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am I getting hosed on repair costs? (Hitachi 50UX58B)
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joe1715jt



Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 1:31 am    Post subject: am I getting hosed on repair costs? (Hitachi 50UX58B) Reply with quote

Okay - my 50" Hitachi Ultravision - 50UX58B (1998) set went bad days before my Super Bowl party. I read a bunch of threads that talk about convergence, and replacing the IC? STK392-110?
I called a service shop - they came out today. The guy just turned the TV on and said "yep, need convergence repaired." In addition, he said the CRT's are weak, and that the red is bleading. His estimate to me: $449.50 + tax. Am I getting hosed? The service call took about 5 minutes - and all he did was turn the set on... Any suggestions?
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2005 12:47 am    Post subject: convergence estimate Reply with quote

Hi, what`s he doing for $449.00? If he`s just changing the STK`s
Then I would say you are getting hosed, If he`s saying the tubes are weak by just looking at a picture that already has convergence problems I`d also say he`s full of sh*t, your not really giving us enough to say what
the total cost would be, how much was labor? Is he pulling the set to his shop? what city do you live in? cost for service is higher in NY & LA
than say Pittsburg or Jacksonville, I`ve been in the tv repair business
for 27 years and it`s a little difficult for me to believe this guy can look at
a set with poor convergence and tell the the tubes are "weak" I
would shop around for a few more estimates, changing 2 STK`s should
not cost $449.00 unless your in a high cost city such as NYC, that`s
my 2 cents worth, Larry E
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joe1715jt



Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2005 3:18 pm    Post subject: maybe i am getting hosed? Reply with quote

Hi Larry -

They would charge me $369.50 for labor, and $80,00 for parts.
It was an in-home visit, in the Cleveland area (this guy is about 5 miles from my house). Really, he came in, turn the tv on, and immediately said the convergence needed repaired and gave me that quote. He further went on to say that my CRTs are week (red is bleading) - the CRT issue was not part of the quote. What is frustrating is that I tried to get a rough ballpark of "convergence repair" on the phone with them - and they said they couldn't do anything without "diagnostics". So for a 5 minute in-home service call, he charged me $80. Needless to say, I stopped payment on that check. I have calls into two other shops. I read in another discussion forum that the STK might be STK392-110 - which I can get online for $4.99 each. Now, if I can just find a reasonable somebody to replace and install it... I don't supporse I could do this myself?
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 12:10 am    Post subject: re; service costs Reply with quote

Joe, first of all you shouldn`t have stopped payment on his check,
he came to your house as YOU requested and gave you an estimate,
$80.00 is fair for an in house estimate even though I think he should
have removed the back from the set and actually checked your tubes,
the $4-$5.00 stk`s you found on the web wouldn`t hold up for a month,
they are crap knock-offs, the correct ones for your set are roughly
$30.00 each + shipping, you have 2 or 3 in your set, I believe your set has 2. Again you are in a major city so the cost of doing business is
more, hence your repair bill would be more, here in smallsville we
would charge $150 labor, $45.00 service call, approx. $40.00 each
for the stk`s and 6% sales tax, if the set needed a major re-alignment
after replacing the stk`s there would be additional labor charges, he may
be figuring in those additional charges up front, (some sets can take
3-4 hours to reconverge when stk`s have been replaced) You need a tech
to fix your set, I hope the info I have given will help, Larry E
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joe1715jt



Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:12 am    Post subject: am I getting hosed on repair costs? (Hitachi 50UX58B) Reply with quote

hi larry --

thanks for the reply..

your note does help... I actually called a few other places, and found one who would actually talk to me about costs, estimate ranges, etc... She even went so far as to look up similar repairs to my make/model tv they made in 2004, 2003. So I think I'm going with them. Their range was $250-$390 depending on the extent of work. They seemed honest and upfront with costs - and seemed upfront.

thanks much for the $4.99 part info -- good to know!!!

- joe
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Mr.x
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 3:51 pm    Post subject: Nothing is for free Reply with quote

If he charged you 80 for the visit it was well justified. Time is of the essence. He had to charge you for the time to drive over to your house
to serve you,gas etc. Would you prefere that he come over for free. How
would he support his business if he did not charge you.
stopping payment on the check was not the way to go. You can junk that
tv and buy another for 1500 or more and as soon as the warranty runs
out, you will need a repair man. If you can support the rich, why not the
little guy. Laughing
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joe1715jt



Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:32 pm    Post subject: nothing is for free - but what happened to honesty? Reply with quote

Actually, the $80 was not justified -- not for 5 minutes, and turning my tv on -- and reiterating what was suggested the day prior. He calls that "diagnostics" - I call it a scam. He claimed he couldn't give me any estimates, or ball-park guesses until he ran his "diagnostics", and researched the make, model, etc... The reality was - he turned the tv on, and quoted a standard parts / labor charge -- that he already had memorized. I have no problem paying for service. This was not. I have no problem paying another service company to handle this repair - which is what I plan on doing (the other company I called had no problem proving rough estimates, probable causes, and part costs over the phone - so I will let them handle it). Regrettably, I don't have the cash you may think -- which is why an $80 bogus service call bothered me.

Sorry to rant. Smile
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Larry E
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 11:53 pm    Post subject: re, tv repair Reply with quote

Joe, did you finally get the set fixed? Larry E
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mark



Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 43

PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 4:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

well, I have to agree with Larry, on a lot of his points.

Just so you can get an idea, im in the southeast US, and I am familair with that model set.
I see them all the time.

yes, using cheap STK's is bad news. on Hitachi sets there may also be a resistor or 2 that changed value.

I change the convergence amps on these a lot, they rarely need more than a touchup.
where I work, the charge to bring it in is like $50 + 50 estimate.. and for a convergence
repair... $150? it really doesnt take very long.

so, thats about 1/3 what you were going to pay... but, thats if your in our area. Very Happy

next, CRT's weak? ive seen it, and yes its possible. on a hitachi its pretty rare...
they tend to hold up for some time. usually when I get to see a hitachi they have age on them, like your set.
I generally have a good feeling about hitachi sets.

based on what your saying, I have to think that something isnt right about it, really.
it would be a different story if, say the DCU in the set failed and that would require reconvergence with a template.

I hope you get it going. dont use cheap ics.... its more trouble than its worth.

hope you got it fixed.
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joe1715jt



Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 11:02 am    Post subject: on the way to getting fixed Reply with quote

Hi Mark / Larry --

I haven't got it fixed just yet (as of 2/17). Probably within a week -- waiting to have the cash to make repair. I found a dealer in the area who was reccomended by two other people - plus they're the ones that talked to be about estimates, ranges, and past repairs -- so I feel good with going with them. I should have it fixed withn a week!
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