Panasonic 5 year Warranty

B

BVX

Well-known member
I'm considering buying either a new 370 or maybe instead going with a used 300 for now and adding an AF100 next year. The 5 year extended warranty sounds great, but after half an hour of searching I can find almost no details about it. Panasonic seems to be very vague on purpose about it all.
Not all repair work is covered by this extended warranty see enclosed warranty card for warranty coverage.
The maximum warranty period may be adjusted depending on the number of hours the device has been used.​
Click to expand...

So what is that magic number of hours to be looking out for? What is and what isn't covered? I've found that not covered unfortunately are the LCD screen & "CCD" imaging block. So is CMOS covered?
Is the warranty transferrable? Conflicting forum posts here say No it is not transferrable, others say Yes, for $100 or $150 and a trip to New Jersey for inspection a camera's warranty can be transferred.

Why is this all such a guarded mystery a year and a half or longer since the policy was introduced?
 
Panasonic states that 2nd hand P2HD products are not covered under PASS 3 - 5 year warranty.
 
I'm not saying, I'm just saying...

"This extended warranty is non transferable and is extended only to the original purchaser purchasing unit from Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company or one of its authorized resellers. Products originally sold in other countries, and imported into USA by third parties, are not covered by this extended warranty. Products not registered within 30 days of original purchase may not be covered by this extended warranty. Whenever the date of original purchase can not be satisfactorily determined, the date of manufacture will be considered as the warranty effective date. The Warrantor reserves the right to audit any claim and to nullify any claim that cannot be substantiated. A copy of a receipt or other proof of the date of original purchase may be required before warranty service is rendered."

http://www.panasonic.com/business/p.../pdf/warranty/Warranty for USA(VQA0892)_E.pdf
 
Yes, the details on the extended warranty are vague, I think it's largely in part because of the translation difficulties of the PASS website.

To some degree, there is also some protection from misuse of equipment. For example, warranties don't cover things like dropped cameras, water exposure, dropping cameras in water (this, my friends, is why insurance is so important). But if someone was misusing / mishandling their equipment in a way that didn't directly break it, but caused abnormal wear and tear, that should effect the warranty coverage as well. It' just much harder to spell out those kinds of things. Just like with your car warranty, what kind of mileage you put on your vehicle impacts your premiums. If you suddenly took your "30 minutes round-trip commute to work only" car on a few cross-country road trips one year, your car insurance will have a thing or two to say about it.

These, I'm afraid, don't shed very much light but if you haven't seen them already:
https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/cs/ps_e/faq_e.html#anc-9
https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/cs/ps_e/list.html

As for transferring the warranty:

There are two issues here.

First of all, registration ≠ extended warranty. To get the extended warranty, you have to register. If you register, you only get the extended warranty IF you qualify for it.

So if you buy a used camera, or a camera from outside of the US, you can always register it. Which is good either way, you get updates on things like new software or firmware upgrades, etc. But those cameras don't qualify for the extended warranty.

Second of all, there is a "in theory" versus "in practice" issue here. Add a bit of confusion and misunderstanding over what the registration is, what the warranty is, and what happens when you send your camera in for a warranty claim...

For example. Let's say you buy a used camera.

The camera has already been registered.

You register it for yourself.

The warranty is not transferable, it doesn't qualify for the extended warranty.

Or:

You buy a different used camera.

That camera was never registered. It's not in the PASS as having been sold.

You register. In theory, it still shouldn't qualify for the extended warranty. In practice, it will probably go through just fine because PASS doesn't have it as registered in the system.

Then something happens, it's a warranty claim issue. You send it in for service.

The service center needs a copy of your original invoice. In theory, if it's not from an authorized dealer, or you aren't the original owner, they cannot process it as a warranty claim. In practice, sometimes these claims slip the cracks.

That is why you see people claiming things like "I bought a (Japanese camera) from (gray market vendor) and it has the extended warranty!" No, they registered and don't understand the difference. Or "I bought a used camera, registered it, got the warranty!" maybe. Let's see if they get a claim through if they have to send it in for warranty repair. Is it worth a shot? Sure is! If it goes through, awesome. But don't expect it to because it's not actually covered.

Hope that helps some,

Best,

Jasmine Moore
Administrative Assistant
Specialized Communications / Noventri
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
jasminem@spec-comm.com
Specialized Communications Broadcast Video Equipment
Noventri Digital Signage
 
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