BillP
Senior Member
Aqua Lung and Scubapro both replaced my legacy regulators under warranty.
I have been away from Scubaboard and diving for a few years. Much of my gear dates from the 1990s. I have an upcoming dive trip and took my Sea Quest (since acquired by Aqua Lung) Air Source (original version) combo second stage/inflator and 2 Scubapro regulators with MK15 first stages in for routine service only to find that Aqua Lung and Scubapro no longer support those regulators and parts for routine service are not available. The regulators still worked just fine; they only needed routine maintenance. They were sold to me as having "lifetime" warranties and, last I checked, neither I nor the regulators were "dead". I considered the manufactures' business decisions to no longer support these regulators to be a "manufacturer's defect".
After I dropped my regulators off for service at my usual authorized Scubapro dive shop where I had had my regulators serviced for years they called and initially told me that I was out of luck and nothing could be done. I called around for options and multiple other dive shops gave me the same answer. Finally, one Scubapro dive shop told me that Scubapro has a reduced-cost replacement program for older unsupported regulators. By the time I called my primary dive shop back to ask about this program, they had already figured it out and arranged for me to get replacement MK25 EVO first stages at a substantial savings off of retail. (<1/2 of retail price.) Scubapro required that the MK15 first stages be returned to them for warranty replacement. They did not ask for proof of purchase, probably because I had registered them when new. I dropped my regulators off for service at the end of May and didn't get them back from Scubapro until yesterday, but they still arrived in time for my trip.
After finding out about Scubapro's program I called my authorized Aqua Lung dive shop about my Air Source combo inflator to see if Aqua Lung had a similar upgrade path, and was told "No". They offered me a 10% discount on a new 3rd generation Aqua Lung Airsource. I contacted Aqua Lung directly by phone and email and after multiple requests and a bit of run-around I got through to their Customer Service and Repairs Supervisor who arranged warranty replacement of my regulator. After finally getting through they shipped a new 3rd generation Aqua Lung Airsource to my dive shop in a few days. They asked for proof of purchase (I still had the original receipt), but I was not required to return my old regulator. I was only charged $20 for the replacement which is probably just shipping cost.
Both Aqua Lung and Scubapro left the final pricing up to the dive shops.
All in all I am satisfied with the outcome. I would have appreciated better training of the authorized retailers and their employees and a lot less run-around, but the outcome was fine. I don't begrudge Scuba Pro and their dive shop for covering their cost after I got over 20 years of service from my MK15s, but I was particularly pleased with Aqua Lung's replacement. I did not have my regulators serviced annually when I wasn't diving, but (perhaps because they did not fail due to lack of annual service?) neither manufacturer tried to hold me to the warranty requirement for regular service.
Kudos to Scubapro and Aqua Lung for honoring their warranties. I will continue to do business with both companies. I hope that my experience is helpful to others.
Cheers,
BillP
As an aside, I had a second Sea Quest 1st generation Air Source that broke, not due to a manufacturer's defect, that I replaced about 10 years ago with a 2nd generation Air Source at my cost. I did not pursue warranty replacement. Aqua Lung still supports Sea Quest's 2nd generation Air Source with parts for routine service.
I have been away from Scubaboard and diving for a few years. Much of my gear dates from the 1990s. I have an upcoming dive trip and took my Sea Quest (since acquired by Aqua Lung) Air Source (original version) combo second stage/inflator and 2 Scubapro regulators with MK15 first stages in for routine service only to find that Aqua Lung and Scubapro no longer support those regulators and parts for routine service are not available. The regulators still worked just fine; they only needed routine maintenance. They were sold to me as having "lifetime" warranties and, last I checked, neither I nor the regulators were "dead". I considered the manufactures' business decisions to no longer support these regulators to be a "manufacturer's defect".
After I dropped my regulators off for service at my usual authorized Scubapro dive shop where I had had my regulators serviced for years they called and initially told me that I was out of luck and nothing could be done. I called around for options and multiple other dive shops gave me the same answer. Finally, one Scubapro dive shop told me that Scubapro has a reduced-cost replacement program for older unsupported regulators. By the time I called my primary dive shop back to ask about this program, they had already figured it out and arranged for me to get replacement MK25 EVO first stages at a substantial savings off of retail. (<1/2 of retail price.) Scubapro required that the MK15 first stages be returned to them for warranty replacement. They did not ask for proof of purchase, probably because I had registered them when new. I dropped my regulators off for service at the end of May and didn't get them back from Scubapro until yesterday, but they still arrived in time for my trip.
After finding out about Scubapro's program I called my authorized Aqua Lung dive shop about my Air Source combo inflator to see if Aqua Lung had a similar upgrade path, and was told "No". They offered me a 10% discount on a new 3rd generation Aqua Lung Airsource. I contacted Aqua Lung directly by phone and email and after multiple requests and a bit of run-around I got through to their Customer Service and Repairs Supervisor who arranged warranty replacement of my regulator. After finally getting through they shipped a new 3rd generation Aqua Lung Airsource to my dive shop in a few days. They asked for proof of purchase (I still had the original receipt), but I was not required to return my old regulator. I was only charged $20 for the replacement which is probably just shipping cost.
Both Aqua Lung and Scubapro left the final pricing up to the dive shops.
All in all I am satisfied with the outcome. I would have appreciated better training of the authorized retailers and their employees and a lot less run-around, but the outcome was fine. I don't begrudge Scuba Pro and their dive shop for covering their cost after I got over 20 years of service from my MK15s, but I was particularly pleased with Aqua Lung's replacement. I did not have my regulators serviced annually when I wasn't diving, but (perhaps because they did not fail due to lack of annual service?) neither manufacturer tried to hold me to the warranty requirement for regular service.
Kudos to Scubapro and Aqua Lung for honoring their warranties. I will continue to do business with both companies. I hope that my experience is helpful to others.
Cheers,
BillP
As an aside, I had a second Sea Quest 1st generation Air Source that broke, not due to a manufacturer's defect, that I replaced about 10 years ago with a 2nd generation Air Source at my cost. I did not pursue warranty replacement. Aqua Lung still supports Sea Quest's 2nd generation Air Source with parts for routine service.
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