Questions/help about broken reg bought from overseas

[Dommomo]

Hi All,

A few months back when I was very new to scuba I grabbed a whole bunch of kit off a USA internet site which included my reg set. I live in Australia and well, I stood to save about 40% compared to prices in my LDSs which is a lot when you're buying your entire kit up front. Im starting to learn (for particular parts of the rig at least) that this could have been a mistake.

Anyway, the 2nd stage (an oceanic neo) has performed very well until last weekend when rushing around between dives meant a little rough treatment and the side venturi cap popping off and getting lost. The 2nd stage now has a slight free flow whenever air is on. I'm assuming it essentially acts as if I had the venturi set to full open in the absence of the cap.

So...into my LDS which I knew serviced Oceanic parts. The service guy had never seen the Neo before (its obviously not sold in Oz), and was probably frustrated I'd bought it from the USA. He said that Oceanic would most certainly not warranty it despite it being only a few months since purchase (I sort of understand this), and in fact would flat out refuse parts and to help get it fixed once theyd checked the rego number on it and ascertained that it was purchased overseas. So effectively I'm stuck with a less than 1 year old (40 dives) reg which I cant get fixed without sending back to the states.

Is he right? I mean I would have thought Oceanic would want to at least *try* and help me...he made it sound like they'll completely stonewall if he or I contact them, even though I offered to pay full parts and labour for the repair. If this is true then that's a quite puzzling way of doing business when I compare to say...the majority of other goods on the international market.

Can anyone offer any insight or suggestions here?

 

[knowone]

When you want an answer from John, do you usually ask Frank?

 

[Dommomo]

well i certainly plan to ask john...but after the reaction i got in the shop i just wanted to garner a general opinion before i do that.

 

[chile7236]

i would ask john....who gives a sh** what the lds' reaction was...your $$$, not theirs.

 

[Kiwi303]

Customer service means jack all these days. A part's a part, a sale's a sale, who cares where it was originally bought from, a GOOD customer services guy would be happy to dig up a part and sell it, with his markup on it of course...

I was in sales, door to door and in-house, someone said "Oh, I've already got one, but a widget is wonky on it" I'd sell them a new widget without worrying about if they bought it from where I worked in Hamilton, or from the competition in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, or shipped it in from some fly by night in the states... I had a part, they wanted a part, and a sale was made. even if it was only a few cents for a replacement nozzle or button. Same with consumables, If I could sell them consumables when they were buying from elsewhere previously, and I could get them as a repeat customer, then hey, who cares where the machine first came from, they're MY customers NOW, and if they decide to upgrade, They knew me and might call me, so I get a sale!


I'm no longer in sales these days, but still, when I meet the "I didn't sell it to you in the first place, so eff off" attitude to parts or service queries, my blood boils...


Oceanic as a company shouldn't care who you bought your Reg set from, they sold it as a factory to the retailers, and it shouldn't matter to them WHICH retailer sold you the reg or which other retailer asks for a replacement part to on-sell to you. So long as it's not a case of a reg which is not yet released onto the Aussie market, in which case you may need to email around and find a US store who can post you the part.

Your problem is with the LDS sales/service guy, not the manufacturer methinks...

 

[herman]

You have 2 differernt issues here.
First off, the damage is not something warranty would cover anyway, it is broke because of your actions- it was not intential I know but still, it's not a materials or workmanship issue so reguardless of where you purchased it, it would not be warranty reguardless of where you bought it.

The repair is a totally different issue. On this I call BS, you LDS is just wanting to be an ass. Even if Oceanic does not sell that reg in your market, the odds are there is another model that is exactly the same with a different cover, most brands so not engineer truly different models for differnent markets. He just does not want to go throught the trouble to find the manual or order the parts. Find another shop who still cares about it's customers.

As for the reg itself, I suspect you have a lot more damage than you realize. I don't have a manual for the NEO but looking at it on some sales sites and guessing about the internal design, you likely have case damage. If so, the odds are it may cost more to fix than it's worth. Buying a HOG or similar second stage may be your least expensive way out.

 

[Kilili]

Only one that can give you definitive answer is Oceanic. Contact them directly in US. Web site has the info.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

PM Doug Krause here on the board. Oceanic is very good about this kind of stuff.

 

[tfsails]

That looks a lot like some of the Hollis line that we sell. Don't tell anyone, but Oceanic, Aeris, and Hollis are all built by the same company. If you can't get satisfaction from your local Oceanic dealer, try a Hollis dealer. Aeris doesn't have a similar model, based on the pictures I googled.

 

[JB]

You did the correct thing buying at a reasonable price. This is not a warrantee issue, but a repair issue. Take the reg to a technician, and ascertain the damage and what parts are necessary, and if the local rip off artist won't get the parts for you, perhaps the US shop will send them out (probably be cheaper too!). Take it to any dive shop not necessarily the brand specific shop. Don't feel embarrassed for having bought OS they, your LDS, don't feel the slightest twinge of guilt when they fleece you!! It is for this very reason and the BS we are served up that most like to be self sufficient. By the way, you might have checked out Dive Tub, no BS there!