Vizio Tells Owners Their TVs Are Un-Repairable

My parents bought a RCA tube tv from walmart about 10 years ago. They splurged got the bigger one, the one they thought was name brand so that it would last them a while. 1 year later it stops turning on. They take it to the local repair company and he takes one look, sees the part number and says,
"I can't fix this. I know what is wrong, I know how to do it, but you see that little c at the end of it. RCA doesn't sell parts for this TV."

Apparently RCA had 3 versions of each model, each with different parts. The C was the cheapest, and sold in stores like Walmart and American. Basically sold as disposables. He told us the only problem was the circuit board that the power button/IR receiver was on, and other than that the tv would work fine.
 
Dman2280 said:
LCD failures.... why I bought a flat-screen normal tV instead when i went shopping (plus the price was much better).... better colors / depths than almost all LCDs of its time.

I am thinking about upgrading on craigslist.... gonna get a Sony WEGA 30"+ HDTV when one pops up cheap.
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and when you have to replace one of the red, green or other bulbs...see what that costs ya.... or a part in the rear projection if you mean one of those
 
Runningflame570 said:
See, the story is a dick move on the part of Vizio but this stuff is ignorant. The Vizio 553SVT (also 447 and 442) are/were considerably less expensive than most LED LCD TVs of the same size, offer better picture quality than virtually all LCD alternatives, and offer a ton of features. Nor are their failure rates above the norm.

It's popular to bash on them because their quality wasn't up to snuff in 2005-2006, but lets get with the times here. These days (crappy OoW support aside) they are a quality brand.
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That's quite a stretch. Over at AVSforum they were generally considered decent bang for buck sometimes... Kind of like mid-tier. As in, much better than buying RCA/Funai/Westinghouse/etc...but no Samsung, Panasonic, etc.
 
who buys a $1900 Vizio? seems like a lot for a bargain brand.
 
Aku12 said:
Apparently RCA had 3 versions of each model, each with different parts. The C was the cheapest, and sold in stores like Walmart and American. Basically sold as disposables. He told us the only problem was the circuit board that the power button/IR receiver was on, and other than that the tv would work fine.
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If theres a load of broken ones maybe he could swap over a working part from another broken set?
 
Aku12 said:
My parents bought a RCA tube tv from walmart about 10 years ago. They splurged got the bigger one, the one they thought was name brand so that it would last them a while. 1 year later it stops turning on. They take it to the local repair company and he takes one look, sees the part number and says,
"I can't fix this. I know what is wrong, I know how to do it, but you see that little c at the end of it. RCA doesn't sell parts for this TV."

Apparently RCA had 3 versions of each model, each with different parts. The C was the cheapest, and sold in stores like Walmart and American. Basically sold as disposables. He told us the only problem was the circuit board that the power button/IR receiver was on, and other than that the tv would work fine.
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NEVER BUY RCA.. the TV I mentioned earlier is actually an RCA-flatscreen tube TV I bought from walmart about 2 or 3 years ago. I also bought the walmart "tv insurance'' plan which turned out to be the lifesaver with this busted ass TV....

Before a year, the RCA tv would change channels, go full volume, etc all by itself, at random times and even turn on at night full blast!... exactly as if someone was smashing buttons on the front. This TV was not anywhere near anything that could have damaged it. The fix was to disable the front keys, but it still gave this huge annoying blue box error saying you cannot press keys (which still does it to this day, RANDOMLY but has stopped for the most part)

Anyways.................. I tried to call RCA. Huge mistake and one of the worst customer numbers to call on earth. They kept insisting for me to pay more than half the cost of the actual TV when I bought it, so I started to think about the walmart tv insurance thing I had bought.

I then tried to use the the walmart insurance i bought, and its this SHITTY 3rd party insurance company that does everyhing it can to delay and hope you forget. They constantly kept saying they were going to send a box. Waited, and waited, no box. This happened about 2 more times, so I complain again.

The walmart insurance plan ended being almost 100% useless.... then all of a sudden long after the ordeal and waits for boxes I get a letter in the mail. It's a check for $180, what I paid for the TV.

In-fucking-credible..... at least I got to keep the TV for free basically, which is alright and definitely sharp quality for basic cable.... but it still gives me this random error as if someone is smashing random buttons on the front of the TV. Obviously not radio signal, as my universal remote works without giving this ''front key error"
 
Yep, this is my definite view on Vizio branded TVs:

That's quite a stretch. Over at AVSforum they were generally considered decent bang for buck sometimes... Kind of like mid-tier. As in, much better than buying RCA/Funai/Westinghouse/etc...but no Samsung, Panasonic, etc.
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I've had a 42" Vizio for several years now. It's been a great set. The only issue I've had with it is that sometimes when you turn it on it will just be black, but turning it off and back on again fixes it. Only happens rarely, so it's not a big deal.

Got it from Costco where they have a 2-year in-home warranty. I think that has passed by now, but it's still working great.

Can't really say anything bad about Vizio based on my experience.
 
That's why I don't buy from Vizio. And if I buy a cheap brand, like I did last Black Fri. (Westinghouse), then I buy an extended warranty through a reputable 3rd party. :cool:
 
Runningflame570 said:
Care to provide some proof of this? The xvt553sv is just about as well reviewed as any LED backlit TV out there (yes, this includes picture quality) and costs far less than many that have worse reviews.

Their quality has dramatically improved over the last half decade and they are far better than most any "off-brand" companies around these days.
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are you kidding? tell you wat, go buy me one - ill open it up and SHOW you why they're shit tier
 
Runningflame570 said:
Care to provide some proof of this? The xvt553sv is just about as well reviewed as any LED backlit TV out there (yes, this includes picture quality) and costs far less than many that have worse reviews.

Their quality has dramatically improved over the last half decade and they are far better than most any "off-brand" companies around these days.
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Read some extended reviews and you'll see a few too many reviews that indicate DOAs or problems six months down the line. And the improvements are from the natural evolution of technology. It still is a bit behind the times as far as current technology (scanning backlight to achieve 240hz. Even LG is starting to step away from this at the same hz) and as a result is often dimmer than a more modern set. they make decent sets, but they are cheaper for a reason.
 
Panasonic Plasma FTW. You could buy a dozen crappy Vizio's where the backlight will go out or get one HD plasma that will look 10x better and probably last you a decade+. No brainer.
 
Rebel44 said:
That would be fun in EU - we have 2 year mandatory minimum waranty and if device RMA isnt resolved in 30 days they have to give you full refund or new device - customer can choose.
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No wonder consumer electronics are twice the price over there.
 
BBA said:
Your boss sounds like a smart man.

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...to find some idiot willing to give him $300 for an antiquated CRT. :D
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If he moved that beast out of his bosses house, that's worth at least another $100-$150 in sweat equity. I had a 32" XBR (KV-32XBR450) that weighed slightly less than 3 tons. I do not miss the brief history of HD CRTs.
 
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