Your New Disposable Flat Panel HDTV » HDGURU.Com
MAKE SURE YOUR TV CAN EVEN BE FIXED AFTER THE ONE YEAR WARRANTY
Updated Monday July 30, 2007-Now Includes Olevia HDTVs
Flat panel TV bargains abound these days. With prices dropping 30%-40% from 2006 to 2007 (confirmed this week by LG US CEO Michael Ahn) one can easily be tempted by the leader pricing of the “new brands” (called tier two and tier three by the consumer electronics industry) that undercut top panel maker prices by hundreds of dollars.
What the enticing, price driven TV commercials and their dealers don’t tell you is that Westinghouse, Polaroid and other tier two and three set makers add costly charges
during the one year warranty period and buyers may incur substantial service charges
after their warranties expire. In fact, two companies surveyed don’t support service
at all after the one-year warranty expires!
Polaroid’s HDTVs, which sell mainly through Circuit City, would seem to be bargain-priced compared to the “name brand” competitors. Polaroid’s 1080p 42” LCD Model number PLD 4241TLXB, for example, sells for $1149.99 at Circuit City, while Toshiba’s 42HL167 goes for $1699.99.
The Polaroid set seems like a good deal until you find out what the Circuit City and Polaroid websites fail to disclose, which is that Polaroid HDTVs
cannot be repaired after the warranty period expires!