LCD TV - Extended Warranty - Is it worth it ?

D

Dave Goldfinch

Guest
I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.

Normally I don't go for these warranty extensions but am I likely to
regret this decision ?

Dave.
 
On Oct 17, 7:49 pm, Dave Goldfinch <daveg5...@NotCoolMail.invalid>
wrote:
I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.
Click to expand...
That price is ridiculous.
In two years time the same spec TV will not cost much more than $600
anyway. If it fails, you can simply buy another one.

Normally I don't go for these warranty extensions but am I likely to
regret this decision ?
Click to expand...
Almost certainly not, good brand LCD TV's are very reliable.
Spend the $600 on something enjoyable instead, or stick it into the
home loan and get a real return on it.

Dave.
 
"Dave Goldfinch"
I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.
Click to expand...

** Extended warrantees are like insurance policies - the folk offering
them are taking a punt that they will not have to pay out. What this means
in practice is not certain, the product may be very reliable OR the bastards
simply never pay out on claims.

A good brand ( Panasonic qualifies) large screen, LCD TV should not fail
in 2, 3 or 4 years - if it does you can use the small claims system to
make the dealer fix it free.

The price being asked for a " no dispute " extended warranty seems quite
excessive to me.

A 10 % premium for 2 additional years is more like it.




....... Phil
 
On Oct 17, 9:36 pm, "Phil Allison" <philalli...@tpg.com.au> wrote:
"Dave Goldfinch"



I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.

** Extended warrantees are like insurance policies - the folk offering
them are taking a punt that they will not have to pay out. What this means
in practice is not certain, the product may be very reliable OR the bastards
simply never pay out on claims.

A good brand ( Panasonic qualifies) large screen, LCD TV should not fail
in 2, 3 or 4 years - if it does you can use the small claims system to
make the dealer fix it free.

The price being asked for a " no dispute " extended warranty seems quite
excessive to me.

A 10 % premium for 2 additional years is more like it.
Click to expand...
Yep, that would be more reasonable.
Perhaps the companies are trying to cash in on the "fear" created by
all the media beat-ups about the supposed unreliability of modern LCD
and plasma sets. Seems like every 6 months there is some crap story on
A Current Affair or whatever about how they are all failing. And they
always have some "expert" on telling people they should take out
extended warranties etc.

Dave.
 
On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:49:41 GMT, Dave Goldfinch
<daveg50_8@NotCoolMail.invalid> put finger to keyboard and composed:

I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years.
Click to expand...
LG and Samsung TVs come with 3 year warranties. When I was shopping
for an 81cm set I didn't see any difference between Panasonic and the
others.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
 
Hi,

Any repair is at least $500.
Decision is yours.

Rudolf


"Dave Goldfinch" <daveg50_8@NotCoolMail.invalid> wrote in message
news:0plbh3hsq2sk711q4dfv2rgs7si1lb5pqb@4ax.com...
I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.

Normally I don't go for these warranty extensions but am I likely to
regret this decision ?

Dave.
Click to expand...
 
I am service agents for a few brands and Palsonic seem to be quite good.
3 years warranty and picture is perfect.

Rudolf


"Franc Zabkar" <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in message
news:trrch31o9sbs9ttjpksm3up6jo57ua8l54@4ax.com...
On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:49:41 GMT, Dave Goldfinch
daveg50_8@NotCoolMail.invalid> put finger to keyboard and composed:


I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years.

LG and Samsung TVs come with 3 year warranties. When I was shopping
for an 81cm set I didn't see any difference between Panasonic and the
others.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
Click to expand...
 
On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:49:41 GMT, Dave Goldfinch
<daveg50_8@NotCoolMail.invalid> wrote:

I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.

Normally I don't go for these warranty extensions but am I likely to
regret this decision ?

Dave.
Click to expand...

Thanks to all who responded.

I went with Panasonic because I have had good experiences with their
gear in the past eg a microwave oven that lasted close to 25 years and
a VCR that lasted well past obsolescence.

I was tempted by the LG model but in the end decided to go with the
'name' brand - hopefully it will work out.


Dave
 
Extended warranties are very controversial. If the base warranty is one
year, you have to consider that after the year is finished, if something in
the set fails, you will have to pay for the servicing.

Most of the failures are a capacitor, or a semiconductor. In these sets the
are not usually serviced at the component level. They change complete
circuit boards. Repairs can be fairly expensive. If the panel itself, or
one of the major circuit boards fail, then the repair can cost about the
same as the replacement cost of the set.

The extended warranty is like an insurance policy, where the vendor of the
warranty will take on the responsibility to service your set in the case if
it fails within the agreed contract time frame. He is also counting on the
fact that statistically a certain number of sets will come back for service
during the time that he is responsible for the warranty service cost. The
price of the warranty is calculated relation to the value of the set, and is
determined by a number of factors to determine the probabilities if the set
will come back, and the number of times it may fail.

Another important thing to find out, is if the extended warranty is
pro-rated. This means that after the first year, you will pay a portion of
the cost according to time that you have had the set. For example, during
the first year of the extended warranty, you may not pay anything if the set
fails. During the second year of the extended warranty, you may have to pay
30% of the repair cost. During the second year, you may have to pay 60% of
the repair.

