Impossible to get a zipper replaced in Europe?!

[Lemna]

I own a Fusion and have generally been happy with it, so when my girlfriend decided to get a drysuit she bought one too, from an official dealer in the Netherlands. Now, less than 30 dives later the zipper has failed. We've always maintained the suits and the zippers carefully, rinsing them after every dive and applying wax every other dive.

Unfortunately, the European distributor (Apeks), let us know that zippers are not covered by the warranty, and that they have to mail it to Canada to get it replaced, at a cost of $500 and with a turnaround time of 5 weeks!

We are not happy with this situation, to say the least. Why even bother buying a Fusion in Europe if it can't be repaired locally? What would Whites/Apeks/LDS do if the replacement leaks again after just a few dives? I'm afraid we've made a costly mistake in buying this suit here in Europe...

Has anybody else in Europe run into this problem before? What would you do: let Whites repair it and hope for the best, or replace it by something else?

 

[Aqua-Andy]

Sorry to hear about your problems. Unfortunately most zipper failures are caused by user error so whites does not warranty the zipper like some other manufacturers do. How did the zipper fail, do you have any pictures? I would be interested to see them. That price does seam high for a zipper replacement but it could be right in line after shipping costs. I would try contacting Dive Right In scuba maybe you could get a better price from them or if you are at all handy purchase the parts to replace the zipper yourself.

 

[Diver0001]

Has anybody else in Europe run into this problem before? What would you do: let Whites repair it and hope for the best, or replace it by something else?

My friend's shop in Rotterdam is a Whites dealer and what I understand is that their service is outstanding.

It's because your Belgian. Belgians can make buying a bagel with cream cheese into a 37 step bureaucratic process.

Phone this number: +31(0)108208616, talk to Willem. Tell him Rob Turner referred you and that you need his help with the zipper. If he can't help you then what you've been told is true.

R..

 

[Lemna]

It took a while, but it all ended well: Mike at Dive Right In Scuba brought us into contact with Whites, and after some more emails Apeks suddenly sent the dealer a brand new drysuit. Whites told us that zippers are covered by a three year warranty in North America, but local distributors are free to their own terms.

Thank you Aqua-Andy and Diver0001 for your helpful replies, and of course we are extremely grateful to DRIS. All dive shops should be this good!

 

[Aqua-Andy]

I'm glad it all worked out for you. How exactly did the zipper fail? Just curious.