# Should I take the exchange offer from Tivo? S3 to Premier



## dlipkin (Feb 12, 2003)

I have an original S3 (oled display) with lifetime and it's gotten pretty wonky. I haven't opened it up but I assume it's bad caps, power supply, one of those usual things. The built-in tests say the hard drive is ok.

Tivo will exchange it for a new premier for $70 plus $199 for the lifetime transfer. 

Basically I get a new premier with lifetime for about $300 after tax and such. 

Does this make sense to folks? I debated buying an elite but that would run more like $800-900.

I'd like the better iOS support, support for hulu, etc on the premier. 

Would I be smarter to just buy a premier and fix/sell the S3?

Anyway, looking for opinions of what I might be missing.

Thanks,

David


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

Seems like a pretty good deal if you want to upgrade to get the new features available.
Basically you are paying $70 for the Premiere and getting half off of lifetime subscription. But I assume you have to relinquish your S3 back to Tivo?

Assuming you get a Premiere w/ lifetime (< $500 with MSD), fix the S3 and sell it to recoup some of the cost of the Premiere, you will lose your future MSD privileges. To retain MSD privileges, you must keep a "full cost" Tivo on your account.

If you decide to just fix the S3, we can definitely help with that.


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## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

I would take the deal and sell the broken S3 without service. Fixing the S3, selling it and buying a Premiere might work out about the same or a little better depending on cost to repair it but that isn't without risk that it can't be fixed.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

dlipkin said:


> Tivo will exchange it for a new premier for $70 plus $199 for the lifetime transfer.
> 
> Basically I get a new premier with lifetime for about $300 after tax and such.


How did I miss this? I thought lifetime transfers were a thing of the past. TiVo will do a $199 LT? And a new unit for $70? That seems crazy. Where's the incentive for them to do this? They'll lose money on the unit, and $200 for lifetime is waaay too cheap.

How do I sign up? Seriously. I have a lifetime Elite, a lifetime S3 and a MSD S3. I'll trade the MSD S3 for a lifetime Premiere for $300 any day.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

It doesn't work for a unit that's part of a MSD. I believe you're paying an additional $199 to transfer lifetime service from the S3 (original cost $299 to $399) to a Premiere plus $70 to replace your $800 S3 for a less expensive Premiere with a few newer features. A new Premiere is currently priced at $149 with lifetime at $399 (lifetime is $499 if you're not an existing customer) for a grand total of $548. You could sell your lifetime S3 on ebay for about $400 and be out-of-pocket only about $150 vs. $270 with Tivo's deal.

If Tivo asks for the S3 as a trade-in then you're getting screwed. If you really want to upgrade to a Premiere then get it as a 2nd lifetime Tivo to get the lifetime discount and then sell your S3.


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## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

If one of my lifetime TiVoHds break and can't be fixed easily, I am sure going to try to do this deal, I think it is a great deal under those circumstances. I sure wouldn't do it from a properly working TiVoHD. I wasn't aware TiVo would do something like this either.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

Chris Gerhard said:


> If one of my lifetime TiVoHds break and can't be fixed easily, I am sure going to try to do this deal, I think it is a great deal under those circumstances. I sure wouldn't do it from a properly working TiVoHD. I wasn't aware TiVo would do something like this either.


Huh, I always thought it was standard procedure for an out of warranty exchange. 
OTOH, maybe they pick and choose based on the model affected and user account status.

Of course, the OP would come out ahead if he got to keep the S3, but not by much because TiVo will remove its lifetime status.
The cost to repair might outweigh what an unsubscribed S3 is worth.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

mr.unnatural said:


> If Tivo asks for the S3 as a trade-in then you're getting screwed. If you really want to upgrade to a Premiere then get it as a 2nd lifetime Tivo to get the lifetime discount and then sell your S3.


Sure, that works if you don't mind losing the MSD.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

steve614 said:


> Sure, that works if you don't mind losing the MSD.


If you get a Premiere that's lifetimed and still have another Tivo that falls under the MSD then the Premiere becomes the primary Tivo and you should still qualify for the MSD on the other Tivo. How would any of this cause you to lose the MSD?


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

mr.unnatural said:


> If you get a Premiere that's lifetimed and still have another Tivo that falls under the MSD then the Premiere becomes the primary Tivo and you should still qualify for the MSD on the other Tivo. How would any of this cause you to lose the MSD?


