Warranty Dilemma : What Would You Do ?
Jeffy3
brand name MPD850 to be specific. Didn't use it a heck of a lot, only
for occasional trips in the car to keep our four year-old from asking
"Are we there yet" a hundred times. Never dropped it and thought we
took good care of it. Last week tried to power it up in the car and
it's dead. Doesn't work with the car charger, doesn't work with the
AC adaptor in the house. Dead as a doornail. Called Initial today,
which is the actual manufacturer of this unit, and was told after 90
days labor will cost me $49, even though the parts are free. Plus, I
have to mail it back which will cost a few bucks.
Would you get it repaired for what is about half the price of a new
unit, or just buy a new one and this time purchase one of the store's
replacement warranties, which in the past I have always thought to be
a joke?
There oughta be a law I tells ya!
Rod Speed
> Bought a portable dvd player at Best Buy in April for $130. Magnavox
> brand name MPD850 to be specific. Didn't use it a heck of a lot, only
> for occasional trips in the car to keep our four year-old from asking
> "Are we there yet" a hundred times. Never dropped it and thought we
> took good care of it. Last week tried to power it up in the car and
> it's dead. Doesn't work with the car charger, doesn't work with the
> AC adaptor in the house. Dead as a doornail. Called Initial today,
> which is the actual manufacturer of this unit, and was told after 90
> days labor will cost me $49, even though the parts are free. Plus, I
> have to mail it back which will cost a few bucks.
> Would you get it repaired for what is about half the price of a new unit,
Nope.
> or just buy a new one
Yep.
> and this time purchase one of the store's replacement warranties,
Nope.
> which in the past I have always thought to be a joke?
They still are and you dont necessarily get it fixed for free.
> There oughta be a law I tells ya!
You're always welcome to consider the warranty detail before buying anything.
Anthony Matonak
> Bought a portable dvd player at Best Buy in April for $130. ...
> ... Dead as a doornail. ...
> ... labor will cost me $49, even though the parts are free.
> Would you get it repaired for what is about half the price of a new
> unit, or just buy a new one and this time purchase one of the store's
> replacement warranties, which in the past I have always thought to be
> a joke?
You could buy a refurbished unit for about half the price of this one.
Care of froogle.com
http://www.overstockdealz.com/products.asp?id=PDM0822BDR
POLAROID 8 In. Portable Widescreen DVD Player w/ Rotating LCD Screen
Your Price: $59.99
Anthony
val189
dollar item.
I wouldn't replace it - teach the kiddo the cow-horse-cemetery game.
Cheap and he might learn something.
Rick
There may be.
Consumer protection law can be very State specific. What you want to
find out is the law regarding "implied use and merchantability" in the
State you reside in. The basic concept of this type of consumer
protection is 1.) The item you buy must perform the function it is
supposed to, based on the manufacturer's claims, and not be
misrepresented. and 2.) The item is supposed to function for a
reasonable period of time. It's item #2 you want to check out.
I would call the Attorney General's office in the State you reside in
and ask for a Consumer Affairs division to find out what your rights are
regarding this somewhat dubious split warranty. There's little point in
warranting the parts against a manufacturing defect for a one year
period if the Consumer is expected to foot the bill to pay to repair
should the defect show up after 90 days. It's somewhat non-sensical and
you may have protection in your State law regarding this somewhat bogus
warranty.
There are a couple of assumptions about the warranty terms I had to make
based on your statement. Have a copy of the warranty right in front of
you when you call your AG's office to ask questions. Depending on what
Consumer protections you have, either the manufacturer or Best Buy could
be held liable.
Would I pay to repair it? Well if it's already crapped out once in a
matter of months - hell no. Would I pay for an extended warranty the
next time? No - I'd look for a product with better initial warranty
terms to begin with. In my State when requested the warranty terms have
to be available to the consumer for inspection before you purchase.
But the very first thing I would do is see if you have any legal rights
to blow the existing warranty right out of the water and get the unit
replaced or repaired (no one repairs this stuff - it's just exchanged)
at no charge. That would be the most frugal option.
Rick
Jeffy3
Rick, thanks very much for the advice. I have filed a form with my
state's consumer affairs office of the attorney general (phone contact
was useless). I also appreciate the advice from you and others about
reviewing the warranty ahead of time. I will do that from now on. I
do a decent job of researching electronics before I make purchases,
but most of that research doesn't really divulge much about how long a
product typically lasts, it's mostly technical reviews of the quality
of the picture, the controls, etc.
Rod Speed
Yes, because thats much harder to measure, and by the time you have useful
numbers on that, the product is no longer available anyway most of the time.
> it's mostly technical reviews of the quality of the picture, the controls, etc.
Thats all thats really feasible.
Rick
Frugal warranty trivia: This may vary from State to State or may be a
chain wide policy. If you by a floor model - the remaining demo unit in
the store - at Radio Shack, Radio Shack will extend the original
warranty an extra year at no charge. I bought a DVD player being closed
out this year under those circumstances that is covered by a two year
warranty. It was a demo - as far as it being on display - but it had
never even been plugged in, let alone operated.
Some times they volunteer this info at Radio Shack - which may be a
consumer protection requirement* - some times you have to ask.
Regardless, make sure the extended warranty coverage has been entered by
the sales rep and shows up on the receipt or else you don't have it.
*Some States do not allow opened returned merchandise or floor models to
be sold as new items or be represented as new. If it's out of the box it
has to be sold at a less-than-retail price. Or in this case, you get
compensated with the extended warranty. This is the way it works in MA -
may be different in other States.
Rick
clams casino
>Bought a portable dvd player at Best Buy in April for $130. Magnavox
>brand name MPD850 to be specific. Didn't use it a heck of a lot, only
>for occasional trips in the car to keep our four year-old from asking
>"Are we there yet" a hundred times. Never dropped it and thought we
>took good care of it. Last week tried to power it up in the car and
>it's dead. Doesn't work with the car charger, doesn't work with the
>AC adaptor in the house. Dead as a doornail.
>
Considering it was sold via Worstbuy, there's a high probability it was
either a very used floor model or a returned item repackaged to look
like new.
Worstbuy is notorious for repackaging returned / bad items.
It may have been a lemon, but the odds are it was simply a repackaged /
damaged item from the start.