Buying used gear.. good idea, bad idea?.. Help

[Untoldfox]

Hey, Super new to scuba! I've been doing some reading while I've been off work with a broken leg.

I have a line of some used gear. hardly used from an ex diver who can no longer dive.

Regs have never seen water, tank is a 10 years old Dacor super 80 tank, used 10 times. Trying to get model of the BCD, its make is Dacor. Reg is Paragon. My understanding is Dacor was bought by another company so if something happens to it, good luck..

I priced some cheap beginner gear online just to give me something to compare to (very cheap, sale price stuff....) I know you can spend 800 dollars on crap, or 8000 dollars.. My goal with scuba is to take it slow, I'll even just putter around in the lake at my family cabin and to buy better stuff when the fiancee is done school and allows me to spend more.

Hes asking 900 for everything in the photo.

Cheap online gear prices:
BCD
190
Regulator
160
Octopus
80
Gauge Console
100
Tank
140
Fins
50
Wet suit
170
Drysuit
?..
Spare air
250

total
1140 plus tax plus drysuit.

Thanks!

 

[Bubbletrubble]

$900 is way, way too much for that used gear. Various individual pieces do have some value, though, such as the tank, gauges, and fins. Philosophically, I'm not a fan of the Spare Air, so it's difficult for me to assign a value to it. I suppose it might have some resale value if you could off-load onto someone else.

I would steer clear of Dacor gear. The company no longer exists and, at least for its regulators, parts availability is an issue.

I prefer other brands/designs for the BCD.

I only see a drysuit undergarment in the photos. Where's the drysuit? Since it isn't shown, I have to assume that a functioning drysuit is not included in the sale.

I wouldn't want that reg.

The Paragon 2000 manufactured by Sunshine Diving was tested by Scubadiving.com in 2002 and evaluated in this article entitled "The Mother of All Reg Reviews." Here's what Scubadiving.com had to say about the Paragon 2000:

CONSUMER ALERT! UNSAFE AT ANY DEPTH

Over the course of this comparative evaluation, two regulators failed to meet even the most minimal breathing simulator tests. They look very similar and may well be made by the same original equipment manufacturer.

One is currently being marketed as the R-8 PARAGON 2000 by Sunshine Diving of Lutz, Fla. When hooked up to the breathing simulator, this reg was able to reach a depth of only 79 feet at 37.5 RMV before exceeding established test limits. When switched to the higher breathing rate of 62.5 RMV, the reg only made it to 24 feet before exceeding limits again. To make matters worse, during in-water tests a first-stage seal failed. Luckily, it happened at a relatively shallow depth.

Scuba Lab contacted Rick Morrison at Sunshine Diving and relayed the results of the tests. He assured ScubaLab he would contact the manufacturer immediately with test results and would inform us of any further developments.

If I were you, I'd take a pass on the deal.

 

[Untoldfox]

Hey,

That's what I was after, thank you very much!

 

[eelnoraa]

Nothing wrong with used gears. I bought lots of used stuff here too. However, I will pass on this set too. You should buy what you need, NOT buy a bundle with bunch of stuff that you won't need even if it is a good price ( I don't think the price is good here anyway).

A few notes:
1. don't waste you money on spare air.

2. A 10 year old tank, regarless how many (few) times it has been used, it will need inspections after a period of times. You may need to spend $50 for hydro before you can use it.

3. A 10 year old wetsuit isn't going to keep you warm at all.

 

[koozemani]

I'm still a new diver and made the mistake of buying used gear from different sources. While there was nothing wrong with the gear I purchased, I didn't know enough to know what I wanted. Apart from the computers, tanks, and compass I've replaced everything else with new gear. The old stuff will make decent backups, but the more I learned and read, the more I was able to make my own decisions.

My suggestion would be to find a reliable Lds with decent gear to rent until you can figure out what you like, need, and want. As you just learned with bubbletroubles review, this board is an invaluable source of informed opinions and expert reviews on just about anything you might have a question about.

Bottom line, save your money. Buying used is fine, as long it is a specific item that you've been waiting for and find a great deal on. Not all gear is the same, and one person trash might be another persons treasure, but until you know, wait.

 

[k ellis]

About the spare air. Its only a good backup if you cant get a pony bottle for what ever reason (Flying its easy to remove the valve versus pony bottles being a little more complicated.

I too once almost bought a spare air but for what they charge you can slap down just a little more change and get a fully functional pony bottle that has a larger volume of air which means a larger margin of safety. Just my 2 cents though

 

[TMHeimer]

I bought most of my stuff used from the LDS here, and the wetsuit from one in Fla. -- (6 years ago) -- everything's still going strong except the hood (splits in seems, had to replace it). I'm not saying I recommend buying everything from a shop, just that it worked for me.

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
There have been lots of discussions on buying use. Bottom line is, buy well known brands that are currently selling gear. For older regs from the 70s to today you want to limit your choices to US Divers/Aqualung and Scubapro. They do a good job of supporting their older models but even then, ask first if you can get it serviced. Otherwise pretty much any brand that is still in business and you have a local service center for is OK. Whatever you buy, plan on spending another $100 to $150 on the regs to get them serviced, BCs you can pretty much check yourself...if it holds air and functions correctly, it's good.
As for the stuff above......RUN!!

 

[Untoldfox]

Love you guys, thanks for all your advice, I ran!

I'm now going to look into the companies that have been in business for ever, and start to narrow down the gear from there!

I'll probably have to put the sport off for another year until the fiancee is done school Until then I'll study up!

 

[arimann]

hello, i buy and i sale used gear. What i can say to you (and it's against my interest !) don't try to sell everithyng in block, but look into ebay or other sites to see for each piece the current medium price for a used gear. but be advised that some good are or very long to sale or without any interest. Good Luck Marco