In article , "Mark A" wrote:
"William Sommerwerck" wrote in message
...
Do you have a reference?

No, but the head of Sony parts confirmed this seven or eight years ago.

Are you sure he wasn't talking about company policy? I have never
heard of such a thing, unless it is during the warranty period. What
kinds of products does this cover?

AFAIK, it's the law. It covers just about everything. Manufacturers are
not
allowed to immediately "abandon" discontinued products.

Some years ago Sony told me they would not repair items more than ten
years
after their official discontinuance, even if they had the parts. I
wouldn't be
surprised if that interval were now down to seven, or even five years.

Sony is like most Japanese companies doing business in the US. They aren't
much
interested in long-term customer satisfaction, especially when it comes to
supplying reasonably priced service parts.

If you like, I'll ask the "parts honcha" at Sony exactly what current
policy is.

I searched the FTC site. which regulates warranties in the USA. I did not
find anything about stocking parts. I would bet you big money that what you
think is a law, is really just Sony internal policy.

I am pretty sure i have seen this 7 year law out there too.




Actually, manufacturers are not required by law to stock any parts so long
as they honor the warranty. They have the right to just send you a new or
factory refurbed unit instead of replacing a bad part. Manufacturers are not
required to perform any repairs or parts past the warranty period.

I am not sure why you think Sony is not interested in long term customer
satisfaction. Generally Japanese firms are much more interested in customer
satisfaction than US firms, because for one reason, there is much less
emphasis on quarterly earnings in Japan.

I recently got a quote from Sony for repairing a computer monitor that is 7
years old. Like all their non-warranty repairs, they charge a flat fee
regardless of the problem. I decided not to do it because of the 2-way
shipping charges for the 75 lb monitor were fairly high and I didn't have
the original shipping box.