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General discussion

Warranty really worth it for a Plasma TV??

Aug 30, 2005 3:35AM PDT

Is a 3, 5, or whatever year warranty from a place like WarrenTech really worth purchasing? I'm looking to buy the Panasonic 42" 42PX50U Plasma TV.

Looking around, I seem to get about $350 for a 5 year warranty from WarrenTech. Doesn't seem horrible, but still, it's $350. Thanks for the input!

Discussion is locked

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In A Word, yes....
Aug 30, 2005 4:03AM PDT

..It's one of the only times (maybe THE only time) Consumer Reports has recommended that readers buy these things. And their logic makes sense. Plasmas are a nice piece of change ($2,500+) so that the VCR/DVD logic of "buy cheap and throw it out if it breaks" doesn't really apply. They're way too heavy and unwieldy to bring anywhere and, most importantly (by far), qualified service for these things is likely to run $1,000 before a qualified service person walks in your door. Most if not all of these warranties have a "three strikes and you're out" clause whereby, if the servive person has to come three times and the problem is still not resolved you get 100% of your purchase price back.

Well worth it IMHO (and I am [almost] universally against the purchase of such policies).

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Warranty it is then....but from where?
Aug 30, 2005 4:42AM PDT

Any suggestions then on which company to go with and what is a reasonable price and coverage? I mention WarrenTech again just because from reading the little blurbs online, it seems to cover just about everything (not customer caused), takes care of repair, shipping, new units if necessary, etc. 5 year for $350 doesn't seem to bad. Yes or no?? Thanks.

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Re:...
Aug 30, 2005 4:58AM PDT

...$350 for five years is superb! I paid $399 for a three year warranty. I suspect it's common practice to get it through the place you're buying your TV from. In my case this was Vanns.com and the extended warranty is directly thru them. This is reassuring as they have been in business since 1961 (!!!). Though I have no experience with secondary warranty companies, I suspect you're out of luck if you buy from one of them and they're quite simply "not around" 3 years down the road if you have to call for service. The store that sold you the unit will take no responsibility at that point. So I'd suggest either buying directly from the store you're dealing with (as long as it's been around for 10+ years) or looking for an independant warranty extension place that is well known and has been around for a while.
You know what they say..."possession is 9/10ths of the law, and once these places have your money, if they go out of business you're out of luck!

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Warranty really worth it for a Plasma TV??
Aug 30, 2005 5:54AM PDT

Think of a Warrenty as you would an insurance policy.
How much is the item worth vrs the cost of the policy.
Psyc Doc is correct that the quality of the company is everthing!!! Check them out!!! If they have been around since 1961 thats GOOD. John