Mack Camera Warranty - don't do it

Nathan Beaman

Nathan Beaman

Well-known member
I've owned several cameras now and have always purchased the overpriced camera warranties. I think that most people do. It's piece of mind for a fee. I've never had to use it before which is almost better --- till this year.

My HVX started to have focus issues towards the end of March and I knew I was shooting a feature in May so I immediately sent it in to Mack for repair. They could give me no estimated repair time or return. The camera came back finally in June - they didnt even fix it. No note, no comments, nothing - just a repair complete notification. I immediately contacted them and returned the camera once more. Now its nearing the close of August and they still have no estimate on the return or repair of the camera.

Thats six months that the camera has been out of commission with them now.

Im pretty fair so I was still giving them the benefit of the doubt - but a good friend of mine who lives nearby has been going through the same thing. Though they've only had his cam for 4 months.

These people are making Millions on warranties for cameras, consumer camcorders and still cameras. Think about how many DVX and HVX users there are and how many of us bought the stupid warranties.

If anyone has had a positive experience with them I'd love to hear it, but quite frankly i think they blow.
 
I think all Insurance is a scam and that Panasonic (and all brands) should simply stand by their product.

Too bad to hear this story.
 
Thanks for sharing this info. I was considering adding an extended warranty from Mack for my next purchase, but will wait to see what experience others have had.

Just wondering what other extended warranty facilities are out there and what experience users have had?
 
I've never had a bad experience with Mack in the past.

I would suggest that anyone with a Mack warranty get the name and phone number of someone at Mack whom you can call and whom has some accountability. I would never wait as long as you have to get warranty service.

Sometimes you gotta crack the whip. I have a feeling that they drag their asses on warranty repairs unless people tell them they HAVE TO have the camera back in a reasonable amount of time (which I have had to do.)

Here's their BBB report:

http://newjersey.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=89&bbb=0221&firm=9003267

By the way, you shouldn't have to pay more than $250. for 4 years of Mack warranty service.

.
 
Same Here
I've only had good experiences with Mack warranty camera repairs. Though only with expensive Canon repairs, never had to repair Panasonic.

When sending in a repair, I always followed up with a phone call to be sure my repair was in the loop, and indicate the urgent nature of the repair.
 
I read in Consumer Reports or someplace that all those extended warranty purchases are a bad financial option. If you add up all your extended warranty costs (like every time you get sucked in at Best Buy) and how many times you actually use one of them...you'll probably find your warranties total more than replacing the item you finally claim on.
 
sean90291 said:
I read in Consumer Reports or someplace that all those extended warranty purchases are a bad financial option. If you add up all your extended warranty costs (like every time you get sucked in at Best Buy) and how many times you actually use one of them...you'll probably find your warranties total more than replacing the item you finally claim on.
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Buying extended warranty service for what are essentially disposable electronic devices is, yeah, a real waste of money. A $4000. or $5000. camera is a little different.

.
 
I agree that in most cases, and for electronics in particular, extended warranties are pretty much cash-cows for the insurers. In my experience, average warranty claim incidence on electronics is probably under 1% over let's say 4 years. So if a 4 year extended warranty costs more than that, you lose. And they always cost more than that. A *lot* more...

So don't buy the extended warranty. Just pay for the repair when it's needed. You'll come out ahead, almost...ahem...guaranteed...

On the other hand, a 3rd party warranty on an otherwise out-of-warranty *car* can be very much worth it. Just don't let them sucker you into buying one for a new car, which they will try very hard to do...
 
A great option is to charge to a CC that has a buyer protection at no cost. They double the warranty, so you get a 2 year instead of a typical 12 months.
 
Laptops and extended warranties make sense.

But I agree with Mr. Hudson. Panasonic should consider at least a two year warranty on the HVX200, and add an extended one for a price beyond that -- a fair price.
 
David S. said:
Laptops and extended warranties make sense.

But I agree with Mr. Hudson. Panasonic should consider at least a two year warranty on the HVX200, and add an extended one for a price beyond that -- a fair price.
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We do stand behind our product with a one year parts and labor warranty. We do not offer an extended warranty but are willing to work on the product. I do not happen to believe in extended warranties as if it is going to break due to a fault in the manufacturing, that should happen in the first year.

Best,

Jan
 
Don't misunderstand me Jan, I didn't say the Panasonic doesn't stand behind its cameras. Someone else did.

I just wish an extended warranty from the company was an option.

I'm delighted to see the five year warranty on the HPX170, which we intend to purchase upon release.

take care
 
I've got to agree with Jan on this one -- I think manufacturers should provide warranties against anything that could be considered a manufacturing defect, but they are in no way responsible for things just going bad.

