What to do with a broken TV?

[WrongVerb]

I have a bit of a delimma and was hoping for some good advice.

I have a 27" Sony Wega that I bought in 2000. It recently took a bit of a fall and went into "standby" mode. Sony says that it does that when it shuts itself down to avoid further harm. They also said to take it to a registered Sony repair place, of which there are 2 in my area.

Both places want between $100 and $125 just to look at it. They won't even know how much it will be to repair until after they see it. I can see a bill well over $200 or even $300. It would be crazy for me to pay that when I can buy a new 27" Wega on sale right now at Circuit City for $399.

So I'm holding off taking that chance because there's no point in spending the $125 unless I'm going through with the repairs. But there's no point in going through with the repairs if I can buy a new TV for less or about the same as what the repairs cost. A bit of a conundrum.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what other options I might have here? Sell it as-is (revealing to any potential buyers the issue with the TV of course, I'm not out to defraud anyone) might be one. What about donating it to the Salvation Army? What else might I not be thinking of here?

BTW, I've since purchased a new flat=panel TV. The Wega, if I kept and repaired it would be a 2nd TV which I wouldn't mind having but isn't absolutely necessary either.

[Blimpie]

Anyone have any suggestions as to what other options I might have here? Sell it as-is (revealing to any potential buyers the issue with the TV of course, I'm not out to defraud anyone) might be one. What about donating it to the Salvation Army? What else might I not be thinking of here?

That's the route I would pursue if for nothing else but the tax deduction. However, you may want to call them first and see what their donation policies might be for electronics. I know that the Goodwill store next to my house is normally overflowing with donations and has become quite 'picky' about accepting substandard electronics and furniture.

The last time I checked, the Sony WEGA was still the heaviest television on the planet. Make sure you don't haul that bad boy down there for nothing.

[WebScorpion]

It might be worth opening it up and seeing if there's anything obvious wrong with it. (loose wire, screw, etc.) This same type of thing happened to me with a computer monitor (cost more to repair than to replace) so I opened it up and found a wire that was knocked loose. I resoldered the wire and it worked like a champ.

[max venable]

Almost sounds like a scam, doesn't it? TV goes into "standby mode" in order to avoid further damage? What is that? And then the only thing you can do is pay $$$ to get it out of standby mode? Not right.

[WrongVerb]

Almost sounds like a scam, doesn't it? TV goes into "standby mode" in order to avoid further damage? What is that? And then the only thing you can do is pay $$$ to get it out of standby mode? Not right.

You're right, that does sound a bit of a scam. Or at least planned obsolescence. I never even thought about that.

Right now my gut is saying donate it to Salvation Army/Goodwill. We'll see.

And yes, the thing is DARN heavy.

[Red Leader]

You're right, that does sound a bit of a scam. Or at least planned obsolescence. I never even thought about that.

Right now my gut is saying donate it to Salvation Army/Goodwill. We'll see.

And yes, the thing is DARN heavy.

That's like my car. I get a "Maintenance required" message on my dash. The message is only there to remind me of oil changes. I took my car to get an oil change at a place I've always gone, not the dealership. The light didn't go off after I had the oil change done. I called the dealership I bought it from and they said, "you can come in and we put a key in that turns that light off indicating you've had the maintenance performed, it will stay on until we turn it off." Nice.

[Reds4Life]

The last time I checked, the Sony WEGA was still the heaviest television on the planet.

You aren't kidding. I was helping a friend move and we had to carry one, I swear they feel like they are filled with concrete.

[KronoRed]

The last time I checked, the Sony WEGA was still the heaviest television on the planet. Make sure you don't haul that bad boy down there for nothing.

Too true.

Mine has scratches on the sides from the many times I had to rest it while hauling it up the steps..good grief

[GAC]

Sounds like the power rectifier.

I feel your pain Dan. What they charge anymore just to look at it before replacement costs is ridiculous. I have a TV Repair man that lives next door. I'ver taken him TV's in similar situations and he told me that is the way they have purposely set the system up.

They don't want you to fix the one you have because if people kept fixing them, them they won't be buying new ones.

So that is why repair costs are alomost at the same level of buying a new one.

[max venable]

They don't want you to fix the one you have because if people kept fixing them, them they won't be buying new ones.

So that is why repair costs are alomost at the same level of buying a new one.

Well then, remind me to never pursue a career in TV repair.

[Boss-Hog]

That's like my car. I get a "Maintenance required" message on my dash. The message is only there to remind me of oil changes. I took my car to get an oil change at a place I've always gone, not the dealership. The light didn't go off after I had the oil change done. I called the dealership I bought it from and they said, "you can come in and we put a key in that turns that light off indicating you've had the maintenance performed, it will stay on until we turn it off." Nice.

That sounds like my Honda. Is that what you have? If so, there's a "workaround" for that.

[macro]

That's like my car. I get a "Maintenance required" message on my dash. The message is only there to remind me of oil changes. I took my car to get an oil change at a place I've always gone, not the dealership. The light didn't go off after I had the oil change done. I called the dealership I bought it from and they said, "you can come in and we put a key in that turns that light off indicating you've had the maintenance performed, it will stay on until we turn it off." Nice.

I'm not sure about your situation, RL, but I do know that the "check engine" light can usually be turned off by simply removing your battery cable and then reattaching it. (Not sure if you have to wait in-between or not, but I don't think so.) My check engine light came on, so I took it to Advance Auto Parts to let them put it on the computer and tell me why it was coming on. They said it was the O2 sensor, which is not vital. It comes back on every few weeks or months and I just either let it go out on it's on or unhook the battery cable. They said a bad o2 sensor would affect my mileage, but it hasn't affected mine one bit.

[It8ifyifitsgrif]

You may want to avoid taking it to the authorized repair shop and find a small-business tv shop to fix it or even buy it from you so they can repair and sell.

[GAC]

Well then, remind me to never pursue a career in TV repair.

Its not the "independent" repair man as much as the major companies that make these products. They price the repair parts at such an astonomical price that it comes down to not really worth it to fix them.

And that is exactly what Sony, Panasonic, RCA, etc., etc. want.
If these appliances were really built to last then where do you think that leaves them? Even their own in-house tech support and repair are set up that way.

I called RCA about a year ago on a TV, and wanted to have it repaired. The tech guy told me it would be $125 just to look at it. And he told me over the phone exactly what I am saying here.... it's just not worth it.

And the competition is so fierce in the industry you can run down to your local WalMart, Cosco, Rex, or wherever, and get another one cheap.

[RBA]

Buy an American TV next time.