My PS3 done broke. Should I shell out the cash to repair, or hold off and see what Sony's got up its sleeve?

August 10, 2009 7:45 PM

Broken PS3 - ship it off for repairs or wait and see what the holidays bring?

Last night my PS3 decided to not accept any more discs. Not as in they won't play, but as in the disc drive won't feed them into the machine. The machine is otherwise running perfectly, can play media, online games, and I'm sure if I could get a disc in there, it would work just fine.

I'm out of warranty, no store bought service plan, and while the receipt is probably... somewhere, I wouldn't bet I could find it.

I called up Sony today and they want almost $200 to fix it, which seems a bit extreme for what will likely be a simple fix or drive replacement. On the other hand, I don't really want to go to an unauthorized repair place.

I've heard rumblings through the blogosphere about a redesigned PS3 due for the holidays, complete with price cut. Obviously, this is rumour until announced, but it's seeming slightly more certain.

What is the likelihood of something like this, or at least a significant price cut? And when would that be likely to be announced prior to the holidays?

I've been thinking that it might be more cost effective to sell mine on eBay and pick up a new one, if the price drops. I wouldn't really want to wait more than a month or two to find out.

I realize the question posed is impossible to answer definitevely, so I guess the real question is, what would you do?

posted by yellowbinder to technology (5 comments total)

I've heard rumors of a slim PS3 *and* a price cut, and before the holidays to boot. I'd wait.
posted by the dief at 7:59 PM on August 10

Do you have a mom-and-pop independent gaming store nearby? If so, take your machine to them and get an estimate on repairs. I can almost guarantee they'll do it for way less than what Sony wanted, and with quicker turn-around too.
posted by amyms at 8:03 PM on August 10

If you have some tools (philips head and a torx for the case) and a half-hour, swap the drive out yourself. Plenty of them available on ebay, and really easy to do. This sweaty guy can show you how.
posted by lovejones at 10:52 PM on August 10

I've not done this specific repair, but I did take apart a PS3 once (mostly just to see what the guts were like, what can I say, I'm a HW nerd). It's a pretty easy device to take apart. It's unlikely that you'd hurt it. Given that the prices for replacement pieces look reasonable, I say go with Lovejones suggestion.
posted by jerwood at 11:41 PM on August 10

As mentioned, the PS3 slim is rumored to be announced soon. Speculation on the net seems to convergence on an announcement at the GAMESCOM (Cologne), probably during Sony's press conference at the 18th of August. Sources suggest a 299 euro/dollar retail price, with an early september launch. No one knows for sure, or what specs it will have. But waiting for one week doesn't hurt, right?
posted by swordfishtrombones at 11:49 PM on August 10