Central Electronics

My 50 inch Samsung smart tv was having trouble and was showing static lines at the top of the screen. The main circuit board was needing to be replace. Sam cam out to my house picked up my tv, repaired it in a timely manner, and returned it working like new. its nice to have someone you can trust to do a good job. Thank you sam.

Professional. Excellent. Good work. Showed up on time, had the right parts, knew what to do.

I tried turning on my Pioneer Elite Plasma TV this morning. Nothing, no picture, no sound. Researched on Unilocal and found CENTRAL ELECTRONICS. I called and spoke with Mario. He was extremely helpful and walked me through rebooting my COX Contour Cable box. The previous Motorola box never caused this kind of problem. Anyway, Mario was very helpful and the TV is now working perfectly. Thank you CENTRAL ELECTRONICS! !

Sam was absolutely excellent. I had a damaged 65″ smart TV. Sam was very professional, quickly assessed the issue and offered a number of solutions. Sam was very honest about the potential solutions to the issue and was clear about my options. I’d called the Geek Squad at Best Buy first and was dismissed quickly, being told yhat there was nothing I could do and I might as well buy a new TV. I recommend Central Electronics for anyone with electronics issues.

I had an odd-​ball request related to a circuit board and the team here was really great to work with. Rather than finding reasons to say no, they found a way to say yes. Reasonable cost as well.

Looking at the reviews here is almost looking at a pendulum swing — either folks are really happy or really upset. Not sure what happened for the upset folks, but I had a really great experience with Central and would recommend them. Here’s the deal…
I have about a 6 year old DLP that started to get white and black dots. Researched various forums and the culprit appeared to be the DLP chip that was going out. Looked at various websites to get a clue as to the price, and even You-​tubed how to do the repair myself, but then decided to get it done professionally. Went to the manu website, got the names of authorized dealers, called and left a message at the closest and didn’t get a call back after 3 hours. Then called the second closest, Central, got a live person who listened to my description of the problem, diagnosed the same fix as the forums suggested, quoted a price that was very much in line with what I’d found, and made an appointment to come out in 2 – 4 hours same day.
My service tech, Ramon, was out w/​in 2 hours, had the part on hand, took about 30 mins to do the repair. He was friendly, chatty, fast, and fair — just the qualities I look for in a repair person. TV picture is as beautiful as before.
Overall … would definitely recommend Central Electronics.

I’ll try to make this short. My plasma went out with a pop, which is generally a capacitor issue. Warranty was out, and I’ve taken a few electrical engineering courses, so I opened it up expecting to be able to find and fix it. After replacing what I thought was the problem (it wasn’t) I ended up calling Central Electronics to help me diagnose the issue. They charged me $ 75 for a house call but were unable to determine the issue so they took it back to their shop.
After a few days they had located the problem, and I asked what the issue was. They refused to tell me. I had to call back and argue with them that I had paid them $ 75 to come to my home to diagnose the issue, they eventually agreed to tell me in-​person. While car mechanics have to legally tell you exactly what is wrong, TV repair shops are unfortunately held to no such laws. Arriving there they showed me it was the X buffer board. I then had to pay them another $ 40 to bring the TV back to my home, where they also made me help carry it upstairs. I bought a new X buffer board and new X mainboard and replaced both and… nothing. The problem was not with those boards.
I was pretty pissed at that point so I was looking for alternatives so I didn’t have to give them anymore money. But outside of paying for a brand new set, buying an oscilloscope and taking more engineering classes, or just replacing every board in the TV, they were my only solution. They charged me $ 65 for another house call (interesting that their prices changed) and after a few days called to tell me the problem was with the Y buffer (!), on the exact opposite side of the TV from the X buffer and where they showed and told me the issue was before.
So after paying $ 360-​something (keeping in mind it’s a $ 100 part) in addition to the $ 65 house call, in addition to the $ 40 return dropoff from before, in addition to the original $ 75 house call, in addition to $ 100 or so of parts because I foolishly thought they wouldn’t outright lie to me, and many weeks without a TV, I ended up paying around $ 600 to learn that TV repair guys are as trustworthy as I’ve always heard.
They’re in-​demand, specialized, they charge whatever they want, there’s nothing you can do about it, and they know that.

