is there warranty on import bought consoles?

[wezzer]

lets say you buy an imported console from videogamesplus or playasia and it breaks after for example 2 months

what happens then? are we screwed?

i'm scared of ordering an imported 360 cause they are infamous with their massive 3 red lights failures (i wouldn't fear so much if it would be a ps3 or wii)

so any importers have experience with this sort of thing?

thx in advance

[Keith]

I didn't see the need to import a 360 personally (although have imported every other console since the original Playstation), but from what I read and hear Microsoft are really helpful with this. People on here with faulty US 360s have managed to get MS to replace them with another US 360, with minimal fuss.

[Strolls]

Hi there,

I sent my PS3 back to VideoGamesPlus today - shipping via FedEx from Parcel2Go.com cost about ?40. The Post Office quoted me ?60 to ?80, so that price was a bit of a relief!!

Of course you still have a warranty with an imported console - the problem is that you have the warranty with the vendor under whatever local laws apply to them. After all - if you buy a console from Curry's and it dies then you'd normally take it back to the store. It's the expense of "returning the item to the store" which is expensive if you've imported your console, and unfortunately you, the buyer, are responsible for this.

As well as having paid shipping when I bought my PS3, I'm having to pay shipping both ways on it's warranty return. This is what us importers expect, I guess. I justify it with the knowledge that I'm getting the "best" version of the console (Emotion Engine PS3 for PS2 backward-compatibility, NTSC Wii that'll do progressive scan & get US games before they come out in the UK) but others talk of the cost savings on imported games. Mostly we acknowledge that dead consoles are the exception rather than the rule and gamble the cost-savings justify the risk of importing.

The real downside of importing is that you don't have much leverage with the company you're importing from. If you buy a console in Currys and it fails then you can kick up a fuss, ask for a manager, cite the Sale Of Goods Act & you'll surely get your money back rather than a replacment. I'll be getting a repaired PS3 as a replacement for mine, and I'm not in a position to pressure for a brand, spanking new one. I'm not sure what Canadian consumer laws say about this but I can't realistically take VG+ to court over it. Nevertheless I consider this acceptable - one of the lads on these forums got right stitched up over an import from a Japanese supplier when the console arrives with a cracked case.

You're really safe importing an Xbox 360 - Microsoft are exceptional in that they will undertake the warranty directly without involving the retailer AND they honour the warranty worldwide. It does really make sense to do this, and IMO it's a bit ****ty of Nintendo & Sony to do otherwise, but it's the way it is. Microsoft are in a slightly unusual position in that they're having a very high number of 3 red lights failures, they've had to acknowledge the problem and they've set up an extended warranty scheme for this problem, but there's no indication that Sony or Ninty would honour warranties globally if they were in the same position.

I know what Keith's saying about the need to import a 360, but I imagine you're looking for an Elite, so I can sympathise with your desire to import.

Stroller.

[Strolls]

Addendum: HMV says Xbox Elite is due in Europe "late summer"

[cavalcade]

You're really safe importing an Xbox 360 - Microsoft are exceptional in that they will undertake the warranty directly without involving the retailer AND they honour the warranty worldwide.

Do they, I phoned up yesterday to try and get a Hard Drive replacement on a Premium NTSC-J 360 and they told me to bog off.

[wezzer]

Do they, I phoned up yesterday to try and get a Hard Drive replacement on a Premium NTSC-J 360 and they told me to bog off.

this the the stuff that scares me from buying one

if my ntsc/j 360 dies and i call microsoft for a replacement i fear that since they figure out from my adress that im from europe that they will just send me a new PAL 360 which i don't want

i don't think these warranty helplines understand or respect us importers wanting a different region console from the one we live in

what a nightmare

[Strolls]

A number of people have been successful at getting warranty repairs performed on a US 360 by MS UK:

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showpost.p...7&postcount=25

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showpost.php?p=924177&postcount=15

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showpost.p...7&postcount=16

Stroller.