Thought folks might enjoy article from this month's Undercurrent:
Dive Gear Warranties: Always Honored?
generally satisfactory, with some annoying quirks
Is it true that if you buy a regulator over the Internet, the
manufacturer will not warranty the product? Thats a question
we often receive, most recently asked by subscriber CJ Zulaica
(Sacramento, CA).
It can be trickier when you buy dive gear online rather than
from a dive shop, but the first question to ask is whether the
seller is an authorized dealer of the product. If so, your gear
gets the required servicing for a specific period, and youll be
notified by the manufacturer if there is a safety recall. Many
online equipment sources are authorized dealers (we know of
no source falsely claiming to be an authorized dealer), which
will send you an official warranty registration card with a
product serial number that matches the one appearing on the
product youre buying.
But there is a caveat. Aqua Lung, for example, fights online
sales of its products, even by authorized dealers. On its Web
site, Aqua Lung states, Beware of any retailer that offers to
sell and ship our products for orders placed by phone or the
Internet. These retailers are NOT authorized Aqua Lung
Dealers. All authorized dealers must execute an agreement that
does not allow the sale of our products except in-store. Many
Aqua Lung dealers advertise on the Internet, but they are not
allowed to deliver our products other than over-the counter. If
they do, Aqua Lung wont consider your warranty valid.
However the seller may establish its own warranty for buyers
protection. One of the largest online retailers, LeisurePro
in New York City, does just that. If a product isnt covered by
a manufacturers warranty, LeisurePro provides its own warranty
which, they claim, offers greater or equal protection.
LeisurePro warrants the equipment will be free from defects in
materials and workmanship for the same period offered by the
manufacturer. In the past several years, all reports to us indicate
LeisurePro keeps its word. Reader Mac Lysett (Ten Mile,
TN) told us that after only 30 dives, my Oceanic Geo computer
malfunctioned at night in my Cayman Brac hotel room,
with lights flashing and sirens warning that I needed a deco
stop at 45 feet. I had to pile towels on top of the computer and
shut it in the bathroom to get back to sleep. When I returned
home, I contacted LeisurePro and it gave me an RMA number
and instructed me to return the computer to Oceanic. Within a
week, a brand new Geo arrived and Ive experienced no trouble
with it. Both LeisurePro and Oceanic were terrific.
We recently asked our subscribers via our monthly Dive
News e-mail for their experiences with dive gear warranties.
They replied that manufacturers are honoring them promptly
and often going beyond the necessary fixes, like replacing the
old product entirely, sometimes with a newer, upgraded model.
Reader Larry Klumb (Lithia, FL) said that two years ago,
the wristband detached from my Mares Nemo stainless-steel
computer; the plastic anchor had cracked and was not repairable.
I returned it to Mares in anticipation of getting a new
band but in fact, I got a new computer. Seems the screws were
so small and corroded that they could not be removed, so they
replaced it with a new Titanium Nemo computer.
Even if your dive gear is beyond the warranty coverage,
some makers will give you a good deal on substitute or replacement
models. Thats what happened to Steve Thomas (Boulder,
CO) when his six-year-old Oceanic Pro Plus 2 dive computer
had glitches with the air pressure. My dive shop couldnt fix
the problem and Oceanic confirmed the problem didnt have
a fix at a reasonable cost, so it offered to replace the computer
with the same model (rebuilt with warranty) for $150. A new
replacement costs around $700 so I felt that offer was very fair.
Those Extreme Rules
A few readers shared their learn from my mistakes tales.
Dan Kopetski (Vancouver, WA) has an Aqua Lung reg that I
lost the lifetime warranty on because I had a friend who owned
a dive shop service it. I later learned he was not an authorized
dealer. Now I have to pay for all parts and service instead of
getting the free parts and service that come with the regulator
under warranty.
And keep that warranty schedule handy. Mary Martin
(Windermere, FL) says I bought my Mares regulators at Divers
Direct three years ago; they told me I had to get them checked
every year to keep up the warranty. Unfortunately, I missed getting
them serviced within the year. When I did take them back,
14 months after I bought them, it cost me just over $100 and
I now have to pay every year. I would have thought that since
the regulators were serviced and there was nothing wrong, I
should get the warranty for life back but no. I missed the service
because I listened to wrong advice from a fellow diver and
it now costs me over $100 every year.
When a Warranty May Not Cover You
While your warranty may be good at your old dive shop,
another may blow you off. Richard Moles (Davenport, FL)
and his wife bought Oceanic regulators while living in Illinois.
Then they moved to Florida. When I took my regulators to
Divers Direct in Orlando last year, I was charged for parts,
even though Oceanics warranty states they are covered. I had
to fight with them but they finally refunded that part of my
money. I called several other authorized Oceanic dealers in the
Orlando area but none would honor the warranty, as I had not
bought them from their store. I called Oceanic to learn that
the warranty is voluntary and dealers do not have to honor it.
Oceanic would honor the warranty if I shipped my regulators
to California and back. By the time I paid the UPS fees, it was
about the same as paying for parts.
We called Oceanic about this policy, and customer service
manager Mark Jones says that yes, its up to the dealer to
decide whether it wants to service a product bought at another
store. If they do, theyll service a product every 12 months and
charge for labor but not for the annual servicing kit. Some dealers
say, I dont want to run my business that way, and decline,
and we dont tell them how to run their business. But we do
encourage it as a good marketing sales tool.
So while some Oceanic dealers bail out of helping a customer,
here is a case in which a Scubapro dealer lent that
helping hand. Michael Cole (Edwards, CO) said, Three years
ago, I bought a rental Uwatec Air Z Nitrox from a dive shop in
Colorado. The computer worked well for the first 50 dives, then
the tank pressure readings began to go all wrong. I sent it, via
Dive Odyssea in Ft. Pierce, FL, to ScubaPro in California, with
the understanding that I would pay for the repair as the computer
was purchased used. It was repaired at no cost to me. On
my next dive trip, it again failed and I returned the entire unit
again. Scubapro replaced the batteries in the transponder on
the primary stage, the batteries in the wrist unit and a failed circuit
board in the wrist unit -- again at no cost to me. Also, Dive
Odyssea would not even allow me to pay for the UPS charges
even though I had purchased the equipment elsewhere.
So back to the question about whether online scuba equipment
sellers provide warranties. According to our readers, they
all seem pretty good about it. As you can see, there are quirks
in the warranty system but by and large, a diver can expect that
if he has a product he bought under warranty and he returns it
to whom he bought if from, the problem will be solved.
But if you have a contrary experience, let us know.
- - Vanessa Richardson
Good diving, Craig
