http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/top/div/article/0,,2076_310070097_277297187,00.html

Pioneer lists all of their authorized online retailers on their website. next to each name, it tells you what they are authorized to sell. notice that next to 6th ave it says NOTHING about navigation, or even car audio/video products in general.

if you notice, all of the sites that ARE authorized to sell mobile product do so at "normal" pricing. the shops that do not list as being authorized are the ones selling theese products at DEEP discounts. Im honestly not sure what this all means. could this be why theese companies put a hard sell on extended warranties?

not trying to screw anyone out of warranty service or anything like that, its simply something i noticed & i wonder how this could play out if someone needed warranty service for a unit purchased from one of theese retailers.

I have made no calls to pioneer, and dont really plan to unless a request to do so is made. this is simply an observation.

any comments?

I went to their website today to checkout the Z1 and they prominently advertise that they are Pioneer Authorized right on the Z1 page. I wonder if they can say that if they are not. I also figure that IF they are Pioneer Authorized at all, then they are authorized for all Pioneer products...? Anyone know how that thing works?

A business authorized to sell Pioneer televisions is not necessarily authorized to sell Pioneer car stereos or home audio. So, no, you can't say because they are good for any one Pioneer thing, that they are cleared for any and every Pioneer thing.

rapayn1 said:

A business authorized to sell Pioneer televisions is not necessarily authorized to sell Pioneer car stereos or home audio. So, no, you can't say because they are good for any one Pioneer thing, that they are cleared for any and every Pioneer thing.

Pioneer can't expect you to do a lot of research as to wether a Pioneer dealer is authorized to sell a certain product, and I'm sure that they don't.
If he's a Pioneer dealer then you don't have to worry about Pioneer warranty.
Their sign says: Must be purchased from an authorized PIONEER dealer. (Not authorized Z1 dealer).
But why buy from 6th Ave.?? There are much friendlier and more honest places everywhere.
Just talk to your local Installer/dealer and he'll match the price. He did for me and another one in this area was offering to do the same.

rapayn1 said:

A business authorized to sell Pioneer televisions is not necessarily authorized to sell Pioneer car stereos or home audio. So, no, you can't say because they are good for any one Pioneer thing, that they are cleared for any and every Pioneer thing.

Pioneer can't expect you to do a lot of research as to wether a Pioneer dealer is authorized to sell a certain product, and I'm sure that they don't.
If he's a Pioneer dealer then you don't have to worry about Pioneer warranty.
Their sign says: Must be purchased from an authorized PIONEER dealer. (Not authorized Z1 dealer).
But why buy from 6th Ave.?? There are much friendlier and more honest places everywhere.
Just talk to your local Installer/dealer and he'll match the price. He did for me and another one in this area was offering to do the same.

rapayn1 said:

A business authorized to sell Pioneer televisions is not necessarily authorized to sell Pioneer car stereos or home audio. So, no, you can't say because they are good for any one Pioneer thing, that they are cleared for any and every Pioneer thing.

Pioneer can't expect you to do a lot of research as to wether a Pioneer dealer is authorized to sell a certain product, and I'm sure that they don't.
If he's a Pioneer dealer then you don't have to worry about Pioneer warranty.
Their sign says: Must be purchased from an authorized PIONEER dealer. (Not authorized Z1 dealer).
But why buy from 6th Ave.?? There are much friendlier and more honest places everywhere.
Just talk to your local Installer/dealer and he'll match the price. He did for me and another one in this area was offering to do the same.

Passat 05,

I don't know why you felt you needed to say that three (3) times in a row, but hey ... whatever. :D What is so hard about people going to the Pioneer website:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v ... 87,00.html

Unless you are counting AVIC-Z1s as Pioneer Home Electronics products now, it seems that they (6th Ave.) are NOT authorized to sell AVIC-Z1s under the moniker of officially authorized online dealers. They may be flirting technicalities since they have a brick and mortar store. However, most of us would not be physically going to their brick and mortar store. Tweeter has a brick and mortar store, as does Circuit City and Best Buy, and they are listed as authorized to sell navigation systems online.

Now, look at the list on the page for people like Crutchfield where the AVIC-Z1 goes for MSRP, and you will see that they ARE authorized to selld to sell Car Audio/Video and Navigation. The AVIC-Z1 is a navigation unit. So, buying from Crutchfield is a safe (if not expensive) bet. So is Circuit City. So is Car-Toys. So is Best Buy. So is Tweeter. Those are their (Pioneer) "AUTHORIZED online stores.

Now if you want to buy a plasma: PDP-6100HD, PDP-5060HD, PDP-4360HD, PDP-5070HD, PDP-4270HD from 6th Ave., or a sheer plethora of Pioneer Home Entertainment Products, then 6th Ave is your place to go. Have at it. If you want to buy an AVIC-Z1, you take your chances with or without their in-house warranty.

Can anyone speak for the reliability of Z1? It sure is tempting to save $800 and buy at one of these online retailers, but have there been problems with the Z1 or is it a pretty stable device?

The Z1 is a new model that came out this year. After reading all the problems people experienced and seeing how it is more complex than my laptop, I decided to get the extended warranty for peace of mind. If you want to see the problems people are experiencing, go to the "Problem/troubleshooting" link of this forum.

Well, I was not about to invest in one of these without finding out for sure. I called 1-800-pioneer, got the warranty and service department, and put the question to them directly. "Is 6th Ave Electronics an authorized Pioneer dealer for the Z1?" They stated that it falls under the moniker of Navigation systems. So long as the dealer is an authorized dealer of Pioneer Navigation systems, they are authorized to sell the Z1. She checked for me, and stated that they are indeed authorized to deal in Pioneer Navigation systems including the Z1.

They were very helpful, and did give me answers off the cuff; they had me wait while they looked it up. Once authorized, it is no matter how they sell it, Storefront, online or phone, whatever. With 6th Ave, you now have to call them for a price on the Z1 anyway..

I called them, (6th Ave) and got a very good price (Around $1500 if I get the warranty) the really killer price of $1400 and something went away after Labor Day they said. The warranty is very reasonably priced (Under $200.00). And they were able to give me addresses and phone numbers of shops here in town (Virginia Beach) that can do the service, should I need it. I haven’t gone to the warranty website yet to read the fine print (I will and suggest anyone else do so too) My impression is they seem to be on the up-and-up. As a commission business, I imagine that you may get some wildly different levels of customer service depending on the sales agent.

Hope this proves useful for those of you on the fence... Personally I am still on the fence. Until October 1, we can get a free S1 handheld Nav with a D2 purchase. These S2 units are going on E-bay now for about $250 - $300 if you ignore the "Buy-it-now" auctions and stick with stuff getting actively bid upon. This means the D2 can be had for a net cost of around $900.00 or less. Comments? Is the DVD, HDD, Voice and ½ in larger screen worth $600.00?

Lee
:D