Anything with moving parts is going to die eventually. Sometimes it happens right away, sometimes far after you no longer need the product. But if the failure wasn't actually the fault of the company that made it, it isn't their responsibility to fix it for free.

I never buy extended warranties. In fact, I typically buy things as if they are sold AS IS. In the rare case that something goes bad, I either pay to fix it myself, or sell it for parts and buy something new. I've always come out ahead that way in terms of price, plus I never have to deal with shipping things somewhere to be fixed.
 
I'm a little confused Twisted.

An express warranty covers items enumerated by the manufacturer.

Are you saying that if something breaks within one year and is covered by the express enumerated warranty, that's great.

But if it breaks a day later, then too bad?

And this doesn't have anything to do with Jan's comments.
 
David S. said:
I'm a little confused Twisted.

An express warranty covers items enumerated by the manufacturer.

Are you saying that if something breaks within one year and is covered by the express enumerated warranty, that's great.

But if it breaks a day later, then too bad?

And this doesn't have anything to do with Jan's comments.
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Sorry, didn't actually read my post before submitting it. It was a bit confusing.

Jan mentioned that Panasonic stands behinds their products, and then stated that if something breaks due to a manufacturing defect, it will likely happen in the first year (hence their warranty term). I was simply stating that having a warranty period based mainly on guaranteeing against manufacturing defects makes the most sense, which seems to be what Panasonic does.

As for the "too bad for you" scenario you mentioned, I suppose my answer would depend on what exactly is breaking. If something breaks during the course of its intended use, and the failure was due to a manufacturing defect or oversight, then I think there are cases that someone should fix it. Who that someone is would depend on the sale.

Personally, I think that only the person doing the selling has any responsiblity to make things right -- the end user should get their product fixed by the dealer that sold it to them. Sure, the dealer will likely then have to send it elsewhere, but I think any manufacturer that will help a consumer directly does so to help their image, not because they should have to.

On the other hand, if a product just wears out, or no longer works because it was used in an ususual or unintended way, then I don't think anyone other than the user is responsible. Warranties should be about making sure products are properly represented, not used as insurance against inevitable problems. That's what, well...insurance is for.
 
I had a good experience with Mack and a Canon Digital Elph camera a couple years back. The camera developed a problem in which the CF cards would become corrupted. Reformatting and buying new cards yielded the same results. Mack fixed the camera pretty quickly (some problem with the reader), and it's been fine ever since.

I generally agree that these extended warranties are a scam, but you have to make a decision based on the cost of the item vs. the warranty cost. In this case it made sense. Five years ago, decent digital cameras were quite expensive.

I disagree with Jan's comment that manufacturing defects will manifest themselves within a year. I've had video cameras, digital still cameras, and other electronics develop issues after the one-year mark. If a piece of equipment "goes bad" after 18 months of proper use, that's still a manufacturing defect in my eyes.

So to wrap up: Warranties are useless, except when they're not!

Ron
 
Sent my DVX into Mack a couple years ago. i was having the PSD NG error. It came back roughly 90 days later? I don't remember exactly, I had my HVX so I wasn't missing it. Anyway, the camera worked fine.... until about 3 weeks ago the error came back. Sigh.
If I see it again I may send it back in... I thought that error was a fix-it-once type thing and it should never come back... grrrr..
 
My friend bought a Mack USA Warrenty and an HVX200 from B&H (bandhphotovideo.com). Since the HVX200 they sold him was not a USA model, the Mack USA warrenty was said to be void.

Unresolved.

-andrew
 
Thank you!

Thank you!

Chris Santucci said:
I've never had a bad experience with Mack in the past.

I would suggest that anyone with a Mack warranty get the name and phone number of someone at Mack whom you can call and whom has some accountability. I would never wait as long as you have to get warranty service.

Sometimes you gotta crack the whip. I have a feeling that they drag their asses on warranty repairs unless people tell them they HAVE TO have the camera back in a reasonable amount of time (which I have had to do.)

Here's their BBB report:

http://newjersey.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=89&bbb=0221&firm=9003267

By the way, you shouldn't have to pay more than $250. for 4 years of Mack warranty service.

.
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On behalf of Mack Camera & Video Service Inc., I would like to thank you for taking the time to write about your positive experience. We at Mack Camera work hard to deliver quality service to our customers. Thank you for choosing Mack Camera as your extended warranty provider.
Desiree
Customer Relations Supervisor
Mack Camera and Video Service Inc.
 
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