When your TV begins malfunctioning, your first inclination may be to look into getting a new one. Getting it repaired, though, is much less expensive. Unfortunately, many TV repair places use these opportunities as a way to rip off consumers. Since you may not know much about the inside of your TV or about TV repair in general, a repair place may try to find ways to take advantage of you. Don't let them by following these tips.
Instructions
1. Find the lowest service fee for inspecting your TV in your area. Most places will charge somewhere between $50 to $80 just to inspect your TV to find what is wrong. Call at least three local TV repair stores to get the best price possible.
2. Make sure the repairman looks at your TV carefully and ask him to list everything that is wrong with your TV right away. Some repairmen will magically find "other problems" with the set once they have the TV in their possession. Have the repairman write down exactly what is wrong with your set and what needs to be done for your set to be fixed.
3. Get an exact quote for repair costs as well as a guarantee that the price won't go up. Once you get this quote and you know exactly what is wrong with the set, call around to a few other local TV repair stores to see if you can get a better price. Since you now know exactly what is wrong with the set, there shouldn't be any price increases from here on. If the repairman cannot guarantee you this, move on to another store that will.
4. Learn how long repairs on your TV should take and get the repair place to stick to that timetable. Have them make a guarantee that you will receive a discount on repair services if your set is not returned when you are told it will be. With a little bit of arguing and threatening to take your business elsewhere, the repair place should be willing to give you this guarantee.
5. Get a warranty on both the new parts as well as the repairs. Some repair places will try to rip you off by either using faulty parts or doing a "less-than-great" job on the actual TV repairs. This way, your TV will break down again within 3 to 6 months, causing you to come back for more repairs. If you don't get at least a 90-day warranty on the repairs and parts, take your business elsewhere.
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