The way I understand the situation, the OP has one S3 w/Lifetime that is his primary unit (MSD qualifyer).
If the OP were to buy a Premiere w/ lifetime under MSD and then fix and sell off the S3, he will be getting rid of his primary unit.
He will be left with a Tivo that doesn't qualify as a primary unit because the service for it was purchased under MSD.
Unless things have changed, in order to qualify for MSD, one must keep a full priced (subscription) Tivo on their account.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

steve614 said:


> The way I understand the situation, the OP has one S3 w/Lifetime that is his primary unit (MSD qualifyer).
> If the OP were to buy a Premiere w/ lifetime under MSD and then fix and sell off the S3, he will be getting rid of his primary unit.
> He will be left with a Tivo that doesn't qualify as a primary unit because the service for it was purchased under MSD.
> Unless things have changed, in order to qualify for MSD, one must keep a full priced (subscription) Tivo on their account.


I could be wrong but I believe any lifetimed Tivo qualifies as your primary unit, regardless of what deal you got for the lifetime service. Since the OP hasn't indicated he currently has a 2nd Tivo the whole discussion is moot anyway. MSD doesn't enter into the equation when upgrading from an S3 to a Premiere and then having to pay an additional premium to get lifetime on the Premiere.

I believe the lifetime service from the S3 is being transferred to the Premiere under Tivo's offer, making the S3 essentially worthless as a saleable unit. This is why I suggested getting the Premiere while he still has the S3 so he could qualify for the discounted lifetime service on the Premiere. Once he has the Premiere with lifetime he could sell the S3 that still has lifetime attached for a premium price on ebay. The sale of the S3 would pay for the lifetime service on the Premiere so all he'd have to shell out is the $150 for the Premiere itself. Tivo wants to charge him more if he goes with their offer.


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## shadowplay0918 (May 16, 2011)

Chris Gerhard said:


> If one of my lifetime TiVoHds break and can't be fixed easily, I am sure going to try to do this deal, I think it is a great deal under those circumstances. I sure wouldn't do it from a properly working TiVoHD. I wasn't aware TiVo would do something like this either.


Just spoke with Tivo support bc 1 of my TivoHD's hdmi port will no longer work (had lifetime on it for around 28 months). The tech offered me the 40ish hour premiere for $149 (I understood it was a new premiere-my mistake) and lifetime transfer and I asked if I could upgrade to a larger hard drive premiere and pay more.

He transferred me to someone in sales (who was clueless and tried to say they couldn't transfer w/o $199 fee) and then a supervisor. The supervisor said the previous guy was looking at the wrong Tivo and he offered me $249 for the 40ish hour premiere or $349 for the 75 hour and lifetime would be transferred for no fee. He also said the tech person was incorrect and they would just be repairing the hdmi port (very insistent on that) and I would not be getting a different Tivo.

Not paying $150 to repair an older Tivo (component cable still works on it and its a br tv) so will stay as is for now.

So it seems when you call in its anyone's guess what offer you will get...


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

shadowplay0918 said:


> Just spoke with Tivo support bc 1 of my TivoHD's hdmi port will no longer work (had lifetime on it for around 28 months). The tech offered me the 40ish hour premiere for $149 (I understood it was a new premiere-my mistake) and lifetime transfer and I asked if I could upgrade to a larger hard drive premiere and pay more.
> 
> He transferred me to someone in sales (who was clueless and tried to say they couldn't transfer w/o $199 fee) and then a supervisor. The supervisor said the previous guy was looking at the wrong Tivo and he offered me $249 for the 40ish hour premiere or $349 for the 75 hour and lifetime would be transferred for no fee. He also said the tech person was incorrect and they would just be repairing the hdmi port (very insistent on that) and I would not be getting a different Tivo.
> 
> ...


So you are basically paying $199 to transfer the lifetime service. The new 75 hour box retails for $150. Still that is a good offer. Although if you have a hard drive lying around that can be used in a TiVo, the 40 hour one is the better deal and then you put in your own hard drive.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

I'd check with some of the recommended repair shops posted here and see about getting the HD fixed by someone other than Tivo. You'll probably pay less than $100 for the repair and still have a working lifetime box. Besides, if the component outputs still work you probably won't see much difference in the picture quality anyway.


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## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

steve614 said:


> Huh, I always thought it was standard procedure for an out of warranty exchange.
> OTOH, maybe they pick and choose based on the model affected and user account status.
> 
> Of course, the OP would come out ahead if he got to keep the S3, but not by much because TiVo will remove its lifetime status.
> The cost to repair might outweigh what an unsubscribed S3 is worth.


I don't know if this deal is common or not but if a Premiere with lifetime for $270 is a certainty, the extended warranties sure aren't worth purchasing. The warranties are expensive if the exposure is $500 but for only $270 exposure, the price is way too high. I read my lifetime service agreement when I purchased a TiVoHD with lifetime for $500 in 2009 and there was nothing in writing about this to the best of my knowledge. I sure hope mine don't break, it isn't worth $270 to upgrade to me but if I was sitting here with a broken TiVoHD, I would definitely take this deal.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Chris Gerhard said:


> I don't know if this deal is common or not but if a Premiere with lifetime for $270 is a certainty, the extended warranties sure aren't worth purchasing. The warranties are expensive if the exposure is $500 but for only $270 exposure, the price is way too high. I read my lifetime service agreement when I purchased a TiVoHD with lifetime for $500 in 2009 and there was nothing in writing about this to the best of my knowledge. I sure hope mine don't break, it isn't worth $270 to upgrade to me but if I was sitting here with a broken TiVoHD, I would definitely take this deal.


