Best Buy Service Plan for Samsung DLP HDTV - Advice needed

Hi, we purchased a Samsung 61" DLP HDTV almost a month ago and we are
still debating the purchase of the Best Buy Service Plan. We have
some concerns, however:

1) Our TV was purchased on sale for approx. $3800-3900, the service
plan price quoted was $400 for 4 years. This seems high to me. Is
it?

2) Is Best Buy reliable with their service? ie. Will they do what
they say? We are interested in knowing if anyone has had any
experience with actually trying to get things fixed.

3) We felt the sales manager was exaggerating with his stories of all
that could go wrong, even in the first year, with these TV's. He had
horror stories of possible $1500 repairs and such. At the minimum he
suggested that the bulb would need to be replaced at least every 2
years, which at $200/bulb would recoup the cost of the service plan.
I question this. With a 6000 hour bulb life, say we watch a maximum
of 5 hours/day on average, that gives us 1200 days which is over 3
years.

4) We are not even sure the service plan WILL cover the bulb as the
sales manager claims. It does not specifically mention the bulb. It
does offer "complete coverage if your product fails due to normal wear
and tear/usage", BUT it also says "not covered are replacement costs
for lost or consumable parts (knobs, remotes, batteries, bags, belts,
etc.)" We are afraid they could argue that a bulb is a "consumable
part".

We are not naive enough to think that just because the sales manager
says something is covered, that it is. I have read the performance
plan brochure carefully, and unfortunately, it is written for a
variety of products and not specifically for an HDTV.

So, should we or shouldn't we? $400 is a lot of money and we don't
want to throw it away. Thanks!

We purchased a Samsung 50" on the pedestal, considered 2nd generation DLP.
Love it!!! I usually do not purchase service plans, except on expensive
items like the Samsung. Best Buy has been slammed about their service
policies and is know on the up and up. Too much media exposure last time.
They are worried about class action law litigation. Good Luck, Alan

--
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"Jim" wrote in message
om...
Hi, we purchased a Samsung 61" DLP HDTV almost a month ago and we are
still debating the purchase of the Best Buy Service Plan. We have
some concerns, however:

1) Our TV was purchased on sale for approx. $3800-3900, the service
plan price quoted was $400 for 4 years. This seems high to me. Is
it?

2) Is Best Buy reliable with their service? ie. Will they do what
they say? We are interested in knowing if anyone has had any
experience with actually trying to get things fixed.

3) We felt the sales manager was exaggerating with his stories of all
that could go wrong, even in the first year, with these TV's. He had
horror stories of possible $1500 repairs and such. At the minimum he
suggested that the bulb would need to be replaced at least every 2
years, which at $200/bulb would recoup the cost of the service plan.
I question this. With a 6000 hour bulb life, say we watch a maximum
of 5 hours/day on average, that gives us 1200 days which is over 3
years.

4) We are not even sure the service plan WILL cover the bulb as the
sales manager claims. It does not specifically mention the bulb. It
does offer "complete coverage if your product fails due to normal wear
and tear/usage", BUT it also says "not covered are replacement costs
for lost or consumable parts (knobs, remotes, batteries, bags, belts,
etc.)" We are afraid they could argue that a bulb is a "consumable
part".

We are not naive enough to think that just because the sales manager
says something is covered, that it is. I have read the performance
plan brochure carefully, and unfortunately, it is written for a
variety of products and not specifically for an HDTV.

So, should we or shouldn't we? $400 is a lot of money and we don't
want to throw it away. Thanks!

There is nothing to argue about. A bulb IS a consumable and not covered by
any warranty.

But also understand that BB will NOT provide service to any device that is
out of warranty...even when you bought it at their store!
Do you have a good service source in your area BESIDES BB?




"Jim" wrote in message
om...
Hi, we purchased a Samsung 61" DLP HDTV almost a month ago and we are
still debating the purchase of the Best Buy Service Plan. We have
some concerns, however:

1) Our TV was purchased on sale for approx. $3800-3900, the service
plan price quoted was $400 for 4 years. This seems high to me. Is
it?

2) Is Best Buy reliable with their service? ie. Will they do what
they say? We are interested in knowing if anyone has had any
experience with actually trying to get things fixed.

3) We felt the sales manager was exaggerating with his stories of all
that could go wrong, even in the first year, with these TV's. He had
horror stories of possible $1500 repairs and such. At the minimum he
suggested that the bulb would need to be replaced at least every 2
years, which at $200/bulb would recoup the cost of the service plan.
I question this. With a 6000 hour bulb life, say we watch a maximum
of 5 hours/day on average, that gives us 1200 days which is over 3
years.

