Mares Abyss+Rebel+good/bad things

[h90]

I got a Mares Abyss+Rebel Octopus approx. 1 year ago.
I worry the warranty card was never filled out and sent to Mares (bought in Europe).

Since the beginning the rebel blow more or less. I contacted Mares in Thailand (were I stay) and they fixed that for me without any questions without wanting any money or checking any warranty that was really nice.
But after 3 dives it was even worse. Anyway I think they will do it again for me, but now my questions:

What shall I do with the warranty: I think the shop sold the equipment without any VAT or invoice (but don't want to blame the shop, because else they were very helpfull)?

What shall I do that I don't have again and again problems with the rebel?

When searching for that problem I found a webpage telling horror-stories about the Abyss floating with water (what can be extrem dangerous if you get water instead of air in the regulator).
I spoke about that with a Mares shop and they told me thats past Mares fixed that problem already. But they did not tell me, when they fixed it? 2 Month ago or 2 years ago and if that is a problem for my Abyss (the 2005 model).
How can I find out if I face that problem or not. My local Mares shop does not speak well english (and I don't speak Thai).
Any idea/help would be nice!
h90

 

[Phil Mintz]

h90,

We have no issues with the Abyss, your should be fine. As for the Rebel octo, if you think there is a problem, (as stated in the warranty book) it should be returned to place of purchase. Naturally it can be serviced by any authorized Mares dealer worldwide, but they may choose to charge you as you have no proof that it is covered under warranty (ie; warranty card, receipt with date of purchase...)

Regards,

Phil

 

[h90]

h90,

We have no issues with the Abyss, your should be fine. As for the Rebel octo, if you think there is a problem, (as stated in the warranty book) it should be returned to place of purchase. Naturally it can be serviced by any authorized Mares dealer worldwide, but they may choose to charge you as you have no proof that it is covered under warranty (ie; warranty card, receipt with date of purchase...)

Regards,

Phil

Thanks for the info on the Abyss, that really make me happy.
My place of purchase is approx. 10.000 km away. And due to my own failure (I changed house 3 times in that time) I never sent any warranty card. Does Mares has a computer system in which my dealer might has put the purchase (Like my recently broken Western Digital Harddisk was accepted because they could see in the computer when it was purchased on the ID of the device).
Or any other methode to get recognized (as it is the 2005 model it is obvious that I couldn't bought it 5 years before)?
Anyway here Mares-Thailand did (big thank you) for free without asking any questions (top customer service).
But I would prefer to make it right than staying in a grey zone.

 

[Phil Mintz]

Thanks for the info on the Abyss, that really make me happy.
My place of purchase is approx. 10.000 km away. And due to my own failure (I changed house 3 times in that time) I never sent any warranty card. Does Mares has a computer system in which my dealer might has put the purchase (Like my recently broken Western Digital Harddisk was accepted because they could see in the computer when it was purchased on the ID of the device).
Or any other methode to get recognized (as it is the 2005 model it is obvious that I couldn't bought it 5 years before)?
Anyway here Mares-Thailand did (big thank you) for free without asking any questions (top customer service).
But I would prefer to make it right than staying in a grey zone.

Since you are 10,000 km from the place of purchase and did not get a receipt your best solution would be to work through the Thailand distributor. They can inspect and send back to our warranty department at the factory for inspection if neccessary.

Phil

 

[h90]

Since you are 10,000 km from the place of purchase and did not get a receipt your best solution would be to work through the Thailand distributor. They can inspect and send back to our warranty department at the factory for inspection if neccessary.

Phil

Thanks, I'll speak with them. Anyway they have a big workshop here (I guess Thailand is a big market for diving equipment). So I think they can do everything here.

For future purchases, do you think better buy local even if it is a bit more expensive than buy it far away? Does it make a difference?

 

[Phil Mintz]

while it is nice to buy local and support local business, it is really your choice. We cover any defects under the warranty policy, but is always best to bring back to place of purchase. Service Policies may differ slightly in each market.

 

[CODMAN]

H90, just to add some confidence building input to what phil said...
:14:
When I was shopping for my reg, I was also considering an Abyss (I finally opted for a Proton XL, less $$ )and I read many many posts/reviews about it on Scubaboard. And they almost all unanimously gave rave reviews about it! I read very few bad comments about it, except for it being a relatively heavy regulator! And I never once hear/read of them having a flooding problem as you described. It seems to be considered by most users on this board as a very reliable regulator!

Make sure it is well maintained, and you should have a great reg for a very long time!

Hope this helps!

 

[Richesb]

Girlfriend and I both own and use the Abyss. Dive a few days a week on air and nitrox. NEVER a problem. Real sweet piece of equiptment. Only "heavy" out of the water and after 1 or 2 dives you don't even notice it anymore.
Absolutely worth the money.

 

[Luc Dupas]

I used to dive for 13 years with SP regs... and then I switched over to MR22/Abyss (purchased it 2nd hand on eBay for about USD150)... and for the last 700+ dives this reg is serving me extremely well, down to depths below -50m without any problem whatsoever, water temperatures going down to 1C (34F) in wintertime without any problem whatsoever... extremely reliable and superb reg and it only needed service once up to now.

 

[h90]

thanks to everyone! Very helpfull.....
So I guess the flooting I read somewhere else might be just a mares bashing, or very badly serviced/dirt in the valve....

Thanks to everyone all my concerns are gone.