Quote Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas
The point about my niece is that there are probably 100's of 1000's of people just like her who either don't want to bother doing the proper research before making the purchase or they simply don't know the data is available. I read some reviews about this Polariod TV and the common problem was with the power supply crapping out within 8 to 12 months. Customer service was rediculous and repair time was worse. And yes, the customer was responsible for back-n-forth shipping IIRC.
At least those TVs could be dealt with under warranty.

One of Gary Merson/HD Guru's findings from interviewing company reps about their warranty policies is that off-brands like Polaroid, Westinghouse, and Insignia won't even deal with you once the warranty expires. The Polaroid rep he talked to basically admitted that they make no provisions for post-warranty servicing -- no authorized repair centers, no spare parts -- you're basically buying a disposable TV.

Vizio operated that way as well, until they changed their repair policies not long after the original article came out. But, even now, their coverage still falls short of what the name brand TV companies offer, and there's no guarantee of spare parts availability for any Vizio TVs made before July 2007.