$100 to service my ATX 200 Primary WTF??

[AquaGuy]

I took my ATX 200 in for it's annual service this week. I was blown away when it came time to pay the bill. (No Octo as I use an AIR II)

$40 - Labor
$28.95 - 1st stage Service Kit
$16.95 - 2nd Stage Service Kit
$13.95 - Crown ???

Total ~ $100

Isn't this a little high in terms of price? I was expecting to pay around $70.00. I guess it that's what I get for buying it from ebay! and living in San Diego!

 

[MonkSeal]

I can't tell you if it's to much or not but AFAIK the price of service kit for both 1st and 2nd stage is between $30 and $35.

 

[Bob3]

Some folks never have their regs serviced & just buy a new one every few years, and ebay their old one.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

AquaGuy once bubbled...
I took my ATX 200 in for it's annual service this week. I was blown away when it came time to pay the bill. (No Octo as I use an AIR II)

$40 - Labor
$28.95 - 1st stage Service Kit
$16.95 - 2nd Stage Service Kit
$13.95 - Crown ???

Total ~ $100

Isn't this a little high in terms of price? I was expecting to pay around $70.00. I guess it that's what I get for buying it from ebay! and living in San Diego!

Well, the labor seems about right. The parts are not that far off. We would charge $28 for 1st stg kit, and $18 for 2nd stg kit. Im not sure what they are talking about when they say "crown". But, anyways,

if you had bought it new from an authorized dealer, you wouldnt be paying for the standard service kits, just labor.

This is what you have to deal with when you buy a used reg, or a reg online. SUre, I know you probably paid $200 less than at an LDS. Good for you. Have fun paying for service kits and manufacturer upgrades for the life of the reg.

 

[docmartin]

interesting what the dive stores charge for the service kit. much more than in europe (1st euro19, 2nd euro9). you may want to check out the DIY thread on regs if you want to save some in the long run (you may need to buy some tools which is why you won't save much the first couple of years). if you don't want to service the reg yourself the only way to save much would be not to have it serviced every year. this seems to be a popular option. btw, i was not aware that apeks parts are free for life if you buy from an authorized dealer. i know it is true for sp. for apeks some dealers may offer that (apparently like the shop LUBOLD works for) but i don't think it is common.

 

[Genesis]

is why I refuse to buy regs if I can't get parts, can't service them myself, and am forced to pay these kinds of prices.

And no, the mantra of "buy it from an authorized dealer" doesn't solve a thing. I STILL pay the same price - just up front.

Some manufacturers (Apeks and Poesidon in particular) are amazingly punitive on their annual kit prices, and have an amazingly-extensive annual "must replace" kit.

And of course, your "authorized dealer" must use an "authorized parts kit", even if the O-rings in there are the exact same pieces you can buy anywhere - for a tenth or a hundreth of the price.

As an example, an EPR O-ring in any of the "common" sizes is about a nickel each. That is in reasonable quantities (buying 20 or so - a buck's worth - at a time.) Buy 100s or 1000s and the price comes down even further.

Where they "get 'ya" is that there ARE a few parts that you CAN'T buy anywhere else. Specifically, HP (and LP for seconds) seats. And while those might not require ANNUAL service, they do require REGULAR service.

There's a bizness here for someone who wants to make these parts - much like there are aftermarket brake pads. The only "gotcha" for someone doing it is that the market would be limited to hobbyists (like myself), since the manufacturers, I suspect, would instantly cancel anyone's dealership who got "caught" using aftermarket parts.

There is a structural issue in this industry that needs to be addressed..... whether it can (or will) be is another matter.

 

[redacted]

Actually, the $40.00 for labor is reasonable if they did a thorough job. But too much if they just slapped a couple service kits in. Kit parts price looks like they charged you the online purchaser price. I've seen those kits available to the general public for about $21.00 for the 1st & $9.00 for the 2nd. The "crown" would appear to be the device in the 2nd that I know of as the orifice that the LP seat seats on. Why something like that would go bad, I'm not sure. Maybe it was bad or maybe they screwed it up while working on it. (That would at least show they did more than a minimum teardown). Or maybe it is just another form of an online tax levied by an LDS. But the prices for parts is not obvious overkill, especially if they had them shipped in quickly.

So what was wrong with the reg that you had it serviced? If you simply were having the recommended annual service, then you probably would be better off purchasing from an authorized dealer that provides free parts support & paying just the labor charge (not really cheap). Otherwise, you may want to extend the service cycle or DIY. With good user care and cleaning, you should be able to make a reg last 2 to 5 years or more without overhaul; especially if you can make the minor adjustments yourself. My Mk20/G500 (older version) went over 4 years with a couple adjustments. My wife's Mk20/S600 (current version) is over 3 years without being touched and still going strong.

Also, before you pay for service again, settle prices and exactly what will be done in advance. And I would go back and find out what was wrong with the old crown and how that could have happened.

 

[Genesis]

The most common cause of replacement for metal ones is corrosion.

The unfortunate reality is that 99% of techs will replace them when they can be cleaned up. I have rebuilt a bunch of G250s that have metal crowns, and some of them have had significant corrosion on them - all cleaned up nice and pretty (and as good as new) with a few minutes in warm vinegar in the ultrasonic cleaner.

This kind of thing is somewhat common if you have the reg in salt water with the air turned off (or run out!), as some water will back up into the seat/crown area, and it only takes a bit of salt water to get the corrosion going.

PLASTIC crowns can be damaged, but if they are its usually due to the idiot who is working on the reg doing the damage - and if they screwed it up, you shouldn't pay for the replacement part.

 

[docmartin]

yes i would also recommend asking them about the crown. i know one of the "improvements" for the atx200 is the replaceable crown which helps obviously when it gets damaged. however, this is not a part that needs replacement during the annual service. and the only way of damaging it is really during assembly or disassembly. you don't damage it diving. if it was damaged chances are they did it and you should not have to pay.

 

[MikeFerrara]

There are aftermarket parts for some regs. I know trident sells sherwood seats and other parts. I would assume they're after market parts.

BTW Abyss will sell parts for their regs to any one who wants them. It's a posiden first stage and their own second stage.

We're going to give them a try.

I also will not buy a reg that I can't get parts for.