Where to get camcorder inspected

wonka

I have a faulty miniDV camcorder ('knocking' sound gets recorded onto tape). It's 14 months old so outside guarantee period, however the shop has agreed to pay for repair IF it's proven that there is a manufacturing fault and that the unit has not been damaged.

I'm happy to go along with this, as I've always looked after it very well, and it's in excellent physical condition. However, they have suggested that Sony themselves inspect it, and I'm not sure they would be that independent - would they really admit to their own manufacturing/design faults???

Furthermore, if they do conclude that it has been damaged, I would have to pay for the inspection, and Sony are pretty expensive - their inspection costs £53!

So I was wondering if anyone knows of a company that will do an independent inspection of a camcorder in order to deduce the fault, and preferably one that is cheaper?