xtended warranty

[briggsy]

Hi,
What is the forum's thought on extended warrenty for Plasma's.
Generally?
I have found that most electrical items tend to be either DOA or break within the first few months if there is a manufacturing fault. So normally the manufacturers 1year is fine.
+1 years is usually down to wear and tear.
What is the minimum expected lifetime on Plasma parts? I bet nobody can answer this one. Anyone repaired one ? I've never seen inside one so I'm unsure on how much can be repaired in house and how much manufacterer only.

Are business models designed to last longer than home ones ?
When the price of some of the warranty's are as much as 33% of the cost price I have to ask is it worth it ?
There is no right/wrong answer. Its worth it if it breaks and you dont get a bill for £1000's.
Its a lot to pay for peace of mind.
Generally if the repair bill is > than the current value of the item you get the current value not a new screen. This may vary between contracts and the cost of the warranty.
I'm curious of what others have done and their thoughts.

Cheers
Briggsy

 

[bobbypunk]

I think you'll find the reason for warranties being worthwhile is alot of the time faults are best solved by them being changed over, out of guarantee this means scrapping them!!
I'm sure plasma bills are high for repairs aswell!

 

[LV426]

Never, ever buy an extended warranty from the store that sells you the equipment. If you feel you must have one, buy direct from somewhere like Domestic & General; a fraction of the cost, and the warranty isn't worthless when the shop goes into liquidation (Powerhouse, anyone?)

Or buy your Plasma from John Lewis. (5 years free warranty).

My opinion:

Most things that are going to go wrong will do so inside the initial 12 month cover. Whilst a replacement sounds like a nice idea, the reality is that Plasma is still a fairly infant technology and as such prices are likely to continue falling. So, when you come to need a replacement (if you do) in, say, 4 years - the new set probably only costs what you paid Curry$, Comet or Dixon$ for their warranty in the first place.

And, before you ask, they do not need re-gassing every four years.

 

[DELUCAS]

I believe one of the first things to go on plasmas are the PSUs after long usage !!

 

[briggsy]

Hi,
I like the old re-gassing story.
"fill 'er up please"
Just talked to a few people at the Bristol show and they said exactly the same thing about the PSU's and it normally only affects business users and costs around £250.