This husband/​wife team were friendly, helpful, and fast!
I brought my 47″ Samsung in to them on Friday at 11:30. They called me on Saturday at 3 to tell me the problem and the cost. He delivered the TV fixed and ready to go on Sunday at 3. It was worth the small delivery fee because I have 60 stairs to my front door and it needed to be mounted on the arm. By the time Sam left everything was where it needed to be and it looked great!
I highly recommend Central Electronics.

Was referred to Central Electronics by Samsung and Best Buy Geek Squad to get my less-​than-​60-​day old TV serviced. Sam and Ramon were very professional, although they did arrive 30 minutes late. The part they replaced did not resolve the issue (uneven illumination), and was told that they would contact Samsung to approve the replacement of the display panel, and that it would take 1 – 2 business days to get a response.
A few days later, I sat down to watch a 3D movie on Blu-​ray, and noticed there was an annoying flashing black bar at the bottom of the screen. This issue was not there prior to the initial service call, as my wife and I had watched both «The Avengers» and «Star Trek Into Darkness» in 3D two weeks ago without this issue. I called Samsung, and was told they were still waiting for tech support to make a decision replacing the display panel. I logged the new complaint. A new service call and appointment was generated for today (¹⁰⁄₈) between 12 and 1 pm. Ramon called at 11:30am today to cancel the appointment, because he had just received approval from Samsung to order the display panel, and that he would bring the additional circuit boards to repair the 3D issue when he came to replace the panel. I told Ramon that that was a lot of parts to replace in a TV that had only been used for less than 60 days, and that it really should be replaced, not repaired. Ramon asked if I wanted to call Samsung to see if they would replace the TV, and I told him that I’d call back if I wanted him to order the panel instead.
Several hours later of being on the phone with Samsung (and getting nowhere), Samsung’s Executive Customer Relations tells me that my TV is still pending approval for the panel to be replaced. I tell Samsung that that is not what Ramon at Central told me. Samsung called Central and spoke to Heidi, and Heidi told Samsung that I must have misunderstood Ramon, because that is not what he told me. According to Heidi, Ramon called me to cancel the appointment because Samsung had not yet approved the replacement part (even though we were now going on 5 business days). I am now waiting for Heidi to call me back regarding why Samsung has not approved the panel replacement in a timely manner, and why Central did not follow-​up with Samsung regarding the delay (or why Ramon lied to me).
UPDATE (10÷11÷13): As it turns out, Ramon did not lie to me, Samsung did. I’m still a bit upset that Central did not follow-​up with Samsung when there were delays in getting the part approved, though. Now, I’m waiting for Central to call with an appointment, since according to Samsung, the part was delivered to Central today (unless Samsung is lying again).

You’ll never feel good when your less than 2 year old 55″ TV suddenly goes dead for no reason. It was further disappointing to learn that even when these guys (who were referred by Reel Time who sold and installed my system) come, they are only coming to pick up the TV and take it to the shop. They got to me within a day with an estimate but the part took several days to arrive– no TV. After the power panel was replaced, they discovered the main board also needed to be replaced. Got a call the same day, part arrived next day and TV was returned that evening.
I’d say I had a very good experience with these guys and would use them again and refer them. They know their stuff and they communicate and are accessible for questions. Although my manufacturer warranty ended after 1 year, my credit card doubled it and Sammy was very helpful getting the documentation to file the claim I just learned they covered the full cost so his prices must be fair too.
It wasn’t fun but these guys made it as painless as possible. Next time I am buying an extended warranty but I am happy I worked with these guys, fair, honest and helpful throughout.

I posted a review on here today and since it was negative after It was posted has been removed.
Do not repeat do not do business with this company

Sam is great. He even came in on a weekend so that I could drop off my TV and it was repaired by the next day.
He was super helpful and friendly to me.
And it turns out that they sell refurbished TVs from old repairs at a great price – way better than even you can get on Craigslist.

Sam was extremely responsive. I called Central Electronics at 7PM and he scheduled a service call for 8AM the following morning. He showed up, 5 minutes early, and with the correct part. He quickly installed the part and made sure the TV was again working properly. Sam was very friendly, very efficient, and extremely informative about the latest TV technology. I highly recommend Sam and Central Electronics to anyone needing very professional service. It was particularly nice to meet a small business owner who has such pride in his company!

