Dive equipment warranties?

Does anyone have stories, or info, etc. about their experiences with equipment warranties (or lack of a warranty for that matter.)?

It seems that there are tons of great deals on the internet for equipment, from reputable online dealers, and the only drawback I have seen mentioned is warranty questions. Aren't most warranties only for a year anyway? And isn't it likely that most problems with equipment will happen further down the road than a year?

If you have the equipment serviced regularly, which you have to do anyway to maintain the warranty, does it make sense to get a good deal online, and then develop a good relationship with a local shop? Or do they usually resent having equipment brought in that didn't get purchased in their store?

As you can tell, lots of newbie questions. And yes, I need to replace my regulator set up since I don't like what I have, but I hate to spend lots of $$ when the stuff I have is basically brand new.

Thanks!
dmentia

Most shops don't care whether you bought your gear from them or Joe Down the Street. But, buying your gear from an authorized dealer definitely has its advantages.

Most of the gear I have comes with a lifetime warranty or service agreement (Scubapro, Aqualung, Oceanic). To keep the warranty valid you do have to get the reg, BC, etc serviced once a year. But most of the warranties offered included the service kit (free parts). That may only be around $30.00 a year, but hey...thats a few more tank fills! Plus, being able to register your equipment with the manufacturer allows them to contact your with recall notices, or upgrades. Some companies allow owners to upgrade their gear (for free, or a nominal fee) when new equipment is introduced. So, that is definitely worth it!

Buying snorkel gear online is, in my opinion, fine. Same with computers (most of them, I think, only come with a 2 year warranty.) Of course, if the computer doesn't work after your first 10 dives...you might be screwed. But any life-support items I would suggest you buy from a shop. Not only do you know they will be under warranty, but you can see them and usually try them before you actually purchase them.

Hope this helps...and happy bubbles!!

Buying gear online has the possible warranty and service problems mentioned earlier. But we also need to look at the wider picture. Your dive retailer relies on gear sales to keep him viable and subsidise dive training, air fills (yes air is free, but maintaining the fill equipment and putting it in the tank isn't), etc. If he loses too much of his gear sales dot.com retailers (all care, little responsibility), he does not remain viable. I'm not sure how we get air fills, fixes on the fly, etc off a computer screen!

All this is fine if you're the guy who buys from a local shop--then NEVER moves! But in this day and age, that's rare indeed, and if you're in the military, its virtually certain that you'll move next year. Guys like me don't want to have to pay to mail our stuff across 12 time zones to get dealer service. What we need to move to in this business is dive shops that honor warranties now matter where they come from like car dealers or the big Pioneer, Sony, or other electronics dealers. On another point, it is absolutely ludicrous that we can't buy on the net and get a warranty with the equipment! Whose great idea is that?

I'd think most shops would service your gear for you without any hesitation so long as it was legitimately purchased through a legit dealer. But if you bought it through an unauthorized online dealer, they may not, but most probably still would. However, they most likely wouldn't honor the warranty in that case and they might sock it too you on the service fee. And as far as I know, all manufactors honor their warranty at "any" authorized dealer, not just the one you bought it from. The key word here is "authorized".

I think a better solution to the online buying issue is competitive pricing. If the manufactors would do away with the mandatory prices where local shops could compete, there would be no need to buy gear online. That way the shops stay in business and we get local service.

On-line gives us the widest selection and best pricing plus for those of us moving around to the vacation destinations the military sends us to, it offers the chance to buy the best product even if the local shop doesn't have it. What is the distinction between authorized sellers and others when it comes to warranties? and why has it evolved that way?

The destinction is that some equipment manufactors require that the gear be purchased through one of their "authorized" dealers before they will honor the warranty. Authorized dealers are usually stores that specialize in scuba, like scuba shops. They also place restrictions on those dealers that disallows them from selling the gear in any other way than in store sells and they set the minimum price at which the store can sell the gear. The stores are free to advertise the gear in any way they choose, but they can not sell it in any way other than in person, meaning you have to actually go to the store and get it. Not all gear manufactors have this restriction, but most do.

Unauthorized dealers are dealers that are just that, not authorized by the manufactor to sell the gear, like online dealers. Leisure Pro is a good example. There are different opinions as to how these "unauthorized" dealers obtain the gear in the first place. Some people say they get it by buying out a store's stock, as in one that's going out of business. IMHO, I can't see how they would obtain the volume of gear that they have if this was their only means. And it's my opinion that gear manufactors are selling the gear to them and then just simply not honoring the warranties. Which makes it a good deal for the manufactors. They get the sales and no strings attached. Some online dealers have their own warranties for the gear they sell. So in that case you wouldn't be without a warranty, you just wouldn't have a manufactor warranty. ANd if you needed service for the gear, you'd have to send it back to the online dealer for warranty service. I've had zero dealings with these warranties, so I can't comment on their value. But I have bought several things from online dealers, as in Leisure Pro, and haven't had any problems so far. But I haven't needed the warranty either.

Why it evolved this way? I can't really say. Everyone says they do it this way in order to provide person to person service for gear that your life depends on, gear where proper fit and operation is critical, and to provide dive shops with a means of income. Since they surely can't survive on classes and air fills alone. I think those points are valid ones, but I also think the majority of gear in dive shops is way overpriced. Apparently no fault of theirs, since the manufactor sets the price, but overpriced nonetheless.

Relationships with local shops is another reason to buy gear locally. I for one like the luxury of being able to go into the shop that I frequent and be on a first name basis with everyone behind the counter. And be able to say, "Phil, my reg is acting up a bit, will you have a look at it?" I can explain exactly what it's doing, even show him in some cases, and observe him fixing it. That personal sevice is unobtainable via online dealers. I also want to see this shop stay in business for years to come and will continue to buy gear from them for that reason. I also don't mind paying a little more for their service, but I wouldn't go as far as to pay 50% more for that service.

And some manufacturers are worse than others IMHO regarding the price setting. Scubapro for example, I've been told by one shop, sets the limit at 10% off MSRP. They don't want to see the dealer discount any more than that.

Of course, this also equates to more margin for the dealer too. And anyone in sales knows that margin is the golden goose.

So I whine about Scubapro and their marketing tactics, yet as a consumer I have all the choices. I can buy Apeks, Scubapro, Atomic or whatever. I can buy local, or buy over the net. Shoot, until they outlaw it, I can even buy my own tools and perform my own warranty service, assuming I can get the parts and training.

In the end, I've bought my dry suit, undersuit, bc, computer, fins, snorkel, lights and equipment bag over the Internet. I have saved enough to satisfy myself in paying the overpriced MSRP for the regulator I want at the dive shop which will continue to provide me with training, advice and service. I could have saved even more, but now I'm happy, the shop owner is happy, and I can trust my regulator service to them.

As for the question of warranty work. Do your homework with the manufacturer first. Many regulator manufacturers offer parts on annual service if bought and serviced from an authorized dealer. Then again, it may take 7 years before you've made up the difference in what you can save, so the parts may not be an issue. Service is service.

My shop, knowing that I bargain hunt for gear, yet always give them first shot at matching a price, has no problem servicing my used equipment, no matter where it came from. If your local shop won't, go elsewhere. That's my .02