JVC receiver broken AGAIN! ARGH! (long) (1 Viewer)

[Chad Ellinger]

Ok, here's the story of my love/hate relationship with my JVC RX-888VBK. Its more of a rant, so feel free to move on if you're not interested.
I have had this receiver for a little less than two years, and as a first receiver for a poor college student, it has served me well. Around last October, I noticed that the center channel on my 5.1 DVDs seemed really quiet. I checked all the speaker levels and connections and everything was in order. The next day I noticed that on analog sources (TV, VCR), when I clicked on Pro-Logic, all sound was completely gone.
I found the name of a JVC-authorized service center nearby and contacted them about the warranty repair. I brought in my receiver, and after nearly two weeks of phone calls and "We don't know yet"s, my receiver was returned to me, still broken, because they could not get the necessary part (one of the digital processing boards).
I then contacted JVC about shipping the receiver to their east coast service center. I paid the $20 shipping costs and sent it away. After many aggravating phone calls, the fixed receiver was returned nearly 3 weeks later (note that I have been sans-receiver for over 6 weeks at this point).
Well, lo-and-behold its July and the same problem has happened AGAIN with this unit. What kind of recourses do I have? Its still under warranty (thank god), but what I really want is for JVC to send me a replacement (or better yet, an upgraded) model rather than deal with this one again. Anyone think I have a shot at this?
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My Movie Collection

 

[Steve T]

Chad,
The outcome of your dilemma has alot to do with how far JVC is willing to bend over backwards to satisfy their customer. I would definitely request a new receiver, stressing the fact that you have been without one for weeks. If JVC is not willing to make you happy, I would seriously think about replacing the receiver yourself and saying goodbye to JVC forever!

 

[Carol Curtis]

I have a few suggestions.
1. Find out the name of the JVC rep. for your area & talk to
him/her. Sometimes area reps. can get more things done than the people on the phone at JVC.
2. Go up the JVC food chain until you get what you want.
3. If there is "another" JVC repair center near you I would take it to them & see what they come up with.
4. And most important "DON"T GIVE UP" keep bugging them.
Good luck!

 

[Thomas_Berg]

i've had some problems with JVC (and their 'quality') as well. i bought a 200 disc cd changer about 2 yrs ago and it arrived dead. after a few days i said screw it and bought a kenwood model. that served me well until i sold it on ebay for $100 more than i bought it for.

then i purchased a JVC Kameleon car cd player and it broke a few months later. i sent it in and they gave me the next year's model as a replacement. it broke within 2 months. i'm through with JVC FOREVER!
i say scrap it and try to get some money or credit out of them. i just bought an Onkyo TX-DS595 for $359+shipping from J&R that will arrive tomorrow. if you possibly can, try to go with this.
-thomas
ps: sorry for the harshness!
[Edited last by Thomas_Berg on July 23, 2001 at 05:49 PM]

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

The reason I now own an Onkyo 595 is because I bought a JVC RX-778VBK two years ago that was faulty out of the box. Bass management on it simply did not work, as a bass sweep using Avia (with the subwoofer turned off, alternating between large and small on the center and surrounds) showed quite clearly. Not only did they not fix the problem, they denied that the problem even existed. I argued for about six months, going further and further up the food chain until I finally decided to write JVC off and move on.
I agree with the previous post... Skip the middle man and try to find your way to one of the area reps or someone higher up. Be polite, but adamant about them remedying the situation. Say things like "I'd hate to have to buy an Onkyo to replace this unit, because I really like the sound of it." If you feel that they might be caving a little or if they tell you the 888 is discontinued and no parts can be found, politely suggest to them that they send you one of their similar models (even a refurbished model) as a replacement.
Other than that... you've gotten two years out of it. Take it as a lesson learned and buy something else. The best way to hurt any company is to buy a competitor's product.

 

[Chad Ellinger]

Update:
I contacted JVC's customer support line and was told politely by John that "JVC does not have an exchange policy. The warranty only covers repairs on the unit. If the unit is sent in for repairs and cannot be brought back to factory specifications, a consideration might be made at that point." This leads me to believe that there *may* be a possibility for an exchange, but JVC's going to continue to claim that they can fix the unit. Any ideas? How can I get a hold of one of the area reps and someone NOT from the standard 800 number?
Thanks for all of your suggestions.
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My Movie Collection

 

[Thomas_Berg]

try:
1) checking the phone book
2) going to a place where they sell JVC and ask (they should know)
3) call the 800# again and ask them
all of these should work. i know the 800# people from Sony were very helpful when my portable cd player broke.
hope this helps

 

[Jeff Leeds]

Your best bet is to find a store manager from where you bought it (or can at least pretend to have bought it) not a circuit city, a local smaller store. Tell them your story and ask for the local rep. Then drive this fight with the local guy, he can make a difference.
I love JVC videotape but I pass on other JVC equipment usually. That said, my brother bought a JVC reciever in 1973 that still works....I don't think their customer service is much different than anybody else in home electronics. I seen similar stories about Sony, etc.
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Jeff Leeds
[email protected]