Plasma TV just died after 18 months

by Blas_M - 6/3/12 9:27 PM

In Reply to: I agree, Panasonic support sucks...think twice about buying! by imazman

I have not made up mind on Panasonic. I bought a 50 inch plasma series G20 a year and half ago. From a picture quality perspective, it's the best TV I ever owned. However, two weeks ago the picture started going negative and the TV would then shut off with the light of death blinking 8 times. The Panasonic Concierge service had me take it to an authorized service center (closest one was an hour and a half away) who diagnosed it as a bad panel with a $1400 repair estimate which is much more than I paid for the TV. After emailing the receipt and the repair diagnosis to Panasonic, they told me that it was not covered under warranty but they would escalate it and let me know. So here I am with no TV in the family room and not knowing if I am going to have to fork out a thousand bucks plus for a another new one. If Panasonic doesn't cover the repair after keeping me waiting, I don't believe I will look on them favorably regardless of how "responsive" their customer service people have been. You shouldn't have to buy an extended service contract to get a TV which lasts more than a year.