Should I fall for the ScubaPro "parts for life" deal?

[BabyDuck]

it works if your lds sends in the info to sp. it works if you get your reg serviced every however often you're supposed to. if it says 12 months with a 4 week grace period, it does not mean 13 1/2 months. it works if you don't mind paying for service after a year with 5 dives or a year with 200 dives.

it's not as great a deal as it's presented as, but for some people it works fine. if you're a person it will work fine for, hooray! but don't do it if you're not that person. (plus, as a very personal opinion, their computers are crappy.)

 

[crosshairs]

A word of caution about the free parts for life program: Read the fine print. Just because the parts are free doesn't mean the labor is, and many shops charge as much for labor as a comparable rebuild on another brand including parts.

This is exactly correct...I bought Aqualung gear last year ..they also have the PFL program, and according to my LDS,I need to get it inspected every year, and rebuilt every other year....so I have to pay them $80.00 the first year for them to look at my gear, then about another $120.00-$130.00 to rebuild them next year....not even close to being worth it in my opinion..the labor is where the true cost is, and you have to pay for that.....the parts are cheap.

 

[Reel Irie]

Thanks! I am leaning towards the PFL not being a deciding factor on a purchase, but possibly a nice perk if I do go the ScubaPro route.

 

[Damselfish]

If you were already going to buy all Scubapro gear by choice without regard to the parts program, fine. It's something that may work out for some people, and you can decide if you want to follow the program and keep it in force or not. But I would not choose my other gear based on the parts warranty, way too limiting and probably not the best deal either.

(I had Scubapro regs with parts for life under the old program, which didn't require buying a whole package, that's how all their regs were sold in the US back then. I think I allowed it to lapse once or twice but they also allowed reinstatement just by getting it serviced and paying for parts. It was a somewhat more consumer friendly policy than the new one but if I had it to do all over again I probably still wouldn't have even maintained that warranty for as long as I did. If I were a new diver now, but knew what I know now, I wouldn't bite on the new program.)

My new regs are Aqualung, and I may have taken advantage of the free parts once before I let it go during a bit of a dry spell. I didn't realize there was no way to reinstate it, then decided I didn't care. The only time I have problems with regs is right after they are serviced; now I get things serviced when I decide they need to be serviced, not on some arbitrary schedule.

 

[Reel Irie]

thanks being a new diver I do like the comfort of having an LDS I buy the stuff from be here locally for me to ask questions, service, etc.

I think my choices are:
LDS1 - ScubaPro, Subgear
LDS2 - Aqua Lung, Cressi, ?
LDS3 - AquaLung, Mares, Sherwood, Atomic?

 

[beaverdivers]

if it says 12 months with a 4 week grace period, it does not mean 13 1/2 months. it works if you don't mind paying for service after a year with 5 dives or a year with 200 dives.

Now it is 24 months or 100 dives. IMO, your gear should be service at the time. Why not get Free parts and save $60 - $80?

 

[Wookie]

Now it is 24 months or 100 dives. IMO, your gear should be service at the time. Why not get Free parts and save $60 - $80?

Because your website shows a good set (Mk 25/G250, as solid a performer as they make) for $679. You're locked into the pricing by your dealer agreement, so that's the price. A comparable HOG is on sale at Dive Gear Express (DGX custom/HOG classic chrome) for $199.. That's a savings of $480, or 12 years of free parts.

Either set should last 12 years of 100 dives per year. Diver's supply and Tampa Scuba Diving are both HOG dealers and are within 20 miles of Clearwater.

 

[redacted]

Because your website shows a good set (Mk 25/G250, as solid a performer as they make) for $679. You're locked into the pricing by your dealer agreement, so that's the price. A comparable HOG is on sale at Dive Gear Express (DGX custom/HOG classic chrome) for $199.. That's a savings of $480, or 12 years of free parts.

Either set should last 12 years of 100 dives per year. Diver's supply and Tampa Scuba Diving are both HOG dealers and are within 20 miles of Clearwater.

I see that as more like 60 years of parts. I'm pretty sure I'm getting 5 years or more out of most of my service kits. The real kicker is the labor costs that the PFL programs hooks you into. $120 for service labor is quite high. $80 for an off-year inspection is just robbery.

 

[Wookie]

I see that as more like 60 years of parts. I'm pretty sure I'm getting 5 years or more out of most of my service kits. The real kicker is the labor costs that the PFL programs hooks you into. $120 for service labor is quite high. $80 for an off-year inspection is just robbery.

Yes, but the OP wants his LDS to service his regulators for him. I'm trying to keep this apples to apples. You and I don't need an LDS to service our gear for us.

 

[chrpai]

Then again, I "fell for it" too. But I'm glad I did.

Fell or pushed? I assume that as a "divemaster candidate" that you got "the talk".