I was so impressed with their professionalism, honesty and knowledge. Sam did wonders to fix my Pioneer Elite 61 inch Plasma TV. Every other company I called would not even come and look at the TV unless I took it off the wall. That was an impossible job since it is over 200lbs and I couldn’t do it alone, but they helped me take it off the wall, repaired it and re-​installed it! Friendly, great service and great follow up later to make sure it was working fine! I would highly recommend them to anyone. Great job Central Electronics

This was our first experience with Central Electronics. Sevice was fast, efficient and friendly. We called for service on Saturday at 11 am and Sam was able to arrive at 4pm the same day. He explained possible causes, their solutions and gave us options. He patiently waited while my husband and I discussed whether we wanted to proceed with a repair. As he worked, everything that he did was explained. We will definitely use him again!

my tv was constantly changing channels and this company’s technician told me I needed to change the motherboard. That was very bad news for I thought I would have to pay a lot but the technician gave me many labor discounts and quickly came to service. The first new motherboard that the technician replaced didn’t work due to the factory’s incompetent supply. The technician quickly came to pick up my tv, take to his office to fix, and brought back with a few days. I was very pleased with his sense of urgency and care. He was very respectful in such manners take his shoe off and didn’t mind my pet bothering him. I would recommend this place for people in Irvine.

There are two thing you need to know if you are going to buy a Samsung DLP for your home theater. First, the picture is amazing and second, the superior imagery is achieved with the use of fungible technology. That is, expect to replace certain components every few years.
Enter Central Electronics. I called them on a Saturday for an in home service call. They told me they would visit my home that day to fix my problem and they delivered. Also, while they were here they fixed a different problem I was having at no charge. I am impressed and I recommend their services.

If I could give a zero I would. I would like to give Central Electronics the benefit of the doubt and for their sake I hope that they just had a bad week when I went there.
SUNDAY 11÷6÷11 — I decided to take my 50 inch plasma TV to a reliable source, since it is my baby. So I went on Unilocal to look for a place that will take good care of it. I came across Central Electronics who had good reviews and was open on Sundays. I called in to make sure they were open and they were nice enough to stay open long enough for me to drop off my TV.
Approximately 1:30pm I got to Central Electronics and was greeted by Sam who was really nice and made me feel like I was leaving my TV in the right hands. I had to pay $ 45 dollars for him to run diagnostics but was told that the $ 45 would go towards my repair.
MONDAY 11÷7÷11 –2:24pm I received a phone call from Heidi (Sam’s wife) and was told that the problem with my TV was the main board and would cost $ 280 for the part and $ 150 for labor; that’s $ 430! By then I did my research and found that a new TV around the same size as mine would cost about $ 600 and if it costs $ 430 to repair my TV I would rather buy a new one. Because I did not want to just throw away my TV I asked if there is any other way to fix the problem and she told me that she would have to ask Sam to call me back.
5:27pm Sam calls me back and said that there may be a way to fix my TV for a cheaper price; he could run diagnostic test to see if he could replace components instead of the whole main board. (At that moment I was thinking «diagnostic tests??? What have you been doing this whole time???») He said that the test will take some time and that he will call be back Wednesday or Thursday.
*Wednesday and Thursday go by… and Friday was Veterans Day so I was not expecting a call*
SATURDAY 11÷12÷11 — 10:29am Sam calls asking if I got his message (At that moment I was thinking «yeah right, no missed call or no message from him were left on my phone»). But I replied with «no.» He told me that my TV was ready for pick up. I like most people was very confused at the moment. He explained that he found the problems and replaced the parts that needed to be replaced and that I would have to pay $ 310, $ 160 for the parts and $ 150 for labor. He then claimed that I had agreed to all these replacements when I asked him to do the diagnostics. I told him that before agreeing to anything I would like to know the cost beforehand. When I told him I did not agree to pay such a price he yelled and cursed at me «Why are you doing this? Why are you lying? I will take out all the repairs and replace them with the broken ones. Come pick up your sh%tty TV!»
1:30pm I arrived to Central Electronics and was greeted coldly by Heidi. I told her that Sam has told me to come and get my «sh%tty» TV. She replied that the TV was not ready yet and that I would have to come back on either Monday or Tuesday. This was very upsetting because Central Electronics is not near my house and is about a 35 minute drive. I was very upset and kept as much composure as I could and left.
SUNDAY 11÷13÷11 12:26pm Sam calls me and apologizes. I accept his apology and understand that we are all human and are not perfect. I respect Sam for being man enough to apologize. He then gives me a proposition that he would leave the repairs in my TV and that it will cost me only $ 160 and that I would not have to pay for labor. At this moment my trust in Central Electronics was broken and I had to respectfully decline his proposition.
TUESDAY 11÷15÷11 12:30pm Heidi calls me and tells me that my TV is ready for pick up.
***IN CONCLUSION***
1) I am out $ 45 for the estimate (and diagnostic tests that I did not get results for)
2) Drove to Lakewood 3x, there and back (approximately 35 minutes each way)
3) Yelled and cursed at over the phone
4) Took over a week to get my TV back
5) Still have no idea whats wrong with my TV
6) My TV is still broken
I hope I made a valid case for, why I would give Central Electronics a zero.

