Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[AnotherBestBuy]

One month later and I still have a broken TV set. The parts were ordered were on backorder. I demanded a new set and my replacement was, "declined by Panasonic" - very suspicious. After this demand the backorder parts just appeared and an appointment was set to install them -  they didn't solve the problem. More parts ordered and I am still waiting. This is really very poor treatment for a product that had a $2k price tag. No excuse for any of this at all.

I blame Panasonic for not trying harder to make a better product and not making it possible to simply just replace a TV in the first year of warranty. I blame Panasonic and Best Buy for forgetting that in these economic times they should be happy they are selling anything at all and go the extra mile to get situations like mine and the many others I read on these forums to get resolved with a no-nonsense approach. Nobody has disposable income to throw around these days and you can't afford to treat customers like they to are, disposable. Same on you both.

I am past angry, I am disappointed.

[AnotherBestBuy]

I am starting an new post on this issue since my first post was edited out! That is just poor moderator behavior to sensor forum posts.

After one month I am still without my 5 month old plasma TV. The system wont power up and the red LED indicator just flashed 10 times. After posting some issues on this site about poor triage, I was called by a technician in advance of a visit to my home. Part were ordered based upon the triage call. An attempt to fix it failed as the new parts that were ordered - that only "appeared" after I called and demanded a new TV... Awful suspect. Now another part is on order and it will be another couple weeks. Great Geek Squad representative came to fix the set. In spite of his failed attempts, I was very happy with his level of service and professionalism. But according to him,... this is pretty common with the Panasonic.

According to my research and a lengthy discussion with another veteran TV repair technician, these Panasonic (as well as many others) are not built to last only to sell. It was the opinion of this technician that only Samsung seems to to be better than most - but not by too much.

So, avoid the Panasonic - from I was told they are garbage and my own experience is proving this to be true.

So I await a repair yet again while I approach the one month mark for waiting to get this thing repaired. Unacceptable!

[JD1433]

You must have just gotten a bad unit; the panasonic plasmas have the longest lifespan of any other plasma (or lcd for that matter). They are rated at 100,000 hours. The G10 also was the best reviewed tv this past year on Cnet.com (http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/panasonic-tc-p50g10/4505-6482_7-33497901.html?tag=mncol;lst). I know this doesn't help you, but still, I wouldn't adivse anyone to avoid panasonic, especially the G10

[AnotherBestBuy]

Well, good to know that some of the units out there are working well. According to the repair technician I spoke with his daily repair calls were running about 70% Panasonic to 30% other. Wish I (and CNET) had talked to this guy before I bought.

[Nokia]

I've had two Pannys. Both work flawlessly.

[Dawn]

Sir, you and me both!  Read my posts.  I'm having the SAME problems!! Just UNACCEPTABLE!!

[Aaron-GS Community Connector]

AnotherBestBuy,

I understand your concerns, but please bear in mind that neither most factory warranties nor our service plans guarantee repair turnaround times.  It’s regrettable if this does not meet your expectations, but your TV would only qualify for an exchange if one or more of the following conditions are met:

•    Parts cannot be obtained
•    Repairs prove to be uneconomical
•    The TV is under service plan coverage and has accrued three previous qualifying hardware repairs and a fourth confirmed hardware failure

I have sent you a private message with some additional information.  You can check your private messages by first signing into the forums, then by clicking on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.