XBox 360 Elite, the RRoD and the PRP from Best Buy

[Adrenaline]

I had a RRoD show up on my 360 but it still managed to work correctly. Well, today I called BB customer support and got my PRP number. I asked what the PRP was compared to the PSP I had purchased before on 3 other things. (I thought it was a PSP for my 360)

The gentleman informed me that the PSP sends your product out to get serviced and the PRP will replace the unit outright. The lady at BB did not even test my 360 Elite out, she just took the 360 and power cable from a brand new box and replaced it no hassle. Now here is the part that shocked me:

I paid $399 for my Elite and the new one was $299 so they gave me $100 credit which I then used to purchase another service plan. Since I exchanged the unit, the PRP was used up. I got my 360 replaced and a service plan and about $23 more on a BB gift card. Also, since I had no games come with my system the games that came with the new system were given to me, Pure and Lego Batman (haha, but still free).

Just thought I would share an excellent experience with BB and a RRoD.

 

[Kromis]

HOLY SHIT!

Wow dude, you are so lucky! The ppl at my Best Buy are asswipes!

 

[Adrenaline]

Mine have been in the past also.

I do have a question though. My new Elite makes a noise when powering up, a small grinding noise twice then pauses then does the same thing again. Also, it reads from the gamedisc much more often and louder than before. I am wondering if this is normal for new machines. I did not play my 360 much (gaming computer also) but I remember it being more quiet than this.

 

[Saint Nick]

Our Best Buy was very generous with faulty XBOX systems...and they still are

 

[viivo]

My Best Buy is great with returns. They let me switch out a mouse 3 times, twice for a different brand.

 

[R Nilla]

I don't understand why people continue to willingly put up with shoddy hardware. I mean, look at the horrible experience you had to go through...

 

[Adrenaline]

Mine was a free replacement.

I returned an extra cable to BB and talked with the lady at customer service and she told me just to bring it back and get another. It may be faulty hardware BUT I have a PS3 and Wii already, so a messed up XBox isn't a big deal. I do know this though, I will not be buying the next generation XBox. My original XBox slowly died out on me and then this. I have yet to have a Nintendo or PS console just messup on me at all.

 

[AgentUnknown]

How much is the prp?

 

[Adrenaline]

For the Elite it was $79.99 for 2 years. Considering the failure rate for the 360s (yes I knew about this at the time) I figured it would not be a bad investment and it paid off today.

I also replaced the original controller over a year ago due to a bad d-pad on it.

But the new one is making 2 grinding noises, pauses then makes 2 more grinding noises and the fan comes on full blast nonstop. I told BB and they said to bring it back when I can, which will be tomorrow.

 

[StageLeft]

I also, after being burned now by two consecutive consoles (PS2 and 360) will not buy a console without a service plan. I think they are inherently prone to high rates of failure. Obviously if I had been an early adopter of a 360 I would have been right, though their quality is better now.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I also, after being burned now by two consecutive consoles (PS2 and 360) will not buy a console without a service plan. I think they are inherently prone to high rates of failure. Obviously if I had been an early adopter of a 360 I would have been right, though their quality is better now.

It just says you should wait and see. People here complain that the first batch of PS2s were shitty but I got mine in 2003 and never experienced these problems. Can you imagine the deep pockets, or empty brains, of early adopters: First you spend MSRP+ for the console only to have it break down on you then you spend money on these extended warranties? Fuck that. By the time I get a new console, the kinks are usually ironed out by developers and manufacturers.

But the XBOX 360 is in a class of shitty hardwareness by itself. It has managed to fail its customers four years after release and people continue to buy it instead of punishing Microsoft for making shitty hardware. This is terrible news for those of us who value quality. Manufacturers will look at this and think we don't care about quality hardware. It's already happening in the PC-hardware space where Acer, producer of shitty and unreliable Windows PC, is now the #2 producer of personal computers. It's like a race to the bottom and people are merrily tagging along. I will never go that route.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Kromis
HOLY SHIT!

Wow dude, you are so lucky! The ppl at most Best Buys are asswipes!

Fixed.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: R Nilla
I don't understand why people continue to willingly put up with shoddy hardware. I mean, look at the horrible experience you had to go through...

One can buy excellent CS for around $70-$80 for a $300 item. Tell me how this makes sense?

 

[Adrenaline]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: R Nilla
I don't understand why people continue to willingly put up with shoddy hardware. I mean, look at the horrible experience you had to go through...

One can buy excellent CS for around $70-$80 for a $300 item. Tell me how this makes sense?

The original elite I bought was $449.99 so $79.99 was not bad considering. I bought one for my 360 but not my PS3 =)

 

[bowdenball]

I've got a 60gb pro i purchased there with the PRP. What would they do then if there were no more 60gb pros?

 

[Zensal]

Originally posted by: bowdenball
I've got a 60gb pro i purchased there with the PRP. What would they do then if there were no more 60gb pros?

Typically they exchange for something equivalent to the purchase price.

I'm actually surprised that BB even sells PRPs or PSPs on 360's anymore.

 

[AeroEngy]

I don't want to thread cap but I also just had an awesome RRoD return experience. However, it was at Costco instead of Best Buy.

When the 360 died I tried to search online to find out if it was covered under Costco's general unlimited return policy or the newer 90 day policy for electronics but only found conflicting information. So I just called the local store and said "I bought a 360 1.5 years ago and I don't have a receipt or the box. Is the 360 covered under the 90 electronics policy or not?" They said "just bring it back with everything that came in the box."

When I got to the store they just had to get someone from the electronics department to look at all the crap to make sure it was all there. Then they gave me a Costco Cash Card (store credit) for the current price of the bundle. I was pretty happy and walking away when the cashier started yelling for me to come back and that she had made a mistake. I went back thinking that this couldn't possibly be good. However, she informed me that I should have received the original purchase price back and not the current price so she adjusted the Cash Card up another 50 bucks or so.

