I will say that I've found Sony's 'authorized service centers' to vary in quality, from excellent to horrible. I've had GREAT luck with ones local to Portland, Oregon, as far as the actual customer service was concerned. For devices under warranty, it was great; for out-of-warranty, but with parts available, excellent. But, those service centers have also advised me in some instances that a replacement part for out-of-warranty items are prohibitively expensive. Per Sony, not that they wouldn't LIKE to sell it to me, just that it's so expensive that it's not worth my while.
I have gotten a Sony shelf 'mini component' system repaired under warranty with no complaints, a portable MiniDisc recorder repaired out of warranty (it was dropped,) with no complaints, and an old LCD portable TV out of warranty (backlight burned out,) with no complaints. The backlight was horrendously expensive ($300,) but it was cheaper than a new TV (at the time.)
