DeadMADMAN

Long story short.

My girlfriend, the love of my life, is staying with me for a week while she is on spring break. She brought her cat (that happens to be cute 90% of the time). In the 10% of the time he is not cute, he somehow manages to push over the TV causing a few irreparable cracks in the screen.

I checked every way I could possibly save my year old $1000 investment. I have the Best Buy warranty which doesn't cover accidents. The Westinghouse warranty doesn't either and cannot be fixed since it is the screen which is 80% of the cost. I even checked with my homeowners insurance and as expected, it won't cover it.

Is this a lost cause?

Furthermore, if I were to put a broken year old 42" on Ebay, would anybody buy it for parts or would they just laugh and throw trash at me when they drive by on the interstate?

I figure its a lost cause but I still have 900 bucks to pay off on it so i figure its worth asking.

Mr. Salty

You bought a $1,000 TV a year ago and you still owe $900? Methinks you have bigger problems than just the broken TV.

That said, there is no magical fairy dust that is going to come to your rescue, unless your girlfriend offers to help pay for a replacement since it was her cat that did the damage.

jarofclay73

Looks like you are out of luck unless somehow the credit card you used covers things like that.

I'm thinking that repair costs for the TV would be about the same as buying another one.

DeadMADMAN

Bigger problems?

3 years with 0% interest. 10 dollar payments. Product Service Plan for an extra 100 some bucks. Nothing the matter with that.

And yes, she has practically insisted on paying for a new TV which seems unnecessary. It was an accident so I'm not mad at her and don't want her to go 1000 bucks in the hole.

stingermck

But its only $10 a month

Talk to Bestbuy, you never know, may get a manager on a good day.

SmackDaddy

How on earth did a cat knock over a 42" set? Obviously not a wall mount. But my 46" LCD requires some effort to move it while on its pedestal...just how big is this cat?

DeadMADMAN

He is a pretty big cat and yeah, it wasn't a wall mount. I assumed the stand was adjustable and thats how it happened...I guess I didnt realize it is a thick sturdy stand. I put it back up and rocked it back and forth to see how much effort it would have taken and it would take a lot. He is the type of cat to climb on everything yet I didnt think this was ever in danger. He may have even freaked out and pushed against the wall.

Yeah but I doubt they would have the 3 years no interest plan and I dont want her to have to worry about paying it off in a year. Although, she did just get a call about a great job (she gets her double masters in May) and I told her if she gets the job then I would consider letting her buy me another.

Now if I talk to a manager, should I bring the TV in with me or what? I'm not good at this sort of thing. I either push to hard or not enough. Any advice would be appreciated.

Oh, and the one good thing about this is now I can toment her cat without her getting mad at me. Mind you, I'm not mean, but I love to do things like play with his paws which gets him pissed...he is a Maine Coon so he is moody anyway and forgives me within a minute.

Mr. Salty

No matter who you talk to, Best Buy is not going to replace a year-old TV that has obviously been damaged by the user. You're SOL.

Maine coons are worth a lot of money. Sell the cat and use the money to replace the TV. Problem solved!

Sdallnct

Well the problem of course is you owe more then the tv is worth. Even unbroken.

Ranger

Yeah, my pc lcd 19" monitor is 15 pounds. Can't picture any cat pushing that off.

But actually the top concern I always have with pets around the house is them chewing wires in general. Something to keep in mind for the next tv you get.

fumanstan

I can easily picture an animal pushing over my 50" Plasma. It would take some effort, but a decent brush against it would definitely get it rocking a bit.

Kevin M. Dean

I'd expect it's not so much the pushing it off as it's likely the cat tried to jump on top and either knocked it over at that point or knocked it over when it jumped off the tv. I used to have that problem with tower speakers. Cats would jump up just fine, but it was their kicking off motion when jumping off the speaker that would send it to the floor.

Mr. Salty

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Maine coon cats, but they're the size of small dogs.

creekdipper

Sorry about your tv...doesn't sound like you'll be able to recoup your investment, unless you end up marrying your girlfriend. Then it can always be a source of amusement at family gatherings (or a bone of contention).

Even if she was not the love of your life, I wouldn't recommend suggesting that she turn tricks to pay for the set. You might discount the cost from the engagement ring, though.

However, you might find creative ways to make Fuzzy "disappear". But then you would have Pet Semetary-type nightmares.

Thanks for posting, though. We have seven cats, including some who love to climb. Your post has got me seriously thinking how to anchor our 50" Plasma.

>Edit: Just had a thought. If you have homeowner's insurance & a friend who is a good shot with a rifle, place the set by the window facing the road & open the window. Then have him shoot out the back of the set. If you get the cat to pose behind the set, you might get a two-fer. Justice will be served.

Superman07

The good news (?) is that you can get the 2009 entry 42" Panasonic plasma for $899 or less.

That must have been a big cat. I don't know how a cat could even knock over my 23" lcd - the base on this must weigh 20lbs easy.

JimRochester

Since it obviously is not a problem with the manufacterer or the retailer, any discount will strictly be a goodwill discount in an effort to maintain your business

I had a situation a few years ago when I bought a DVD player on the advice of one of their reps, but the thing did a really crappy job of playing DVD-r's. They looked terrible. Technically they played, but the quality was so poor I couldn't stand watching anything. I calmly explained my situation to a manager and he gave me the "employee discount".

SInce it's obvious you're buying a new TV, do your research like any other purchase then go in to BB last with the model you're interested in and ask for a manager's best price.

As a guy who's been married 23 years I'll give you my 2¢ over the girlfriend situation. If she has the money, let her buy the freakin TV. Her cat broke the TV, she owes it to you. IF you end up married, it's both your money anyway. If you end up apart, get your TV as a consolation prize. Don't think that by being Mr. Understanding it will have any bearing on the future of the relationship. If anyone sees you as unreasonable for expecting the TV to be replaced they're doucebags.

Spiky

Chivalry was not "being nice to women". It was a means to make sure they were treated as inferiors. Chivalry is dead. I agree with Jim. She sounded insistent, so let her take care of her own problems.

Ranger

Oh, I didn't think about the cat trying to climb on top of it. I was thinking of it pushing the tv off from the stand base.

Pointyskull

Shannon Nutt

...or much of anything else, I might add.

DeadMADMAN

I appreciate all the advice. Right now my girlfriend is finishing up grad school. She already is practically paying for a trip to Atlanta for the two of us. We were originally going to split the price but she is telling me not to pay her back...this was before the TV thing anyway. She is really good to me and understands how tight money is for me. Money isn't as big of a problem for her since she doesn't have nearly as many bills and will be making at least twice as much as my teacher salary (granted she is able to get a job in this lovely world we are facing). I told her if she gets a good job I will consider letting her buy me a TV along with a car and other goodies. Hell, I already have the house and furniture and crap like that so I figure then it is not that extreme to let her make up her share by getting me that new TV at that point.

But never underestimate the destructive nature of cats.

DeadMADMAN

double post

Spiky

BTW, some also chew on cords. Cats, I mean.

Superman07

Our cat loves cords! I will be sad, but not surprised if he dies of electrocution.