Plasma HDTV Bestbuy Service Plan

[darth2222]

Im in the process of buying a new Plasma TV from Bestbuy 3 years no interest cant be that. anyway is it worth the 300-400 for the 4 year in home service plan. Any suggestions or past experiences would be appreciated

[bobsticks]

Greetings oh Lord of the Sith,

Hopefully, edtyct is lurking about and will share some insight with you. He is the resident vid guru and should have some words of wisdom worth heeding.

My experience as a plasma owner for three years has been all positive. I think that some of the urban legends about the delicacy of the screen and burn in are over-hyped. Mine has seen periods of moderate to heavy use and has always respoded like a trooper. That said, it is my understanding that while there aren't a lot of things that can go wrong with the technology, the ones that can are virtually all life-threatening to the unit. There's not a lot of "fixing" plasmas, just replacing. For my money and peace of mind it was worth it to spring for the extra coverage just in case.

Have fun and enjoy the new toy!

[elapsed]

Here's an excellent read:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/index.php?...=110&Itemid=34

[Mr Peabody]

I really take issue with extended warranties, especially when companies like Best Buy virtually tell you they don't want to see you again after the sale unless you buy one. However, it's a money maker that all retailers do now and weighing in the expense of a Plasma it might not be a bad thing in your case.

Another thing about those extended warranties, is do not listen to the sales persons version of the warranty, what they say don't mean jack and you can't hold anyone accountable, you read that thing yourself to see what is covered.

[LMB]

Consumer Reports Are Usally Against Extended Warranties
With The Exception Of Lcd,plasma And Laptops
However I Would Shop Online For Warranties
I Bought A 5 Year From Warrantech Repair Master For $300 Less Than What Tweeters Wanted

Good Luck

[Fergymunster]

Im in the process of buying a new Plasma TV from Bestbuy 3 years no interest cant be that. anyway is it worth the 300-400 for the 4 year in home service plan. Any suggestions or past experiences would be appreciated

I would first go with the warranty that's provided with the TV.I have a Panasonic one and had trouble with it in the begginng and Panasonic had someone locally come and fix it.Really no big deal.I also got mine from Best Buy around 3 years ago and went with their 3 year warranty service.If you go this route make sure you use the TV warranty first and when that runs out then the Best Buy warranty will kick in.The important thing is that if you use the Best Buy warranty first to fix something then your original TV warranty is not valid anymore.

[edtyct]

What is it that they say about money being the root of all evil? Best Buy and others wouldn't offer extended warranties to people if they couldn't make money on them. Your health and homeowners' insurance companies wouldn't either. That doesn't mean, however, that you would do better to avoid protection altogether. The lucky ones will say, Why bother?, while the rest of us suffer. I agree with CR that many products, particularly the less expensive ones (like DVD players), don't usually merit an extended warranty. However, on big-ticket, elaborate, and expensive items like plasmas or other fixed-pixel TVs, the probability of failure, though still low in abstract terms, may well favor an extended warranty to take effect after the manufacturer's warranty expires. A lot of unforeseen things can happen to these sets; they're incredibly complicated. I've seen an electrical charge from a plasma's panel take out an entire circuit board and destroy the cells. It doesn't happen often, but often enough for a tech to take notice.

[darth2222]

I went with the service plan since i got a good deal on the TV. Now i can sleep at night

[willx45x]

As a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) I can assure you the warranties available from the big box stores are almost NEVER a good deal. When you do the math, it just doesn't work.

w