It is important that you understand all the terms of the warranty, and what
their liability is with your set. You may have a type of failure that may
not be covered.

Some years ago, I remember seeing some CRT sets that had an extended
warranty option. They covered the CRT itself for only 2 years. The rest of
the set was pro-rated for 3 years. They called it an extended warranty.
Basically, during the last year the CRT was not covered. You can bet that
after the second year, there were some CRT's that were failing! When the
customers complained, they were shown a copy of the fine print on the back
of the warranty plan.

For the flat panel TV sets, the prices have been dropping. I have no idea of
how far they will go down. You have to use your own judgment with extended
warranties. When buying a TV set, first find out if the model or similar
models under the same manufacture have been proven to be reliable. It there
is at least an 90% reliability factor that is in your favour, it may be
worth gambling on having no extended warranty. You can put that cost
difference for a good DVD player, or for the next TV set.


--

JANA
_____


"Dave Goldfinch" <daveg50_8@NotCoolMail.invalid> wrote in message
news:0plbh3hsq2sk711q4dfv2rgs7si1lb5pqb@4ax.com...

I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.

Normally I don't go for these warranty extensions but am I likely to
regret this decision ?

Dave.
 
On Oct 17, 7:49 pm, Dave Goldfinch <daveg5...@NotCoolMail.invalid>
wrote:
I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.

Normally I don't go for these warranty extensions but am I likely to
regret this decision ?

Dave.
Click to expand...
The warranty sounds very high , usually around 10% of purchase is the
figure but depending on who is making repairs the option of oem or
substitutive parts raises it's head
Your choice I guess , however there is the issue of reasonable
expectation of life in relation to the warranty and just because the
"warranty" is ended does not remove the obligation to supply a
serviceable product with expectation of decent life , I had audio
board problems with a 60" Lg well out of warranty repaired free due to
previous known problems , again your choice . (and of course the new
board was an upgrade and no further problems(but a recall would have
cost a fortune )
 
"JANA" <jana@NOSPAMca.inter.net> wrote in message news:...
Extended warranties are very controversial. If the base warranty is one
year, you have to consider that after the year is finished, if something in
the set fails, you will have to pay for the servicing.

Most of the failures are a capacitor, or a semiconductor. In these sets the
are not usually serviced at the component level. They change complete
circuit boards. Repairs can be fairly expensive. If the panel itself, or
one of the major circuit boards fail, then the repair can cost about the
same as the replacement cost of the set.

The extended warranty is like an insurance policy, where the vendor of the
warranty will take on the responsibility to service your set in the case if
it fails within the agreed contract time frame. He is also counting on the
fact that statistically a certain number of sets will come back for service
during the time that he is responsible for the warranty service cost. The
price of the warranty is calculated relation to the value of the set, and is
determined by a number of factors to determine the probabilities if the set
will come back, and the number of times it may fail.

Another important thing to find out, is if the extended warranty is
pro-rated. This means that after the first year, you will pay a portion of
the cost according to time that you have had the set. For example, during
the first year of the extended warranty, you may not pay anything if the set
fails. During the second year of the extended warranty, you may have to pay
30% of the repair cost. During the second year, you may have to pay 60% of
the repair.

It is important that you understand all the terms of the warranty, and what
their liability is with your set. You may have a type of failure that may
not be covered.

Some years ago, I remember seeing some CRT sets that had an extended
warranty option. They covered the CRT itself for only 2 years. The rest of
the set was pro-rated for 3 years. They called it an extended warranty.
Basically, during the last year the CRT was not covered. You can bet that
after the second year, there were some CRT's that were failing! When the
customers complained, they were shown a copy of the fine print on the back
of the warranty plan.

For the flat panel TV sets, the prices have been dropping. I have no idea of
how far they will go down. You have to use your own judgment with extended
warranties. When buying a TV set, first find out if the model or similar
models under the same manufacture have been proven to be reliable. It there
is at least an 90% reliability factor that is in your favour, it may be
worth gambling on having no extended warranty. You can put that cost
difference for a good DVD player, or for the next TV set.


--

JANA
_____


"Dave Goldfinch" <daveg50_8@NotCoolMail.invalid> wrote in message
news:0plbh3hsq2sk711q4dfv2rgs7si1lb5pqb@4ax.com...

I have just bought a Panasonic 81cm LCD TV (Model TX-32LXD700A). So
far, I am very impressed with the picture quality, ease of setup,
options for inputs etc.

I was suprised that it only has a 1 year warranty, as my Acer 19" LCD
monitor came with 3 years .Obviously the monitor has a lot less in it
to go wrong, but it appears that they have confidence in the display,
and I would have thought that a monitor would be used for far more
hours per day than a TV, especially one in an office environment.

Panasonic are offering an optional warranty of either an extra 24 or
48 months for $300 or $600 respectively. This seems rather steep to me
as the price for the unit was $1498.

Normally I don't go for these warranty extensions but am I likely to
regret this decision ?

Dave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Welcome to EDABoard.com

Sponsor

Back
Top