Necessary to buy a service plan for a LCD tv?

Question

Necessary to buy a service plan for a LCD tv?

Answer 1

It depends on the price of the set, how much you trust the brand, price of the service plan, and whether better/cheaper technology will be available before you would use it.

I got a service plan for my first 27" HDTV ready LCD, because it was an unfamiliar brand, the backlight was rated 50,000 hrs, but warranty did not include backlight, and the extended warranty was relatively inexpensive.

My 2nd 40" LCD HDTV was on sale with a rebate.  The extended warranty was almost 1/3rd my net purchase price, so I skipped the extra warranty.  If it ever blows, I have the first LCD as backup, and I can take my time upgrading from 720p to 1080p.

So far no problems with either set.  Of all the LCD laptops and monitors we have at work, only one LCD monitor has ever failed.

Answer 2

Consumer reports does not recommend service plans for TVs.   They are pretty reliable.