Vizio? Reliable?

MrGrimm999

Hey guys! I really want to get that 47 inch Vizio LED backlit full array i keep reading great reviews about and that won CNET award for 2010. However, I've always been a name brand kind of guy and I'm a little hesitant about a budget name brand. Has Vizio been reliable in the long run?

HiDefRev

Vizio has a good reputation for reliability. If you can get a good deal on one, I wouldn't hesitate. .

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WashedOut

+1 Vizio is a very good tv!

ImRizzo

They make an excellent product with lotsa happy owners.

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Buff

Where are Vizio TVs produced?

unit731

Vizio:

LINK

Vizio is a somewhat new company in the TV market. Lots of good reviews for most of their TV's.

I did meet a purchaser of a Vizio who had a LCD TV - after the warranty expired - have the power supply quit/broke. Somewhat expensive to repair. He ended up just biting the bullit and purchasing a different brand. In other words, he bought a new TV of a different brand.

Vizio appears to use the same business model as Nike. Nike does not manufacture any products. Nike only contracts out to others to make their products. Nike is quite successful.

If you have a specific model in mind do a internet search of that model and read the reviews. A site such as Amazon. Read the customer reviews. It seems that every electronic product out there has its supporters and has its detractors. This is where extended warranties come in. Places like Costco add an additional year to the manufacturers warranty. Some state that Mastercard adds another year to manufacturers waranty. Do read the fine print or do telephone to verify if all of these free warranties apply to your purchase.

Chris Gerhard

Various locations, China, Taiwan and Mexico most often is my understanding. Vizio has contracted with various companies to manufacture the sets and I believe AmTran Technology manufactures more Vizio displays than any other company but I have no idea how many companies manufacture Vizio displays or how to tell which set is manufactured by which company. I believe AmTran also owns a minority percentage of Vizio.

http://www.vizio.com/

http://investing.businessweek.com/re...ticker=2489:TT

http://www.corporateinformation.com/...usip=C760CN480

Trying to figure out who manufacures which Vizio products may not be time well spent, we can either trust this large company in terms of sales or can decide to buy a display from a company that actually manufactures prodcts and spends money on R&D to develop the best products.

I have a Vizio LCD display and it has been good, not great, but next purchase will be likely be something different, Panasonic or Sony probably.

BeeF

Reliable, decent quality too.

WJBertrand

Although the above posts and even Consumer Reports indicates comparable reliability to other manufacturers, that was not my experience with a 55" VF552XVT. The back light failed when the set was 13.5 months old, just 6 weeks out of warranty. More problematic than the reliability issue is the lack of repairability of Vizios. Vizio told me the set was not serviceable and that replacement of the entire TV was the only recourse. In spite of being so close to the warranty, Vizio offered little help beyond a discount for me to purchase a new replacement from them. The final price was comparable to what I could find on-line without Vizio's help.

Other people's experience may be different and as long as the TV doesn't fail you may be OK. Count on disposing of it should some kind of problem occur though. Personally, I'll spend my TV money on 1st tier brands from now on.

Chris Gerhard

I am not an attorney but in general there are consumer protection laws that are intended to prevent that kind of result. I believe there is a minimum number of years a company has to be able to repair a repairable item and I sure believe that a backlight is replaceable. California laws are I believe better than average in terms of protecting consumers. If this particular problem was widespread and Vizio has replaced backlights until no more are available and no more will ever be made, I understand that but that should be on Vizio, not on you. In otherwords an outcome where you get the new comparable model for the normal price of a backlight repair would be a reasonable outcome in my opinion.

If you haven't written a letter to a consumer protection attorney, you might want to try that. If you have researched the issue and know that backlights typically mean the TV is dead and can't be brought back to life, period, well then you know a lot more about this deal than I do.

Of course one bad result like this can happen with any brand and isn't necessarily a blanket statement that Vizio is bad and to be avoided, but frequent results like this sure would indicate that.

kwazrollinz28

i've had my 37" vizio lcd for 4 years now, and not one issue, i love the tv.

i paid 649 for it at walmart

WJBertrand

Actually I have written the consumer protection agency and received a reply. I can accept that random failures occur, but for Vizio to just leave me high and dry while they hold my money does not feel right. I've based my complaint on violation of the "implied warranty of merchantability" which is a legal term that protects consumer's normal expectation. One should certainly expect more than 13 months service from a $1900 TV.

Chris Gerhard

What was the reply? I have never heard of that concept helping in a case like this. I will assume you are aware of the optional extended warranty and chose not to purchase it? It is my understanding we can take the risk if we want but can't have it both ways, not choose an extended warranty but then expect to be covered as if we did.

My point regards the fact companies are required to be able to repair certain products for a specified period of time by law but I don't know if LCD backlight is such a required repair. If Vizio can't repair it at your expense, the company may be in violation of a law. Expecting longer life than a clearly stated written warranty is a mistake you made and I don't see how that can be an implied warranty, it was written in the product's warranty terms available to be read and understood before purchase.

WJBertrand

So if they are in violation of some repairability law, then what should they be required to do? Replace the set? I wouldn't have minded paying a pro-rated amount for a replacement but that was not offered to me. I also would have paid out of pocket to have the set repaired. What changed the game was the lack of repairability and Vizio's "better luck next time" attitude. By not taking the extended warranty I knew I was leaving myself exposed to a potential repair bill, but did not imagine having to replace such an expensive item that early.

With respect to the Consumer protection agency, the letter I received acknowledged receipt of the complaint and indicated they would investigate. Not sure what that means or if anything will come of it. I'm not holding my breath.

RandyWalters

I'm not aware of any Federal or State laws that can force a company to repair or replace a TV that fails after the stated warranty period ends. I'm not aware of anyone on any forum i read being successful in persuing such action.

As for Vizio, my co-worker (who is a Costco addict) bought a Vizio there several years ago as his first flat panel TV and he loved it. He loved it so much that he bought larger one almost a year later and moved his first one to the bedroom. The first one soon failed just after the factory warranty expired so he returned it to Costco for a full refund (this is when they still had lifetime returns on TVs), and he bought a bigger better Vizio to replace it. That one failed after a few months and Vizio told him that they don't repair that model and will submit a request for a replacement under warranty. He declined and just returned it to Costco under their new shorter 90 day TV return policy, got a full refund, and bought an even bigger better model Vizio for less money.

He likes to brag about how great his Vizios are, but i have to remind him that on his four Vizios, he has suffered a 50% failure rate. He's too cheap to buy a $100 extended warranty

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