more cumbersome to bring to a shop in case of repairs--not like it's easy or even feasible to load a 53" into a mini-van. And if you even need a repairman to look at your set just once during the extra 3 years of a 4-year EW, it would probably cost at least as much as the EW itself, if not much more.
Also, when considering the risks involved, I think the warranty providers base it on the average consumer for the average set. The average consumer probably isn't going to notice (or care about) as many problems as an enthusiast, so they are less likely to use their warranty. Also, since RPTVs are more delicate than direct-views, I'd think the same 1-year warranty might not be as safe for RPTVs as for direct-views. Furthermore, it's quite common for audiophile quality audio equipment, including speakers, to come w/ 3-to-5-year manufacturer warranties, so why not RPTVs?
And if you're not much of a tweaker BUT want top performance from your set--and can see the difference, there's a good chance you'll want somebody to come take a look at your set during those extra 3 years. FYI, I'm a modest tweaker-type and do some stuff like build/upgrade/fix my own PC's and occasionally my friends' or company's also, but sometimes, I'd just rather have somebody else come look at/fix a problem, especially in a field where I have no real expertise.
Normally, I would not buy into any EWs, but I make an exception for >$1500 RPTVs for my reasons above. And FWIW, I've worked as a programmer/analyst for a software company who's only business is in the life insurance industry, so I'm not completely ignorant that insurance companies make $$$ much like casinos make $$$.
There's my $.02...
_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Oh, let me add that you can probably also use the EW as a bargaining chip at a local dealer and should go w/ one that's reputable. In my case, I got Best Buy to knock $50 off the TV when I added the EW, so my 4-year EW effectively cost $250.
Not sure what an EW on that Hitachi set would cost, but I'm sure the set itself costs much more than the Panny I bought, so you might want to factor that in.
Sometimes, there really are ways to beat the house!
Happy shopping!
_Man_

 

[MichaelFusick]

Here is a good Link on the subject.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Ha ha!
Mike,
Now why didn't I think to just link that thread over here?
Ah well...
_Man_

 

[Patrick Sun]

What I found interesting about Best Buy's EW is that they don't make much of a distinction of the selling price of the RPTVs with the EWs. Meaning, you could buy a $3500 RPTV, and still just pay $299 for the 4 year EW, or you could buy a $1200 RPTV and still pay $299 for the 4 year EW.

In the first case, the percentage of sale price to EW cost is much lower than in the second case.

If the RPTV under EW dies, and they don't want to spend man-hours/parts to fix it (or don't want to replace it with something comparable 2, 3, 4 years down the line after teh 3-strikes/repairs lemon condition is met), the most you'll get is what you paid for the original RPTV.

Circuit City does make a smaller distinction between price of the RPTV and the EW cost, but they charge a lot more for the over $1500 RPTV (not exactly sure what sale price causes them to ask for their highest EW cost of $399). I found it laughable they wanted $399 for the $1299 TV I special ordered, all the while, only covering me up to the $1299 price (should they have to just give me my money if the TV gave up the ghost). But the reason they gave me for the higher EW cost for this TV was because of its "original" MSRP and the cost of repair/replace. Sounds like they were talking out of both sides of their mouths.

It's a tough sale to me for jacking up the EW cost when the coverage is for the rock bottom sale price of the TV if it went tango-uniform.

 

[Joe Tilley]

I work at CC & though I'm not big on EW's I can say that the store I work for backs theres up 100%. Myself I don't really believe in them too much just because I have been lucky so far & never had any of my stuff need service. But on the other hand I have seen alot of people who bought the EW needing to use it & they were quite happy that they did get it.

 

[MichaelFusick]

I saw a 3 and 1/2 month old SWX get swapped out today.

A CRT leaked coolant onto the main board and fried it.

It was not repairable, or cost effective to repair considering it needed a CRT and a main board.

Customer called yesterday, tech was at house this morning, after working on it for 2+ hours figured out what had really happened, and customer was in the store and back home tonight with a new TV.

CC bends over backwards for it's customers who buy EW's.

Also, they send out 10% mailers to them too...as a holiday gift and a way to say thanks.

Patrick-($399 on that 56hx41p last years blow-out model I would pass on though, at that price throw it out. For little more, you can get a current model panny widescreen too...)

 

[MichaelFusick]

Here are some good EW links:
Link # 1
Link # 2 Link # 3