Is it worth buying a second hand TV?

Question

I'm after a second hand TV, and I've looked into it a bit and found they die at about 5. Is it not worth buying older ones than that? I have plenty at home and friends that are older than that and still fine, but I don't want to risk buying one and it breaking straight away.

Or is it better to get one older than 5, because it is better than average build quality?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I think so because you'll pay less.

Answer 2

I don't know where you get this figure of 5 from

Televisions are one of the most reliable pieces of electrical equipment.

At the moment people are binning perfectly good tvs just to be fashionable with LCD ones.

You buy a flat screen tv 4 or 5 years old and you shouldn't have any problems, plus they are really cheap second hand.

Answer 3

Older TV's often loose their sound and if you put it up full blast you can't hear it. Older Tv's are also bigger then the ones that are made today and take up more space then a flatscreen. The picture on the TV also fades every once in a while and the poeple talking on TV sometimes their words get slurred.

Answer 4

A lot depends on what you're buying. A high-end Sony that's approaching a decade old may well be a better bet than a new CRT based widescreen from the supermarket!

There's some anecdotal evidence to suggest that CRT sets (ones with an conventional glass 'tube') built over the past 5 years or so have been designed and built to fail after about 2-5 years. At best build quality has been marginal; at least as far as the cheaper brands are concerned. This would make sense since there was a need to shift the remaining stockpiles of CRTs as manufacturing plants went over to newer technologies...

LCD and Plasma screens are very different technologies. There are some issues with older plasmas, and a few cheaper LCD sets may be developing backlight issues. But we certainly have LCD monitors that are well past the 5 year old stage which seem to be fine....  On the other hand I've known the power supply in at least one (cheaper) LCD to go down after just a year so it's very possible to find yourself with problems.....

I'd buy a new set...  you'll get some sort of warranty with it, and will benefit from the current technology in terms of features and performance. If you can avoid it give the very cheap brands a body swerve....

Answer 5

So long as you don't spend too much money on them, then why not?

Answer 6

If you are after an old style TV than there are plenty about as people switch to LCD TVs.

If you see it working and buy cheap, you should be OK.

Look for a decent brand name like Sony, Panasonic. I see these advertised in my local paper.

Luck of the draw, they can last 5 years some last 20. Mine gave up at 11 years.

As long as you dont buy one that has had amateur repairs you will be electrically safe.

By and large, you get what you pay for. If you spend £70 on a five year old TV you cannot expect the same levels of reliability as when it was new at £370.

I noticed ,a couple of months ago, that Asda were selling new  old style TVs 28" for £130. With this you get 12 months guarantee.

Answer 7

As long as you get a good deal for it, go for it.  Just remember that you get what you pay for, and a $5 tv may not be the greatest quality.