Dumped on by Diving Companies Again

[scubapro50]

As most of you have heard DACOR is not longer supporting their Pacer line of equipment. Mares did the same thing by not supporting equipment made by one of their past names (VOIT, SWIMASTER). AQUALUNG no longer makes parts for doublehose and has also announce they will stop supporting some of their early singlehose designs. Now a lot of this stuff was made with "lifetime warrenties" which I took to mean that parts will still be made available to fix the stuff. John Davidson was a diver and ran his company that way. There are 1/4 million regurators out there that people are still using that don't need to be replaced. Too bad the new owners don't see that. SCUBAPRO still has a policy to fix, repair or supply parts to any original owner of any SCUBAPRO regulator. I have already heard that some divers are not buying DACOR/MARES because if they won't support their stuff made just a few years ago then why should we trust them in the future. Spend $500 to a $1000 on equipment and hope they don't deceide to change designs again and stop making your parts too.

 

[Quarrior]

Mods, this sounds suspiciously like an advertisement. Don't we have a forum where ads from companies belong?

 

[cdiver2]

Sounds legitimate to me

 

[garyfotodiver]

Big Deal. Ford no longer supports flathead V-8 engines. Nikon will not service Photomic finders. Try getting a replacement for a Craftsman Whitworth spanner.

Life goes on.

 

[mweitz]

In any case, "Lifetime Warranty" means the lifetime of the company. Not yours, or the products. A lot of companies abuse this; setup a shell company, sell a cheesy product with a "Lifetime Warranty" then close up shop. Beware of late night infomercials...

In any case, even if you have a good understanding of the financial health of the company, they can still go out of business in a few years with a bit of mismanagement, change in business conditions or what have you. In purchasing anything with a long life you should check the makers’ long term reputation and their financial health to minimize risk.

There were several such "burns" in the tech industry after the bubble burst. Seemingly good companies disappeared overnight. DSL users (companies at that) were left without service, and had paid a lot of money for equipment that was now useless with another provider ...

Mark

 

[cdiver2]

Big Deal. Ford no longer supports flathead V-8 engines. Nikon will not service Photomic finders. Try getting a replacement for a Craftsman Whitworth spanner.

Life goes on.

they don't say lifetime warranty when you buy them.

 

[Firefyter]

SCUBAPRO still has a policy to fix, repair or supply parts to any original owner of any SCUBAPRO regulator. I have already heard that some divers are not buying DACOR/MARES because if they won't support their stuff made just a few years ago then why should we trust them in the future. Buy that $500 regulator now and in 10 years will you be able to fine parts.

Hmmm....my uncle has an older scubapro reg setup, and his LDS told him just the other day that parts were no longer available for it. This reg is at least 20 years old, but it still breathes great. I'm not sure of the model number, but I'll find out. At any rate, they told him it was obsolete....

 

[Quarrior]

Uh, just curious, why did you quote me? Your post has nothing to do with what I said.

In any case, "Lifetime Warranty" means the lifetime of the company. Not yours, or the products. A lot of companies abuse this; setup a shell company, sell a cheesy product with a "Lifetime Warranty" then close up shop. Beware of late night infomercials...

In any case, even if you have a good understanding of the financial health of the company, they can still go out of business in a few years with a bit of mismanagement, change in business conditions or what have you. In purchasing anything with a long life you should check the makers’ long term reputation and their financial health to minimize risk.

There were several such "burns" in the tech industry after the bubble burst. Seemingly good companies disappeared overnight. DSL users (companies at that) were left without service, and had paid a lot of money for equipment that was now useless with another provider ...

Mark

 

[mweitz]

Uh, just curious, why did you quote me? Your post has nothing to do with what I said.

Sorry, mis click thanks for pointing it out.

Mark

 

[scubapro50]

Was your uncle the orginal owner and did he register the regulator at purchase ? The cost to repair or overhaul a old regulator made exceed its value or the dive shop owner may have wanted to sell him a new one. go to www.scubapro.com and click on "product registration", then click on "flequently asked questions" and this may answer some of your questions ......... By the way ..... my local dive shop was able to fine parts and rebuild my VOIT regulator a few years ago ... it's not impossible to have it done but it takes time and are you willing to put out the bucks ?