Another PS3, Another Problem

[StarCecil]

So, when last my PS3 bit the dust (number 2) I posted a topic about how ludicrous it was for Sony to want me to pay $150 for their repair service (so my repair service payments would total $300) and I believe I had at least one person more less saying it was my own fault if I two failures and that I should just pony up for it. I didn't agree, and Sony issued me a one-time Gesture of Goodwill Warranty for a free repair service.

Well, 7 months after receiving the console, it's experiencing some major technical difficulties (artifacting, tearing, glitching, and freezing across at least 10 games tried) and Sony says that a repair service looks likely. Now, I'm under the impression that this is all the result of hardware defects; i.e. something Sony screwed up. However, since I'm outside their 90 day service warranty Sony says to me another $150 will get me a fix.

Needless to say, this all sounds at least a bit fishy to me; three consoles requiring repairs totals $450 in repair services on top of the original $400 cost of the unit. That's a grand total of $850 American for this PS3.

So I'm currently in the process of trying to get Sony to waive my third repair fee.

In order to stave off accusations of "It's your own fault", I'll leave this: My PS3 is stored in an air conditioned room, and has greater than 3 feet of clearance on its front, rear and left sides. It is used for gaming, except for those three months I had Netflix, and sees 3-5 hours of use daily, closer to 3 during the week, greater on the weekends and vacations.

I have multiple TVs, computers, radios and game consoles, all stored in the same conditions as my PS3 with the same level of care and all work just fine with not a one of them experiencing anything in the way of a malfunction. A laptop I received in 2007 and saw nearly 8 hours of use daily from then until November 2011 still works.

There is no reason I should have three PS3s fail from 2007 until now, including the latest one that lasted 7 months.

EDIT: I've had to repeat this more than once so I'm putting this here for future reference.

Sony does not actually repair your console and send it back. They accept your broken one, and they send you a refurbished one. They fix the broken one and it goes into the pile to be shipped again. This means I've actually been in possession of three (3) separate consoles that have broken down, two (2) of which were provided by Sony's repair service.

 

[Hazy992]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

 

[Ryotknife]

dang, i have never heard of anyone needing that much work

I have had my PS3 for....4-5 years now. Broke down once, but i was able to repair it myself for 30 bucks (power supply), thankfully PS3 are easy to repair.

compared to my 360 that has given me nothing but problems.

and yea, you should have just bought a new one. sounds like you got a lemon there. could be worse, my cousin is on his 5th 360.

 

[StarCecil]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

dang, i have never heard of anyone needing that much work

I have had my PS3 for....4-5 years now. Broke down once, but i was able to repair it myself for 30 bucks (power supply), thankfully PS3 are easy to repair.

compared to my 360 that has given me nothing but problems.

and yea, you should have just bought a new one. sounds like you got a lemon there. could be worse, my cousin is on his 5th 360.

I've of heard of people in the exact same boat as me. I don't think it's a lemon, though, because as I understand it they don't repair it and then ship it to you, they take it and then ship you out one that's already been refurbished (which would be why you need to completely restore everything). If that's the case, then that means I've had three separate systems fail on me.

 

[Hazy992]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

Because who's to say they'll fix it for free again? In fact I honestly doubt they will. I just don't see the point in sinking another $150 into a console that's clearly defective when you could just buy another that won't break again in a few months. The failure rate is low for PS3's, it sounds like you've got a dud. Just go buy one that most likely won't break and if it does then you have a warranty.

 

[StarCecil]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

Because who's to say they'll fix it for free again? In fact I honestly doubt they will. I just don't see the point in sinking another $150 into a console that's clearly defective when you could just buy another that won't break again in a few months. The failure rate is low for PS3's, it sounds like you've got a dud. Just go buy one that most likely won't break and if it does then you have a warranty.

Well, maybe I'm just being optimistic in assuming that I can talk them down. I've heard of it being done before and I imagine I can give Sony Corporate a ring and get the ball rolling. And as I've said, I'm fairly certain that they don't actually repair your console and ship it back; they just ship you one already refurbished. If that's the case then I've had three consoles die and naturally my faith in another PS3 is shaky.

 

[Hazy992]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

Because who's to say they'll fix it for free again? In fact I honestly doubt they will. I just don't see the point in sinking another $150 into a console that's clearly defective when you could just buy another that won't break again in a few months. The failure rate is low for PS3's, it sounds like you've got a dud. Just go buy one that most likely won't break and if it does then you have a warranty.

