Peoples opinion on renting a TV

Kruger

I just want to gauge peoples opinions on renting electrical goods like TV's,

My parents say they've never got any money yet rent a 32" TV costing the best part of £40 a month, to me this seems like they are throwing money away as an equivalent TV can be purchased for under £400, if it lasts a year they would be quids in, but considering most have 2 year guarantees and tv's generally dont go wrong, I just cant convince their old way of thinking, that a TV is an expensive item and when they break down it results in an expensive repair bill.

I can understand why people might rent a washing machine, say a family with a couple of loads everyday, as washing machines have moving parts and invariably do play up but a TV just seems pointless.

I've tried to point out that they are effectively buying a new TV each year, but I dont think they can see past " we get good service from the electrical rental shop down the road" mentality, to which I ve pointed out they are paying alot of money for.

What are peoples thoughts please?

keith_lard

Prob buy a 32 inch tv on ebay for £40 (not ldc or plasma)

or try Freecycle poeple are giving them away!

Kruger

Forgot to mention its an LCD they rent, I myself though got a standard crt type 1 year old Phillips TV in silver for £25 off Gumtree, yet I cant get my parents to see sense, especially as they say they dont have any money.

A_Nice_Englishman

Get your parents to go back to the 'electrical rental shop down the road' every year and get a brand new TV (assuming their contract allows that).

Once the shop is no longer making money from them they may decide they 'don't do rental any more' and sell them a TV instead (maybe even the one they've already got at a knock-down price). Even if they don't do that at least your parents will be getting what they're paying for.

BTW, I agree with you about CRT vs LCD . Better picture and cheaper too!

LookingAhead

Oh dear. I agree with you completely - it seems a total waste of cash.

If you asked them to quantify what is a "good service" from the electrical place, what I wonder, would they say?

If it's simply someone coming to pick the old one up and plug the new one in....do they *really* think it's worth nearly £500 a year for that? £5000 a decade?

:eek:

Perhaps they need to see the money in equivalent terms.....what could £480 buy for them in a year?

PasturesNew

I agree with you.
Why not offer to buy a TV and they can rent it from you at the same rate.

When they've "paid" for the TV they can stop paying you, thus proving you are right at no risk/expense to them.

Kruger

PasturesNew wrote: »

I agree with you.
Why not offer to buy a TV and they can rent it from you at the same rate.

When they've "paid" for the TV they can stop paying you, thus proving you are right at no risk/expense to them.

This might be the only way they'd be convinced, ie me putting my money where my mouth is, I think its a good idea.

Burlesque_Babe

PasturesNew wrote: »

I agree with you.
Why not offer to buy a TV and they can rent it from you at the same rate.

When they've "paid" for the TV they can stop paying you, thus proving you are right at no risk/expense to them.

That is a really good idea. :T

rog2

Twenty or thirty years ago it made perfect sense to rent - especially a Colour television.
The technology was still relatively 'new' and still functioned on unreliable valves, which, if they went wrong, cost an absolute fortune, in relative terms, to fix.
Equally, the cost of 'purchasing' a new colour tv would have been more than some people were actually earning in a month - I remember renting a 'Black and White' TV with a coin meter attached to the on/off switch when I was a student - it was ALL I could afford.
Many older people have simply carried on with renting as they still believe that the 'maintenance' side of rental is important, whereas in truth they could buy a brand new TV, in a supermarket, for the price of a couple of month's rental. My parents continued with the 'tradition' of renting until, ten years ago, we bought them an 'ex-rental' Sony trinitron TV for £80 - they STILL have it and it's still working fine, though God knows what they'll do when the digital switch comes into force.
The ONLY market where, in my opinion, rental could be a better option than purchase would be in the larger hotel chains where they would negotiate a contract where the sets are changed, on a regular basis, in order to keep up with new technology. Those ex-rental sets that these contracts will, inevitably generate, will simply find themselves on the extremely lucrative second hand market, so the TV rental companies, in the same way as car rental companies, are on a winner which ever way you look at it.

Miss_Marple_2

Sometimes, though, it is a question of where the £400 comes from in the first place. It's easier to find £40 a month than a £400 lump sum. So unless they have £400 or can do without a TV for 10 months while they save it, renting is the easiest option.

If you can afford it, the idea about buying it on their behalf and them paying it back seems really good.

When I set up my first home, I rented a TV and video, and it worked well, plus it was replaced next day when it was stolen and then again when it went wrong. That was nearly 15 years ago now, though.

chloebelle

My nan rented a tv for about 30 years!

My dad only found out about 2 years ago and made her cancel the rental and buy a set. She took the set back to the shop and they told her to keep it as it was so old!

I sympathise, these shops exist because many older people are frightened of change or don't know how to go about it. My nan is just like this, still living as she did 30 years ago. She has only recently started visiting the supermarket, believing the traditional way of visiting the butcher, baker, fishmonger, grocer etc... was the way you should shop.

And as for chip and pin.....:eek:

Just point out to your parents that tv's are so cheap now they are throwing away thousands by renting.