My PS3 stopped reading discs - Blu-rays, PS2 games, most audio CDs - so I had to send it in to get repaired. The thing was, my system was not covered by the warranty. Why, you ask? I purchased it off of eBay. The seller even sent a receipt, but 1.) I lost it, and 2.) the customer service rep told me that the warranty was non-transferable.

The PS3 worked fine for a good many months, but then went kaput. I'm a little suspicious about how it broke, because the night before, I watched Minority Report. The next day, my sister comes up to me and says that the PS3 is not reading her DVD. Did she fucking break it? Probably not, but it's still something I think about every time I see her using it.

This really bugs the shit out of me, because my 7 year old PS2 still works fine. In fact that's the system that I have in my room, and I watch DVDs on it three or four nights a week.

The repair cost $149. They were very quick about it, and saved all of my data, but fuck.

That totally sucks. Did they give you an idea of what went wrong? Also, were there any problems other than not reading a DVD? Lights? Sirens?

How long did repairs take, round-trip?

The only thing they sent back along with the PS3 was a receipt - no summary of repairs or anything like that. There was a faint clicking sound that accompanied the drive as it attempted to read discs. Not sure what that was about.

As for the time it took, Sony mails you an empty box with a 2nd night air FedEx sticker. This took about a week to arrive. Once I sent it in, it was only about five days later until I received my repaired unit. I really hope this doesn't happen again.

This happened to me, too. Mine was still under warranty, but I had to get Gamestop to fax Sony a proof-of-purchase for me.

But if you search, you'll find it's a common problem with the PS3. I wouldn't blame your sister.