Well, maybe I'm just being optimistic in assuming that I can talk them down. I've heard of it being done before and I imagine I can give Sony Corporate a ring and get the ball rolling. And as I've said, I'm fairly certain that they don't actually repair your console and ship it back; they just ship you one already refurbished. If that's the case then I've had three consoles die and naturally my faith in another PS3 is shaky.

Is it a slim or a fat?

 

[StarCecil]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

Because who's to say they'll fix it for free again? In fact I honestly doubt they will. I just don't see the point in sinking another $150 into a console that's clearly defective when you could just buy another that won't break again in a few months. The failure rate is low for PS3's, it sounds like you've got a dud. Just go buy one that most likely won't break and if it does then you have a warranty.

Well, maybe I'm just being optimistic in assuming that I can talk them down. I've heard of it being done before and I imagine I can give Sony Corporate a ring and get the ball rolling. And as I've said, I'm fairly certain that they don't actually repair your console and ship it back; they just ship you one already refurbished. If that's the case then I've had three consoles die and naturally my faith in another PS3 is shaky.

Is it a slim or a fat?

Old school fat 40gig.

 

[Hazy992]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

Because who's to say they'll fix it for free again? In fact I honestly doubt they will. I just don't see the point in sinking another $150 into a console that's clearly defective when you could just buy another that won't break again in a few months. The failure rate is low for PS3's, it sounds like you've got a dud. Just go buy one that most likely won't break and if it does then you have a warranty.

Well, maybe I'm just being optimistic in assuming that I can talk them down. I've heard of it being done before and I imagine I can give Sony Corporate a ring and get the ball rolling. And as I've said, I'm fairly certain that they don't actually repair your console and ship it back; they just ship you one already refurbished. If that's the case then I've had three consoles die and naturally my faith in another PS3 is shaky.

Is it a slim or a fat?

Old school fat 40gig.

Slims are more reliable than fats. And if it's just the 40gb one I really would just consider buying a new one.

 

[StarCecil]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

Because who's to say they'll fix it for free again? In fact I honestly doubt they will. I just don't see the point in sinking another $150 into a console that's clearly defective when you could just buy another that won't break again in a few months. The failure rate is low for PS3's, it sounds like you've got a dud. Just go buy one that most likely won't break and if it does then you have a warranty.

Well, maybe I'm just being optimistic in assuming that I can talk them down. I've heard of it being done before and I imagine I can give Sony Corporate a ring and get the ball rolling. And as I've said, I'm fairly certain that they don't actually repair your console and ship it back; they just ship you one already refurbished. If that's the case then I've had three consoles die and naturally my faith in another PS3 is shaky.

Is it a slim or a fat?

Old school fat 40gig.

Slims are more reliable than fats. And if it's just the 40gb one I really would just consider buying a new one.

I don't doubt the slims are more reliable and I plan on replacing my 40 with one in the near future just for that. In the meantime, though, I'd like the vindication of having my PS3 functional. If not, I'll just buy a slim and take my 40 to the range with my .40.

 

[Hazy992]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

Because who's to say they'll fix it for free again? In fact I honestly doubt they will. I just don't see the point in sinking another $150 into a console that's clearly defective when you could just buy another that won't break again in a few months. The failure rate is low for PS3's, it sounds like you've got a dud. Just go buy one that most likely won't break and if it does then you have a warranty.

Well, maybe I'm just being optimistic in assuming that I can talk them down. I've heard of it being done before and I imagine I can give Sony Corporate a ring and get the ball rolling. And as I've said, I'm fairly certain that they don't actually repair your console and ship it back; they just ship you one already refurbished. If that's the case then I've had three consoles die and naturally my faith in another PS3 is shaky.

Is it a slim or a fat?

Old school fat 40gig.

Slims are more reliable than fats. And if it's just the 40gb one I really would just consider buying a new one.

I don't doubt the slims are more reliable and I plan on replacing my 40 with one in the near future just for that. In the meantime, though, I'd like the vindication of having my PS3 functional. If not, I'll just buy a slim and take my 40 to the range with my .40.

Whatever man, it's your money

 

[Ryotknife]

sadly you might be able to recuperate quite a bit of your loss if you sold its parts on ebay, especially for a model that old.

of course, that would be a pain for you since you do not know which parts work.

 

[StarCecil]

sadly you might be able to recuperate quite a bit of your loss if you sold its parts on ebay, especially for a model that old.

of course, that would be a pain for you since you do not know which parts work.

That's sort of the plan B if Sony decides to play hardball. I'm confident that I could talk them into one more free repair.