The TiVo extended warranty is only $40 for 3 years($30 for 2 years). That is not expensive at all.


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## P42 (Jan 7, 2003)

Take the deal, it a great price for a Premier with Lifetime.

Then, if they don't take your S3, and it still has Lifetime enabled on it (though I would expect them to remove it) it has value and could be sold on ebay***, even it it's wonky state, but would be worth more if fixed. If it is just the PSU, you could scavenge that out of a non-lifetime and therefore pretty cheap S3.

Yes, this might be stealing if Tivo is expecting you to junk it, but they should disable it as part of the process of giving you such a reasonable deal of half price Lifetime. I would hate to see a salvageable unit going to the trash, ewaste etc, someone can put it to good use.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

How does one get this deal? CSR roulette?


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## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> The TiVo extended warranty is only $40 for 3 years($30 for 2 years). That is not expensive at all.


I would never pay $40 insurance to cover a potential $270 loss, assuming you have to return the broken TiVo, if not then the potential loss isn't even $270, the broken TiVo is worth something. I have had TiVo since 2000 and never had a warranty repair or a catastrophic failure, by not paying the extended warranty, I have saved several hundred dollars and will still be way ahead if I do have to cover a $270 exchange.

$40 isn't much for an extended warranty on something worth a lot of money, but for $270 with a low failure rate, it is a fool's game.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Chris Gerhard said:


> I would never pay $40 insurance to cover a potential $270 loss, assuming you have to return the broken TiVo, if not then the potential loss isn't even $270, the broken TiVo is worth something. I have had TiVo since 2000 and never had a warranty repair or a catastrophic failure, by not paying the extended warranty, I have saved several hundred dollars and will still be way ahead if I do have to cover a $270 exchange.
> 
> $40 isn't much for an extended warranty on something worth a lot of money, but for $270 with a low failure rate, it is a fool's game.


I've never had an issue with my TiVos either but I still typically get the extended warranties since they are so cheap and help when reselling them.

In the past with electronics use, most of the items that I've had issues with are typically the ones I didn't get an extended warranty with. Like a 37" LCD set I got in 2007 for $1k(which was a good price at the time) that died a few weeks after the one yr. warranty expired. Of course the two HDTVs I got in 2008 I got the four year extended warranties for and they have been fine.

Of course there was the 24" monitor I got in 2007 also and got the four year extended warranty. Which died on me a couple of months ago, just outside the extended warranty. BestBuy would have given me full credit for it if it had died sooner.

Anyway I typically get the extended warranties on most products if the cost is minimal. Plus it can also add to the resale value of the product which is another reason I wanted them on my TiVos. SInce the TiVo extended warranty is transferable to a new owner. Which makes them easier to sell. And I will be selling two more lifetime Premieres over the next few months to cover the cost of another Elite. The extended warranty will hopefully make them a little easier and quicker to sell.


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## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> I've never had an issue with my TiVos either but I still typically get the extended warranties since they are so cheap and help when reselling them.
> 
> In the past with electronics use, most of the items that I've had issues with are typically the ones I didn't get an extended warranty with. Like a 37" LCD set I got in 2007 for $1k(which was a good price at the time) that died a few weeks after the one yr. warranty expired. Of course the two HDTVs I got in 2008 I got the four year extended warranties for and they have been fine.
> 
> ...


$40 or so per TiVo isn't insignificant to the total cost of the TiVo in my opinion. The fact $40 isn't a lot of money is irrelevant, I wouldn't pay a dime on each candy bar purchased to cover dropping the candy bar even thought that isn't much money. It is a lot compared to the cost of the candy bar, particularly considering how unlikely it is I would drop it.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

Chris Gerhard said:


> $40 or so per TiVo isn't insignificant to the total cost of the TiVo in my opinion. The fact $40 isn't a lot of money is irrelevant, I wouldn't pay a dime on each candy bar purchased to cover dropping the candy bar even thought that isn't much money. It is a lot compared to the cost of the candy bar, particularly considering how unlikely it is I would drop it.


I'll go with Chris on this one. I generally have a huge disdain for any sort of extended warranties, but considering the cost of repairing or replacing a non-working Tivo, it's cheap insurance at $40. It's also the same price as a copy of InstantCake. I wouldn't think of having a Tivo without making a backup image of the drive (even cheaper insurance), yet people do it all the time and then ***** about the cost of InstantCake when their drive dies. $40 sounds a darn site better than the $150 that Tivo charges to swap out your defective unit.