Update on my repair — about 30 days after repair (just before Memorial Day), the video started to flicker, so I called Central Electronics to let them know about the issue. I brought the TV back in, and a few days later, Sam called me to tell me that he believed that the problem was something called an LVDS cable. After several months of back-​and-​forth, Sam advised me that he had been unable to locate the LVDS cable, although he reported that all other inputs appear to be functioning. The LVDS cable could not be obtained since the manufacturer of my TV was no longer in business. Throughout the process, Sam offered to bring the TV back to me so that I could use the TV (using component cables), and until he was able to locate a supplier that carried the LVDS cable. However, after nearly 3 months, he concluded that the LVDS cable simply could not be purchased.
After we concluded that the TV could not be further repaired, Sam wanted me to be as satisfied a client as possible; unfortunately, Sam and I had a misunderstanding regarding his proposed solution. Sam advised me that he’d issue me a $ 150 credit and he proposed providing me with a 40″ LCD that he had repaired. Unfortunately, I understood that to mean that he’d give me $ 150 AND a free replacement TV. Only when I arrived at his store did I learn that we had misunderstood each other, since Sam meant that he’d give me $ 150 in credit towards the purchase of a TV. On the day I came into his store, I spoke with his wife, who instead agreed to refund me $ 150 for my troubles, and offered to let me take my TV back. Unfortunately, she did not confirm this agreement with Sam, whose intention was to refund me $ 150 in exchange for my TV (which he wanted to salvage for parts). At the end of the day, we agreed that he could keep the TV and that I could keep the $ 150 refund
I’m lowering my 4-​star review to 3-​stars because (1) Central Electronics had my TV for nearly 3 months and could not repair it, and (2) it is not clear to me whether the original problem with my video actually stemmed from a board on the TV (which cost several hundred dollars) or the LVDS cable (a $ 40 part). I would hate to think that I was charged several hundred dollars when the repair should have cost less than $ 100. Also, for the amount of time that Central has had my TV, I might have been better off just buying a new TV.

These guys are pretty awesome! I called a couple of places when I was trying to find someone to repair my TV, and I thought I was going to have to go head-​2-​head with someone that was going to gouge me for every penny I had.
But I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised by their candor and honesty. Sam in particular. He’s a cool dude.
I was going to take my TV to them to save a little money. But for $ 10 more they’ll work around your schedule and come to your home for an in house diagnosis. Which is no big deal (if you know there is something really wrong with your TV) because they deduct that off the total bill.
After it was deemed that he had to take the TV into the shop, he called me the next day, gave me a price breakdown and an ETA for the fix involved. And I ended up getting my TV a day earlier.
All-​in-​all, a broken TV is always a bummer, but losing the investment on that TV and having to buy another TV (of similar quality) would’ve been a nightmare.
To be perfectly honest: I hope I never have to call these guys again! =/​So in lieu of my return business; I feel the need to put the good word out and give them my stamp of approval.
Just knowing they’re there, makes my TV happy. =)