Cliffs: Returned 360 after 1.5 years without receipt or box for a full refund of original purchase price.

 

[Adrenaline]

From my understanding Costco has one of the best return policies in the industry. Glad to hear about yours!

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: R Nilla
I don't understand why people continue to willingly put up with shoddy hardware. I mean, look at the horrible experience you had to go through...

Because the games available for the system are fun? Not that hard of an answer.

 

[theLION]

Originally posted by: Zensal

Originally posted by: bowdenball
I've got a 60gb pro i purchased there with the PRP. What would they do then if there were no more 60gb pros?

Typically they exchange for something equivalent to the purchase price.

I'm actually surprised that BB even sells PRPs or PSPs on 360's anymore.

I had a 60gb pro die out on me last month. Luckily, I also purchased a 2-year PRP. So with the PRP, they just asked me to choose the Xbox bundle I wanted to replace the dead one with. I got $50 extra back because I paid $350 before but now the Elite is $300. Unfortunately, Best Buy does not offer PRPs anymore; only PSPs through Geek Squad or something like that.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: AeroEngy
I don't want to thread cap but I also just had an awesome RRoD return experience. However, it was at Costco instead of Best Buy.

When the 360 died I tried to search online to find out if it was covered under Costco's general unlimited return policy or the newer 90 day policy for electronics but only found conflicting information. So I just called the local store and said "I bought a 360 1.5 years ago and I don't have a receipt or the box. Is the 360 covered under the 90 electronics policy or not?" They said "just bring it back with everything that came in the box."

When I got to the store they just had to get someone from the electronics department to look at all the crap to make sure it was all there. Then they gave me a Costco Cash Card (store credit) for the current price of the bundle. I was pretty happy and walking away when the cashier started yelling for me to come back and that she had made a mistake. I went back thinking that this couldn't possibly be good. However, she informed me that I should have received the original purchase price back and not the current price so she adjusted the Cash Card up another 50 bucks or so.

Cliffs: Returned 360 after 1.5 years without receipt or box for a full refund of original purchase price.

Wow, I can't believe there are still decent people out there. It's too bad you posted it online because assholes will try to abuse their policy now.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Adrenaline
From my understanding Costco has one of the best return policies in the industry. Glad to hear about yours!

Yes they do. Costco sells their consoles as bundles. The bundles come with stuff you'd likely want (a controller, play & charge kit and/or a GOOD game), and they're sold at a price that's just slightly below MSRP for everything you get. Not a good discount but it essentially gives you the advantages of another store's paid product replacement plan for free. You bring the console back, they check it out, they give you back your money. Then you go buy a new 360. I believe Costco then deals with Microsoft to get credit for the broken Xbox.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Dari
Wow, I can't believe there are still decent people out there. It's too bad you posted it online because assholes will try to abuse their policy now.

The policy is well-known. They had to change the policy for TVs a few years ago because people abused it too much to upgrade to a better TV. If anything would force them to change the policy for consoles it's the Xbox 360's failure rate. So far they haven't.


There's no conflicting info btw, the only info that matters comes directly from Costco:
http://www.costco.com/Service/...spx?ProductNo=11204333

Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. The following must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund: televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones.

 

[Thraxen]

Originally posted by: Dari
It just says you should wait and see. People here complain that the first batch of PS2s were shitty but I got mine in 2003 and never experienced these problems. Can you imagine the deep pockets, or empty brains, of early adopters: First you spend MSRP+ for the console only to have it break down on you then you spend money on these extended warranties? Fuck that. By the time I get a new console, the kinks are usually ironed out by developers and manufacturers.

Well, first, it's not like it's a given that launch systems will have massive issues. The 360 is in a class by itself in that regard. Other launch systems have had issues, but nothing to this scale. Also, you don't have to buy a service plan. For example, most 360's that fail do so within the extended 3-year RRoD warranty period. Sure, you'll be without your system for a week and you won't likely get a new system in return as with a PRP, but at least there won't be any major expenses out of your own pocket. It should also be noted that the "empty brained" early adopters are the people that allow you to buy the revised systems later on. So bash them all you want, but you never get your system without them.

This is terrible news for those of us who value quality. Manufacturers will look at this and think we don't care about quality hardware. It's already happening in the PC-hardware space where Acer, producer of shitty and unreliable Windows PC, is now the #2 producer of personal computers. It's like a race to the bottom and people are merrily tagging along. I will never go that route.

MS had to write off over a billion dollars to cover warranty repairs. I highly doubt this situation is going to be encouraging anyone to follow suit. There are always going to be cheap products with people willing to buy, but again the 360 is in class by itself. The hardware debacle has been costly for MS.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Thraxen

This is terrible news for those of us who value quality. Manufacturers will look at this and think we don't care about quality hardware. It's already happening in the PC-hardware space where Acer, producer of shitty and unreliable Windows PC, is now the #2 producer of personal computers. It's like a race to the bottom and people are merrily tagging along. I will never go that route.

MS had to write off over a billion dollars to cover warranty repairs. I highly doubt this situation is going to be encouraging anyone to follow suit. There are always going to be cheap products with people willing to buy, but again the 360 is in class by itself. The hardware debacle has been costly for MS.

I think what some people fail to understand is that this wasn't poor quality as a result of cost cutting, it was poor quality as a result of a faulty design that was not discovered until it was too late.

The former is something that other companies might repeat to be competitive, the latter is not something anyone would choose to repeat.

It is peculiar that someone who claims to care so much about quality could end up being a Sony fanboy.