4) We are not even sure the service plan WILL cover the bulb as the
sales manager claims. It does not specifically mention the bulb. It
does offer "complete coverage if your product fails due to normal wear
and tear/usage", BUT it also says "not covered are replacement costs
for lost or consumable parts (knobs, remotes, batteries, bags, belts,
etc.)" We are afraid they could argue that a bulb is a "consumable
part".

We are not naive enough to think that just because the sales manager
says something is covered, that it is. I have read the performance
plan brochure carefully, and unfortunately, it is written for a
variety of products and not specifically for an HDTV.

So, should we or shouldn't we? $400 is a lot of money and we don't
want to throw it away. Thanks!

When did they start that policy? A few years ago, I took a JVC SVHS I
bought at Circuit City to BB for service, and they fixed it no questions
asked.

"curmudgeon" wrote in message
news
But also understand that BB will NOT provide service to any device that is
out of warranty...even when you bought it at their store!

I don't believe THEY service anything. They contract it out. Their
service policies didn't used to be theirs either, meaning that they
sold a policy serviced by another company. I don't know if that's
still true.

Clay
"Jeff Henkels" wrote in message
...
When did they start that policy? A few years ago, I took a JVC SVHS
I
bought at Circuit City to BB for service, and they fixed it no
questions
asked.

"curmudgeon" wrote in message
news
But also understand that BB will NOT provide service to any device
that is
out of warranty...even when you bought it at their store!

See in-line:

(Jim) wrote in message . com...
Hi, we purchased a Samsung 61" DLP HDTV almost a month ago and we are
still debating the purchase of the Best Buy Service Plan. We have
some concerns, however:


I recommend against buying HDTVs from Best Buyer, they aren't
qualified to sale this type of product and as a result the
manufactuerers won't let them sale their top of the line (e.g. Toshiba
Cinema). I generally only use and abuse this company (Best Buy). Based
on my past experiences with their service, I would hate to see what
kind of damage their "techs" (I use that loosely) could do to a
rear-projection HDTV.

Best Buy would love to sale you an extended warrenty/service
agreement. I assure you, statisticly it would be a waste of your
money! First of all I recommend the advice of third-party research.
Consumer Reports did an article on how almost all extended warrenties
on consumer electronics products are a waste of money. Going beyond
that and looking specificly at Best Buy's "extedned service
agreements", having fell victim to two of them myself, I can tell you
first hand that having my DVD player and PC monitor repaired under
Best Buy's "extended service plan" was a horrible experience.

On the DVD player- Best Buy sent it off for repairs, six weeks(!) the
DVD player was ready for pickup. It worked fine for two weeks then
began acting up again. Since the behavor was random the only
conclusion is that Best Buy's "service tech" (we're probably talking
about a high school student working for wages) failed to anaylize and
solve the problem. I sent the DVD player back for repairs again. Many
weeks later I picked it up again only to discover that it still did
not work right. I went back in to Best Buy and talked with a manager,
he explained that their policy was to only exchange the product after
three attempts to repair had failed. At six weeks per repair, that's
four and a half months of waitng for repairs! How many consumers are
going to wait that long? Best Buy knows you're more likely to come
back to them and buy another DVD player!

On my PC monitior- Best Buy determined that they could not repair the
monitor so they me a "refurbished" monitor (someone elses used crap
they had laying around). They claimed this was the best they could do
and under the terms of the agreement they were only responsible for
providing a comparable product in exchange (since my monitor was a
year and half old, they apparently couldn't justify giving me a new
monitor). Long story short, the used monitor they gave me had problems
about a year later, at that time the extended warrenty had expired.

DO NOT PAY BEST BUY MONEY FOR AN EXTENDED WARRENTY. Ever! Espeically
not on a HDTV, something like this you'll want only an authorized
service tech to touch your set should something go wrong.







1) Our TV was purchased on sale for approx. $3800-3900, the service
plan price quoted was $400 for 4 years. This seems high to me. Is
it?

2) Is Best Buy reliable with their service? ie. Will they do what
they say? We are interested in knowing if anyone has had any
experience with actually trying to get things fixed.

3) We felt the sales manager was exaggerating with his stories of all
that could go wrong, even in the first year, with these TV's. He had
horror stories of possible $1500 repairs and such. At the minimum he
suggested that the bulb would need to be replaced at least every 2
years, which at $200/bulb would recoup the cost of the service plan.
I question this. With a 6000 hour bulb life, say we watch a maximum
of 5 hours/day on average, that gives us 1200 days which is over 3
years.

