What do you do with LED TV that is 4 days old?

[Dragonsm]

Needless to say, rather than placing the bulb on our Sony HD tv we had in one of our family rooms, I decided to replace it with a 42" Sharp LED tv from best buy figuring in the costs of the replacement bulb and better quality picture.

Spring forward 4 days later, I get a call from my wife (in tears) that our 19 month old son ended up breaking the glass front to the tv.

I had already looked into purchasing the best buy black tie warranty as I had 15 days to do that...but it doesn't cover accidental damage like their phones...etc

For the price of the TV, it probably isn't worth turning into home owner's insurance.

Posts on the internet say glass replacement will be upwards of what a new tv would run possibly.

So....if any of you have been in a situation similar to this...any advice?

Part it out on hsolist? toss it? glass replaced?....still have the complete box and everything it came in...

Discipline side of things have already been taken care of...

Steve

[aanderud]

These things have gotten so cheap recently, I don't think there's much chance that repair will be cost effective. They're basically disposable, as the repair costs often run higher than replacement cost. That being said, now (when the TV is brand new) would be about the only time it'd ever pay, if at all. The TV is basically brand new, so dropping a couple hundred bucks into repairs could make sense over buying a new one. Depends on the cost of the TV, really. I just bought a fairly expensive one that showed up on Friday for my family room, and if the glass broke I'd maybe look into repair, but the cheap one on my 4 season porch I would not.

Call some repair guys and ask them for a phone quote and see what it'd cost. I'd call/email some of the guys on cra!g's list who are doing it more as a hobby, as they're almost guaranteed to have cheaper labor costs than someone who's making a full time job or business out of it.

[Scott K]

Or, go on youtube and see if there is a video on how to replace the screen, search for a new screen on the bigE, bay auction , if it is cheap, and looks like a job you are willing to try, tear it apart, if all came apart easy, order a new screen.

[delcecchi]

Is it the one on BB web site for $329? If so, I wouldn't bother with repairs. Of course you could try to return it. The screen was too fragile and cracked. Unless the kid really smashed it...

[Mid-Lake Rock]

If I may ask, how did the young man break the screen?

[Mr.Seaguar]

Lol kids suck sometimes.

[upnorth]

I hope after breaking a TV glass the kid is OK. I can see cuts and blood here.

[Dragonsm]

I don't know all the details to what all went down, just that he was wanting some more milk in his sippy and both him and my wife were in the kitchen next to the fridge...he handed her the sippy and waited...she opened the door and grabbed the milk and looked down and he disappeared to the next room...she popped in to look at him and he was already running to his room without a scratch on him. (The "tears" from my wife were tears of frustration) TV was teathered down at the time but my intentions were to pick up a swing arm mount that night on my way home to get it up on the wall.

Just an FYI...surprisingly, the glass doesn't break like a standard window...there must be a clear coating over the glass (most likely to take the glare off of it) that holds the glass together much like a windshield.

Did give a quick call to a "side job" repair man, and the chances to find a screen are slim to none for as flimsy as they are, most of the time the glass is the first to crack....and his "stock" of TV's was so large he was only taking TV's for free.

Most importantly, Parker (aka "Parks n' Wreck" as my wife and I have nicknamed him) is totally fine...and regardless of the cost of the tv (yep, it was the $329.00 one...though I did initially think about moving my 3D tv from downstairs up there and replacing that one...glad I didn't do that) it is an object and replaceable. Dad got over the initial frustration, and father and son are once again best friends. Though at the rate he is going and his path of destruction this year....he'll be lucky to get reindeer poo from Santa.

One thought did cross my mind....I may just box that TV up and put it up in the garage rafters for about 16 more years and he may just get a new TV as part of a graduation gift.

[Getanet]

There's a place in Burnsville called Shop Jimmy that specializes in TV parts. Might be worth giving them a call or email to see if they have the glass you would need or what their thoughts are.

[CaptainMusky]

Major bummer, but I think you are going to be at a loss here...

Most flat screen LED/LCD monitor type TVs, you can forget fixing since the display elements (LED's or LCD's) are embedded in the screen, so the majority of the "guts" costs is in the screen. Since it is relatively new you might contact the manufacturer. Even if it was by impact some manufacturers have a flat-rate for each model to replace a broken device with an equivalent rebuilt/remanufactured one, though after shipping charges you are probably better off with a new one. The other option would be if you purchased it on your credit card, contact the credit card company. Many times you are protected. I know guys who have purchased defective products or even broke items and the credit card company got them replacements. It isnt something I have personal experience with, but may be worth a shot.

[Sandmannd]

Too bad you don't have the DirecTV service plan. They fix these sorts of things. Have had a TV replaced already.

[tcwin]

My only thought is - what credit card did you use? Some credit cards automatically include accident insurance and extended warranties.

Good luck.

[Big Dave2]

It was broke when you got it home and took it out of the box, right?

Put it back in the box and try to return it, what's the worse that could happen?

[Down Deep]

It was broke when you got it home and took it out of the box, right?

Put it back in the box and try to return it, what's the worse that could happen?

Nothing worse that feeling like a thief and having no personal integrity.

Accidents happen and sometimes we have to suck it up and take the loss . Kids break things and they have to be replaced. That's part of the deal. Glad the little one wasn't injured.