OTOH, since most Tivo problems tend to be attributed to hard drive problems I've never had the need to get a Tivo repaired or replaced by Tivo out of warranty. I usually upgraded the hard drive in every Tivo I've ever owned and pretty much voided the warranties right off the bat.

I did have problems with a couple of DirecTivos that weren't drive related, but they failed while under warranty so I had them send me replacements on their dime. I never had to connect them to the internet or a phone line so Tivo/DirecTV never had a clue that I had upgraded the drives. I always kept the original drives as backups so I just put it back in the Tivo and returned it in its original configuration.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mr.unnatural said:


> I'll go with Chris on this one. I generally have a huge disdain for any sort of extended warranties, but considering the cost of repairing or replacing a non-working Tivo, it's cheap insurance at $40. It's also the same price as a copy of InstantCake. I wouldn't think of having a Tivo without making a backup image of the drive (even cheaper insurance), yet people do it all the time and then ***** about the cost of InstantCake when their drive dies. $40 sounds a darn site better than the $150 that Tivo charges to swap out your defective unit.
> 
> OTOH, since most Tivo problems tend to be attributed to hard drive problems I've never had the need to get a Tivo repaired or replaced by Tivo out of warranty. I usually upgraded the hard drive in every Tivo I've ever owned and pretty much voided the warranties right off the bat.
> 
> I did have problems with a couple of DirecTivos that weren't drive related, but they failed while under warranty so I had them send me replacements on their dime. I never had to connect them to the internet or a phone line so Tivo/DirecTV never had a clue that I had upgraded the drives. I always kept the original drives as backups so I just put it back in the Tivo and returned it in its original configuration.


Last time I checked there was no Instant Cake for the Premiere. Do they have one now?


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## brewman (Jun 29, 2003)

There's also the cost savings you get with only needing a single cable card with the Elite.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

brewman said:


> There's also the cost savings you get with only needing a single cable card with the Elite.


Plus the Elite uses around 21 watts while two, two tuner, Premieres will use around 47 watts. That also adds up over time.


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

aaronwt said:


> Last time I checked there was no Instant Cake for the Premiere. Do they have one now?


I have no idea. I was just equating the cost of the extended warranty with the cost of InstantCake. If IC isn't available for the Premiere then it's a moot point.


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## WillyBilly (Feb 7, 2012)

Thanks for the info men. Can I get extended $40.00 warrenty for my new Elite ? Or is it more money for it ? Is the Elite a series 4 ? Thanks. I bought it directly from Tivo.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

The extended warranty from TiVo is $40 for three years and $30 for two years. You can get it for the TiVo whether bought through TiVo or another store. I think you have up to 90 days or so to get the warranty. I'm not sure exactly how long but it seemed like the option was up there for my Elite for several months until it disappeared. But I got the four year warranty for it from Best Buy. For my second Elite I might just pick up the extended warranty form TiVo. The warranty is transferable so it can help with a resale.


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## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> The extended warranty from TiVo is $40 for three years and $30 for two years. You can get it for the TiVo whether bought through TiVo or another store. I think you have up to 90 days or so to get the warranty. I'm not sure exactly how long but it seemed like the option was up there for my Elite for several months until it disappeared. But I got the four year warranty for it from Best Buy. For my second Elite I might just pick up the extended warranty form TiVo. The warranty is transferable so it can help with a resale.


Some people like extended warranties, nothing wrong with that. I don't know how much you have paid for TiVo extended warranties or how much you have collected in coverage from the warranties or if you are ahead or not but the comfort that comes from having an extended warranty means nothing to me, it has to pay for itself which is unlikely so I don't buy them.

Consumer electronics usually fail quickly if defective which is covered by the manufacturer warranty. I have owned about a dozen TiVos, none of which have failed other than hard drive failures and I got two of those covered by Maxtor warranty. Now none of them would be within extended warranty coverage if I had purchased extended warranties, my bottom line nothing paid, nothing gained or lost, just money saved by not purchasing extended warranties.


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## wwu123 (May 15, 2008)

mr.unnatural said:


> I could be wrong but I believe any lifetimed Tivo qualifies as your primary unit, regardless of what deal you got for the lifetime service.


This is not my experience. I had a HD as my primary with annual renewal, and I then purchased a Premiere with lifetime using MSD discount. I got rid of the HD, but do not get any offers with MSD on the Tivo web store. So somehow they know and do not consider the Premiere a primary unit.

This is consistent with what the phone rep told me when I purchased the Premiere.


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## synch22 (Dec 30, 2003)

Sorry we will be losing you in the S3 early adopters with Lifetime club. Its been a fun ride huh.. close to $1k or so right with the lifetime we spent. ($700 for the tivo and $199 transfer)


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