4) We are not even sure the service plan WILL cover the bulb as the
sales manager claims. It does not specifically mention the bulb. It
does offer "complete coverage if your product fails due to normal wear
and tear/usage", BUT it also says "not covered are replacement costs
for lost or consumable parts (knobs, remotes, batteries, bags, belts,
etc.)" We are afraid they could argue that a bulb is a "consumable
part".

We are not naive enough to think that just because the sales manager
says something is covered, that it is. I have read the performance
plan brochure carefully, and unfortunately, it is written for a
variety of products and not specifically for an HDTV.

So, should we or shouldn't we? $400 is a lot of money and we don't
want to throw it away. Thanks!

"curmudgeon" wrote in message
news
There is nothing to argue about. A bulb IS a consumable and not covered
by
any warranty.


Actually depending on the manufacturer, the bulb is covered up to 1 year. 90
days for Sony and Hitachi. 1 year by Mitsubishi. (Please correct me if I'm
wrong anyone)
Also where I work, the largest independently owned department store in the
US (located in NE US), we cover the bulb under our service plan. Plus we
provide yearly maintenance service.

Scott

The bulb will not be covered. Rest assured that Service Plans bring in
more profit to the retailer than any other item that they sell. That
alone should tell you that it is in their interest, not yours.

The Samsung has four components inside it - the power supply, the analog
board, the digital board, and the light engine. The first three cost
about $200 each to replace. The last costs about $1500. If you lose
the Light Engine during year 1, the warranty will cover it. Samsung
provides in-home service under warranty (1-800-Samsung), no need to
involve Best Buy in the process. They'll replace the light engine even
if it's just noisy, or if it has a single bad pixel.

If you lose the Light Engine during years 2, 3, or 4, then the Service
Plan will have been a good purchase. However, the probability of the
Light Engine working for a full year, and then failing within the next
three, is very, very small.

Jim wrote:
Hi, we purchased a Samsung 61" DLP HDTV almost a month ago and we are
still debating the purchase of the Best Buy Service Plan. We have
some concerns, however:

1) Our TV was purchased on sale for approx. $3800-3900, the service
plan price quoted was $400 for 4 years. This seems high to me. Is
it?

2) Is Best Buy reliable with their service? ie. Will they do what
they say? We are interested in knowing if anyone has had any
experience with actually trying to get things fixed.

3) We felt the sales manager was exaggerating with his stories of all
that could go wrong, even in the first year, with these TV's. He had
horror stories of possible $1500 repairs and such. At the minimum he
suggested that the bulb would need to be replaced at least every 2
years, which at $200/bulb would recoup the cost of the service plan.
I question this. With a 6000 hour bulb life, say we watch a maximum
of 5 hours/day on average, that gives us 1200 days which is over 3
years.

4) We are not even sure the service plan WILL cover the bulb as the
sales manager claims. It does not specifically mention the bulb. It
does offer "complete coverage if your product fails due to normal wear
and tear/usage", BUT it also says "not covered are replacement costs
for lost or consumable parts (knobs, remotes, batteries, bags, belts,
etc.)" We are afraid they could argue that a bulb is a "consumable
part".

We are not naive enough to think that just because the sales manager
says something is covered, that it is. I have read the performance
plan brochure carefully, and unfortunately, it is written for a
variety of products and not specifically for an HDTV.

So, should we or shouldn't we? $400 is a lot of money and we don't
want to throw it away. Thanks!

On 30 Sep 2004 16:54:29 -0700, (JDeats) wrote:

DO NOT PAY BEST BUY MONEY FOR AN EXTENDED WARRENTY. Ever! Espeically
not on a HDTV, something like this you'll want only an authorized
service tech to touch your set should something go wrong.

Best Buy does not have service techs. Factory authorized (I would
assume) subcontractors perform warranty work on the electronic items
they sell.

True. Best Buy sells warranties administered by NEW, National
Electronics Warranty Corporation. Not knowing how they work for HDTV,
but I can speak for my experience. My wife handles claims for DirecTV
for them. Claims are scheduled with factory authorized contractors who
install, set up, and provide warranty service. The contractor that came
out to service our multi-satellite receiver knew his job and was
finished promptly. We would have received the same treatment even if my
wife didn't work for NEW, as she has to play the bad guy and send a tech
out if there are still problems with a subscriber's equipment after they
closed the job. And the tech gets paid by the job, not by the clock.

HDTV-slingr wrote:

On 30 Sep 2004 16:54:29 -0700, (JDeats) wrote:


DO NOT PAY BEST BUY MONEY FOR AN EXTENDED WARRENTY. Ever! Espeically
not on a HDTV, something like this you'll want only an authorized
service tech to touch your set should something go wrong.


Best Buy does not have service techs. Factory authorized (I would
assume) subcontractors perform warranty work on the electronic items
they sell.