I understand the pain of having two unappealing choices: stick with your current disappointing regs or venture into unknown and maybe pay even *more* for just different problems. For me, the difficulty in being able to help is the question you asked and the one you seem to want answered (or are at least expanding into...) are very, very different.
Here is my thinking on this. If I'm wrong, I apologize. Feel free to simply ignore if I misinterpreted!
Like most *very* normal people, you seem to have asked a specific question that is a result of a half-dozen silent (and possibly unconscious) assumptions. Your specific question was about experiences with getting service with internet-only regs. You got fairly specific answers: most of us have had zero issues, but many of us are servicing our own regs (which you do not seem interested in) or have a specific local shop that we deal with for this (limiting the location we get service), or we send them in (limiting the time it takes). You're asking (or at least heavily implying) if anyone can assure you that you'll have easy access to repair from any shop in any location immediately. No -- and of course not. Even Scubapro couldn't do that. Of course, they have a *far* bigger reach that would get you *almost* all the way...
But none of that actually gets you closer to the question that I suspect you may want answered: what should you do with your current regs, and if upgrade is the option, will internet-only regs give you the service experience you want?
Once you actually phrase the question that way, it becomes clear that to answer it, we will need a *WHOLE* *LOT* more and different information than you've given us.
Some of this is coming out in dribs and drabs. The motivation is your tech saying the service bill on your current regs is getting high and might not be worth it. So there may be a cost/value motivation. Then 20+ posts in, we learn you're also not *happy* with your regs. So there may be an improvement motivation. *NONE* of this has to do with Internet-only regs!
So, it's up to you of course, but it might help if you outline what is *motivating* this entire discussion, and most importantly, what you want to end up with. For example, with the information you've given us, I can create two completely different thought processes with two completely different outcomes:
1) I want the lowest cost of ownership. My current regs are getting older, things are wearing out beyond the normal service o-rings (hoses were mentioned) and I don't want to put a bunch of money into them when I don't overly like them anyway. I want the lowest cost over the next, say, 10 years, and if possible maybe something I like a little better. Internet-only regs seem to be priced at 50% of retail regs. But I don't want to be stranded on a trip -- I expect to be supported easily no matter where I go. What path would give me the lowest costs and still meet my service needs? (Of course, it's *really* clear that 'my service needs' will need to be defined here!
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2) I am not overly thrilled with my regs, and now the cost of maintaining them is mounting. I would like a set of regs that makes me 'happy' to use. These Internet-only regs seem to have lots of features, and at a reasonable price. But I don't want to be stranded on a trip -- I expect to be supported easily no matter where I go. What path would give me regs that make me 'happy' at a reasonable price and still meet my service needs? (Of course, it's *really* clear that 'happy' (or 'unhappy') need to be defined here!
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Anyway, I'm not trying to be argumentative or belittling. I really would like to see you move forward with something that will work to meet your needs. But until we know what is motivating this, what you want to change, and what's important to you in the process, all we can do is tell you is what is relevant to *us*, which doesn't help you much...
