Warentees on imported electronics

August 10, 2007 12:45 PM

What happens to US electronics that break in their new UK home?

With the interesting state of the US dollar, I'm planning on buying a Panasonic digital camera when I'm over there in a month or so.

But I'm a touch worried about what will happen to it should it break. Will the UK arm of Panasonic treat it like a long lost child, or tell me that it's not their problem?

The US $320 becomes over $500 if I were to buy it here, so a little hassle I can deal with...

posted by twine42 to shopping (8 comments total)

Bear in mind that you can only bring goods back into the UK that cost a total of £145 (or just under $300) before you have to pay VAT and duty on them. So it might be cheaper to buy it here when you factor those things back in.
posted by essexjan at 12:56 PM on August 10, 2007

the interesting state of the US dollar: Sigh...don't remind us.

What about buying a new camera from Amazon US and shipping it to the UK? They have a way to pre-pay customs/duty if your camera applies - check it out here.
posted by mdonley at 1:04 PM on August 10, 2007

Some companies offer worldwide warranties. I bought an iPod in the US and sent it in for warranty service in UK and they fixed it.

I don't think you'll have much problem bringing the camera back into the UK as long as you don't carry it in the original box.
posted by gfrobe at 1:34 PM on August 10, 2007

It's really up to the company concerned. I've had great experiences with Sennheiser and Palm products bought in the U.S. But a quick read through one of Panasonic's U.S. warranties seems to indicate that you can only use the U.S. service center for repairs. The warranty period is probably less than what you would get in Europe (only six months for the CCD) and certainly a lot less than the statuory protections of the Sale of Goods Act which requires that the camera be of reasonable quality. Look up the warranty for your desired model of camera here.

Personally I would go with another manufacturer.
posted by grouse at 1:37 PM on August 10, 2007

Check the warranty details. I have a broken, UK bought, Canon video camera that Canon US won't touch. That's an expensive plane ticket to get a camera serviced!
posted by merocet at 2:20 PM on August 10, 2007

cheers guys
posted by twine42 at 4:00 PM on August 10, 2007

First, check that the model IS global. Canon produce differently badged models for the US (no "Rebel" models in Europe - good, tacky name for a camera.)

Check the warranty - but most are worldwide now, surely?

If you buy from Wal Mart, ASDA apparently honour the guarantee and even give refunds (so I am told - check)
posted by A189Nut at 2:34 AM on August 11, 2007

I brought a new Sony tuner over and it stopped working completely just a few months after I arrived. I took it to the Sony place in Staines and they, after first assuming that I had just plugged it into 220V, troubleshot and fixed it for free under the warranty in spite of the fact that the warranty said it was US only. (I run numerous US electronics and kitchen gadgets on big heavy clunky converters).

I also bought a Nikon D70 in the US and had it serviced in the UK, repairing, for free, a "known fault" again despite the warranty coverage not being worldwide.

So my view is that there is a bias toward "we want you to be happy wherever you are, wherever you bought it" so long as the gizmo in question is still under warranty. I've stuck with both brands as a result, and I think that's part of the equation.

I would say buy it and take your chances. Warranties last a year. For a lot of these things, non-warranty repair is not worth the money - better to swallow hard and buy a new one.
posted by sagwalla at 7:59 AM on August 11, 2007