Better value: used gear, or new gear + free servicing?

[IndigoBunting]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum and a new diver (OW certified as of 2 weeks ago). Dove off of Panama City beach, saw a bull shark, got completely hooked. I'll be moving to the Florida panhandle in January and am hoping to dive a lot while there, so I'm looking at buying my first set of gear. I need some advice on buying used vs. new gear, specifically on what my LDS offers and what is a better deal.

My LDS (where I got certified) offers an Aqualung package that includes the following, for $850:

Titan regulator
Pro HD/Pearl BC
ABS Octopus
i300c computer
Lifetime servicing and parts on the gear package

Based on what I've looked at on eBay, I can get a comparable used set for half the cost. Of course I would need to get it serviced which would add to the initial cost.

The main draw for me about the dive shop's package is the free lifetime servicing (they charge about $100 normally). I'm looking for opinions on how valuable this actually is. I'm a college student with a limited budget and typically lead a pretty frugal lifestyle. Frugal as in spending $400 on fins, boots, mask, snorkel, and weight belt at the dive shop and then later researching and seeing how much less I could've spent on used stuff, made me a little sick. Did I get into the wrong hobby?Lol... But in all seriousness, I'm really not a gear junkie, so my plan is to use this first set for as many years as possible, which could make the free servicing pretty economical in the long term.

Of course I say that, but I'm not sure how realistic it actually is that I won't want to upgrade gear after a couple years. And if I do, I won't be buying from this dive shop as they have a limited selection, so the free servicing wouldn't apply, and I may as well go with used right away. Are there people who get an initial gear set and dive with it for years and years, or is it usually necessary to upgrade after a couple years? I'm pretty good in other hobbies at getting the basics and making up my mind to just be happy with it for awhile. Can you do that realistically in diving? How long does this stuff last? I'm not experienced enough to know what is necessary and what is just nice to have.

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm excited to join the community here.

 

[formernuke]

New diver so.

I would wait try different BC's to make sure you like it or prefer back inflate or bpw, the only way to know is to try.

The titan is not cold water rated do if you ever do decide to dive cold water it would not be suitable.

For the i300, can you read it underwater? Do you need a better lit computer?

Best gear is different according to the preference of the diver.

With that being said free lifetime service is a fantastic deal. See if they will honor it if you decide on a different reg, different computer etc.

 

[Bigbella]

The main draw for me about the dive shop's package is the free lifetime servicing (they charge about $100 normally). I'm looking for opinions on how valuable this actually is.

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm excited to join the community here.

It may not be worth the paper that it is printed upon.

On more than a few occasions, over the years, I purchased gear, along with those supposed "life-time" assurances that "free" servicing or air-fills would be provided.

None of those shops even saw the twenty-first century; so those guarantees were essentially rendered moot . . .

 

[divinh]

I think the first issue with buying used gear is knowing how to evaluate condition. Sometimes scruff is only cosmetic and there's plenty of life left with the gear.

As for buying any gear, it's good to know what's worth the money. I found Alex Peirce's "Scuba Tech Tips" on YouTube to be really useful.

 

[formernuke]

@Bigbella might be right about the shop going under it does happen.

Do your research on the shop, how long have they been around etc will tell you a little of the likely hood of staying around.

As for alec Pierce I would take anything he says with a very large grain of salt. He is in the category of my way is the only way type.

 

[rick00001967]

good price for a nice warm water package. hard to beat free parts and service. as others have said, as long as the shop is solid and not going out of business and actually provides good quality servicing on your regs etc. what are the conditions ? service every year ? every 2 years ? quite frankly i have often wondered why the shop i work for does not offer some type of deal similar to this.

 

[Bierstadt]

You are going to get out what you put in. That is to say all gear is a compromise and diving has multiple niches and you can't make an optimal choice if you don't know what diving you are doing and your full array of options. It's research, which as a student you are used to.

I will give you an example. Say I am a new diver. I am diving in the Great Lakes and I know I want to dive wrecks beyond recreational depths, but I will just be diving locally. I know the most expensive gear acquisition choice is to have to rebuy gear, so I want to avoid that if I can. Great Lakes wrecks mean cold water, so I need a semi-dry or dry suit for thermal protection. For tech diving I want a BP/W instead of a recreational bcd. I want a steel backplate and steel tanks with 100 cu ft of gas or more to dive the wrecks at depth with thick suits. I need cold water regs in a BP/W optimized DIR reg setup. And of course I need a computer with the setup and to do charter boat dives.

Once I know this I can start looking at what my specific choices are.

The option you requested feedback on is a good choice for warm water recreational diving using a recreational bcd. It costs $850; you said your alternative is half the cost, which we will call $450. Assuming service every two years at a cost of $100 per service, the new regs would break even after six years and save you $50 a year thereafter. You would have to take the regs to this lds for service and it would have to remain in business for this to happen.

Is this the optimal choice for you? That is your call to make.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Most people who get certified drop out of diving. That's just a sad fact. Many buy gear and then unload it within a year or two. There are great deals to be had for those hunting for used gear. Do your research, ask questions, and check other prices for the same gear. Trust, but verify.

 

[Ghost95]

Buy new gear that has user avaliable parts kits and learn to service it yourself. You'll be better off in the long run. You'll know how the gear works and you'll know it's done right. Being self sufficient is always better than waiting 2 to 6 weeks to get your gear back from the shop. And hoping they did it right.

Is a little intimidating at first but it's really easy with most types of gear.

 

[stretchthepenn]

Are there people who get an initial gear set and dive with it for years and years, or is it usually necessary to upgrade after a couple years?

If you truly have the discipline to stick with a basic set of gear, you can certainly use the same stuff for quite a while before needing to upgrade. For example, I used my first set of gear for three, maybe four years before upgrading anything at all. In fact, I used my first regulator (I think it was a US Divers SE3 with a cheap, all-plastic Conshelf second stage) for eighteen years.