OT: My tale of woe

[pap49cba]

So I'm watching the UMASS game last night when my 46" Sony Bravia HDTV blows a head gasket.... TWO months out of warranty. Perfect timing.

 

[Icebear]

Always how it happens.

 

[meyers7]

So I'm watching the UMASS game last night when my 46" Sony Bravia HDTV blows a head gasket.... TWO months out of warranty. Perfect timing.

Didn't even know they had head gaskets. Guess I'm not very tech savvy.

 

[choochoo]

So I'm watching the UMASS game last night when my 46" Sony Bravia HDTV blows a head gasket.... TWO months out of warranty. Perfect timing.

I've got a 5 year old xbr-3 46", how old was your set. Im looking at the new sharp 70 or 80" sharp. Its veiwmongous!!!!

 

[Icebear]

Didn't even know they had head gaskets. Guess I'm not very tech savvy.

I think it was Pap's head gasket that blew.

 

[pap49cba]

Yeah... sorry. I blew a head gasket. The tv panel just blew. Set was 26 mos. old and had a 24 mos. warranty. Spent half the night talking to various Sony clowns in the Phillipines who basically all gave me the finger. Also did a Google search for "Sony panel failure" and got 625,000 hits! Turns out this has been an ongoing problem with the 46" and 52" sets manufactured in 2008 and 2009. Will never purchase another Sony. Sorry for the rant. Will now have to watch the tournament in standard def. Ugh.

 

[uconnfan68]

Yeah... sorry. I blew a head gasket. The tv panel just blew. Set was 26 mos. old and had a 24 mos. warranty. Spent half the night talking to various Sony clowns in the Phillipines who basically all gave me the finger. Also did a Google search for "Sony panel failure" and got 625,000 hits! Turns out this has been an ongoing problem with the 46" and 52" sets manufactured in 2008 and 2009. Will never purchase another Sony. Sorry for the rant. Will now have to watch the tournament in standard def. Ugh.

Go get a new bigger Sony, watch the tournament, then return it. You have 30 days.

 

[VAMike23]

 

[Wonkster]

So I'm watching the UMASS game last night when my 46" Sony Bravia HDTV blows a head gasket.... TWO months out of warranty. Perfect timing.

How many cylinders did your set have?

Did you have it tuned up recently? Maybe you can sue the mechanic!
.

 

[JRRRJ]

So I'm watching the UMASS game last night when my 46" Sony Bravia HDTV blows a head gasket.... TWO months out of warranty. Perfect timing.

If you bought it with a Gold Visa or Master Card, or any American Express card, you are not out of warranty. All those cards extend your warranty to double the manufacturer's length, up to an additional year. A few other cards do so as well. Check your card's terms & conditions. (The flyspeck-print document that came with your card.)

 

[JimGunther]

If the JRRRJ suggestion doesn't apply (even if it does) check this form to determine if it might be subject to recall or if there is some "off label" way Sony might help you solve your problem.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/
Squeeky wheel and all that.

 

[Jim]

Ya gotta remember to only throw EMPTY beer cans at the screen. Throwing full 6-packs can do real damage.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Was Dee Kantner officiating?

Look at the suggestions about the extra warrarnty period based on the credit card, etc.

Also, you're going to need a bigger boat, er , TV. I got an e-mail from Circuit City this morning--Samsung 55" 1080p 240Hz for $999. Moriah Jefferson is so fast that you'll need the 240Hz refresh rate.

 

[pap49cba]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. No go on the credit card. My card (MC) does provide an extended warranty PROVIDED the original warranty was for 1 year or less. My tv carried an original warranty of two years that expired at the end of December.

I am now fighting the good fight with Sony but I'm not optimistic. Most of the info I've read on Google is that about the best they will do is give a $100 or $200 coupon good for a new tv (another Sony of course) or make an offer to sell an older, refurbished tv for $500 +/-. In the meantime I get to spend $109 to have an authorized technician make a formal diagnosis and report even though said technician has already told me I'm wasting my money because he knows exactly what the problem is without having to look at it.

I suspect I have bought my last Sony.

 

[Icebear]

Was Dee Kantner officiating?

Look at the suggestions about the extra warrarnty period based on the credit card, etc.

Also, you're going to need a bigger boat, er , TV. I got an e-mail from Circuit City this morning--Samsung 55" 1080p 240Hz for $999. Moriah Jefferson is so fast that you'll need the 240Hz refresh rate.

Now that is slow email and they call the US Post Office snail mail, "Ha!"

 

[MilfordHusky]

Now that is slow email and they call the US Post Office snail mail, "Ha!"

Circuit City still exists as some form of on-line retailer. I think someone bought the name.

 

[Icebear]

Circuit City still exists as some form of on-line retailer. I think someone bought the name.

Ah, because all the places where I knew their big box stores are gone in PA.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Ah, because all the places where I knew their big box stores are gone in PA.

Same here in the D.C. metro.

 

[UConnChapette]

I'm pretty sure manufacturers have added hidden chips that get activated when the appliance (TV, microwave, oven, washing machine...) is turned on for the first time. They are programmed to self-destruct the appliance once the warranty expires. Oh, not the day after the warranty expires. That would be TOO obvious. The self-destruct programming is variable, depending on the whim of the assembly line supervisor on shift that day. Some days they use the two week chips, some days the two months, sometimes none at all - but that is a very, very small percentage of the total manufactured units overall. That accounts for the people who say "Really? I've had mine for 10 years, and never a single problem."

What? I'm paranoid you say? Well! Just because I am paranoid doesn't mean they aren't all out to get me!

 

[DaddyChoc]

So I'm watching the UMASS game last night when my 46" Sony Bravia HDTV blows a head gasket.... TWO months out of warranty. Perfect timing.

watching UMess was you biggest mistake

 

[DaddyChoc]

Ah, because all the places where I knew their big box stores are gone in PA.

Same here in the D.C. metro.

most are PC Richards these day.

and the online Circuit City is good BUT they sell mostly "refurbished" stuff (via thse emails)

 

[Icebear]

Refurbished stuff is my most frequent purchase. I have had tremendous luck with these, especially, in electronics. In some ways better than new ones where there is always a statistical failure rate acceptable in manufacturing the reconditioned and refurbished have been gone over by hand.

 

[Wonkster]

Refurbished stuff is my most frequent purchase. I have had tremendous luck with these, especially, in electronics. In some ways better than new ones where there is always a statistical failure rate acceptable in manufacturing the reconditioned and refurbished have been gone over by hand.

I'd never buy a "refurbished" item that contained a hard drive - disks have a low finite lifetime (3-5 years, or worse). But anything else, sure. Quite a few refurbished items I've bought looked absolutely spanking new when I opened them.

Tangentially, I have had nothing but good experience with the online incarnation of Circuit City, although I think they've all been new items.
.

 

[Icebear]

I'd never buy a "refurbished" item that contained a hard drive - disks have a low finite lifetime (3-5 years, or worse). But anything else, sure. Quite a few refurbished items I've bought looked absolutely spanking new when I opened them.

Tangentially, I have had nothing but good experience with the online incarnation of Circuit City, although I think they've all been new items.
.

I cannot remember if anything I purchased has ever had a hard drive in it. For that reason I think I have not. That is a reasonable concern.

 

[Wonkster]

I cannot remember if anything I purchased has ever had a hard drive in it. For that reason I think I have not. That is a reasonable concern.

WOOT and similar '24-hour special' sites are awash in refurbished netbooks, laptops, and desktop computers. Never touch 'em for precisely that reason.
.