 

[Ryotknife]

sadly you might be able to recuperate quite a bit of your loss if you sold its parts on ebay, especially for a model that old.

of course, that would be a pain for you since you do not know which parts work.

That's sort of the plan B if Sony decides to play hardball. I'm confident that I could talk them into one more free repair.

its possible.

they seem to actually care about their image, course its probably a japanese thing. honor and face and all of that jazz.

 

[StarCecil]

sadly you might be able to recuperate quite a bit of your loss if you sold its parts on ebay, especially for a model that old.

of course, that would be a pain for you since you do not know which parts work.

That's sort of the plan B if Sony decides to play hardball. I'm confident that I could talk them into one more free repair.

its possible.

they seem to actually care about their image, course its probably a japanese thing. honor and face and all of that jazz.

Ha, the American side of things tends to be "Sir, I'm just not authorized to do that". But if you call up their corporate office, ask to speak to someone in customer service and tell them your problem along with a well-laid out explanation for why you shouldn't be expected to pay for the malfunction and how it's their responsibility they tend to buckle a bit. I know of someone who got two (maybe three, even) fixed for free that way, as well two games in compensation for losing a 500 gig drive and data.

 

[Iwata]

Well, that is odd. My PS3 has survived quite well for the past 4 years, and in that span of time I went through three 360's. Maybe there's something wrong with your usage of it? Maybe you have it placed in a way that it overheats easily?

 

[StarCecil]

Well, that is odd. My PS3 has survived quite well for the past 4 years, and in that span of time I went through three 360's. Maybe there's something wrong with your usage of it? Maybe you have it placed in a way that it overheats easily?

That would be the natural assumption, but it's simply not the case. I have it stored in my basement, and we all know that basements have temperatures several degrees lower than any other room in the house, with full air conditioning. It's stored on a cocktail table with several feet of clearance to three sides.

I have several other electronics and game consoles that experience the same storage conditions, roughly, and many of which see much heavier use than my PS3, yet the PS3 is the only one to give me such severe problems.


Well, I told Sony that I'd be needing a repair service, as they indicated I might, and I was none to happy about forking over cash to pay their repair service when I've had three consoles break down, including two supposedly repaired one. They sent me an email back that explained to me how much they charge. I take it I'll be having to call them here shortly.

 

[The_Echo]

There is no reason I should have three PS3s fail from 2007 until now, including the latest one that lasted 7 months.

You're right. There is no reason. It's more bad luck than anything, really. Have they all been the same model? My PS3 is a launch model that has stood the test of time very well. I don't know how well the Slims hold up.

Maybe rather than asking for a free repair, you could ask for a discount. Like frequent flier miles or something. (I'm not actually sure how those work.)

 

[Ragsnstitches]

At this point would it not just be better to buy another one? Get a used one maybe? It seems silly to keep putting money into it. I've had my slim for nearly two years that I bought off someone I know and it still works perfectly.

At this point, I'd rather them just fix the obviously defective system for free as opposed to charging me for the service. If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get a new one (and, just for the sake of argument, what is there exactly to stop a different console from breaking down just like this one were I to get it?).

Because who's to say they'll fix it for free again? In fact I honestly doubt they will. I just don't see the point in sinking another $150 into a console that's clearly defective when you could just buy another that won't break again in a few months. The failure rate is low for PS3's, it sounds like you've got a dud. Just go buy one that most likely won't break and if it does then you have a warranty.

Well, maybe I'm just being optimistic in assuming that I can talk them down. I've heard of it being done before and I imagine I can give Sony Corporate a ring and get the ball rolling. And as I've said, I'm fairly certain that they don't actually repair your console and ship it back; they just ship you one already refurbished. If that's the case then I've had three consoles die and naturally my faith in another PS3 is shaky.

Is it a slim or a fat?

Old school fat 40gig.

Slims are more reliable than fats. And if it's just the 40gb one I really would just consider buying a new one.

My 3 year old secondhand fatty takes offense to that... its just as good as those skinny little bitches.

 

[blizzaradragon]

Wow, can't say I've ever heard of someone with such bad luck when it comes to PS3s. I know about a dozen people who have the exact same model as you, and not one of them has had a single problem with the system itself. I have one of the older backwards compatible models that they sold when MGS4 first came out, and I haven't had a single hiccup with mine.

Like others have said though, the failure rate for PS3s is really low and it does sound like you just picked up a dud. At this point it would probably be a better investment to pick up a new console instead of trying to get that one repaired.

Also feel lucky that you don't have an Xbox. With your luck that you've been having with the PS3, you'd be on around your 30th repair for a 360