Hi Tron05,
Very sorry to hear about the problem.
I recently faced a similar problem with our Sony Bravia 37S400 (37") which was also bought approx 3 years ago around Diwali time in 2008.
I called the nearest Sony Authorized Service Centre. One guy came and immediately concluded that it was either the software or the picture tube, but for a confirmation they needed to to take it to their place. I agreed, and accordingly after about 3 days two men came to take the TV. Then for about 3 weeks there was no news from them, I was abroad during this time and could not pursue the matter. When I came back, I went to their place and wanted to know the status, and they said that the picture tube needed replacement and the picture tube alone would cost me about 19K.
I naturally was very upset, and then electronically communicated to Sony India (there is a way to do it from their website). I basically complained that Sony was not looking after their customers, otherwise why it would take more than 1 month to find out the cost of repairs (which shows that for a TV costing 60K there is no ready availability and information on spares), and if Sony had any confidence in their products they would either give a longer warranty period (like 3-5 years which is quite standard internationally) or give an option for extended warranty to be bought by the customer.
There was an immediate automated reply from Sony. After a few days, I got a response from the Head of Sony Service in this region. She wrote that the repair would be done promptly and whole thing would cost me about 16K inclusive of taxes and labour, and they could not go any lower on the price. However, there was no mention of any warranty on the replaced parts.
I wrote back saying that this was unbecoming of Sony not to have mentioned any warranty period on the replaced parts. The Head of Service wrote back with an warranty of 3 months on the new picture tube. I immediately responded by writing that this was unacceptable. The Head then offered me 6 months warranty to which ultimately I agreed, because there is a limit to which one can pursue these things.
About a week after I agreed to Sony's offer (16K total cost, and 6 months warranty on the picture tube), the repaired TV was delivered back and I wrote a cheque and gave to them after I was satisfied.
This whole episode from beginning to end took about 2 months or slightly more. In this time, we considered several options like not repairing this TV at all and buying a new TV and so on. There was also a growing discontent about the whole thing at home. So I went and bought, in the middle of all this, a 32" Toshiba (Power TV 32PB1E) for Rs 19.5 K with 3 years warranty
. For the price, we are extremely happy with the TV. It is now doing duty (very light duty) in our bedroom.
I hope my experience helps you some way.
Regards.
