tainkc Loc: Kansas City

At 3am Saturday morning, I was going downstairs to head to bed (I work nights). I had my camera in hand. For the first time I could ever remember, I fell down the stairs. there are 15 steps. I got banged up pretty bad. My camera took the brunt of it. My zoom lens will no longer extend. It was hard to take the lens off for inspection. The aluminum seating ring on the camera itself is bent inward. It does fire up and I can see through it bit the optical viewfinder is dark. The contact points no longer line up and the auto focus motor keeps going. And who knows what else.

When I bought this camera( a Sony a580) back in September, Something inside of me told me to buy the overriding extended warranty. This warranty includes accidental damage not due to MFG. defect. Thank God I did.

You see, I had another Sony alpha camera (the a500) which had a strange problem that burned up the motors of my lenses when I attached them and then burned itself up inside. It was a real fluke. Sony was totally confounded by this but they repaired the camera and replaced the lenses happily. I was impressed. I am not tooting Sony particularly here, I just want to mention that I got service that was above and beyond. I will have to admit that this was a big factor in purchasing another Sony.

I will give you a little bit of history now. Several years ago, I owned 3 television/vcr and computer repair shops. I was a Sony service center along with all the other major brands. Customers were always asking me if they should buy an extended warranty when making electronic purchases. I always told then no because I knew the repair frequency of almost every brand out there. At that time it simply was not worth it.

Now days with the complexity of the products and the repair costs involved, and the initial investment of the product no matter what it is, I am inclined to purchase an extended warranty if it is reasonably priced. In my case, I paid just at nine dollars for the camera with a lens. The extended warranty I purchased was an additional $179.00 for 3 years.

Like I said, thank God I decided to buy that warranty. It was the first time I did this. Since I did have such good with Sony customer service I have no fear. Since this happened over the weekend, the Sony rep did tell me that they will call me with an RMA# and a free shipping label.

I just thought I would post this and keep you all updated on the repair and such. perhaps my experience will help others in making these type of decisions.

Tom

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Sorry to hear of your calamity. Keep us informed of your extended warranty success.

Nikon_DonB Loc: Chicago

Glad to hear you are OK. You can always replace a camera. I did a lengthy post just yesterday about some one asking about extended warranty. I have a Sony SXRD 50" and the ex-warranty saved my bacon. Since you know tvs, you know what I'm talking about. They basically changed every component in the thing. The main board a few times. Remember the "green blob?"
I have to agree with you though. Sony's customer support is very good.

lacsar Loc: Columbia SC and Newland NC

Sorry to hear you lost your camera. Mine is like a friend, and I would sorely miss it if that happened to it. Please let us know how it progresses, getting it fixed and how Sony handles the problem.

sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

Egads, what is it lately with folks falling down, dropping cameras and the such.

Protect those investments folks, have your wife carry the heavy stuff and you take care of the camera and lens.

Sarge

jimberton Loc: Michigan's Upper Peninsula

lascar.......hello patriot...thank you for my freedom.

ebaribeault Loc: Baltimore

Hope everything works out for you. I know how I would feel in a similar situation

JAL Loc: Toledo Ohio

that's what i do. have'nt lost a camera yey!

:mrgreen:

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Thanks everyone. I posted this so I could share the progress of the repair. We shall see what happens.

travlnman46 Loc: Yakima WA

Hi tainkc: All I can say is "OUCH" I'm glad you weren't injured. Sorry about your camera, glad to hear you have coverage. Several members here have suggested adding camera and lens replacement insurance to their house hold insurance. Extended Warranty if available is great too.

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

Hi Tom
Glad you are ok! And that you have the warranty. But I do have a stupid question. :-D What were you going to do with the camera in bed? :mrgreen: And I always go upstairs to bed. Be safe!! :D :D
Erv

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

What can I say? I love my camera.

Fran Loc: Northeast, United States

Big ouch. Sorry to read you fell and also damaged you're camera. Hope you heal quickly. Also glad you had the extended coverage. Youve made me think twice about purchasing the extended coverage. In the past I always said no.

Danilo Loc: Las Vegas

Sooo...where do you go to get an extended warranty on yourself?
I hope you're well, Tom.

MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy

Sorry to hear about your camera, but I'm happy you weren't to banged up.