Buying Rental Gear

[Capt.Gene]

Inexpensive rental gear earns the dive shop a higher return on investment than they get if they buy higher end equipment.
A $500 system doesn't rent for any more than a $150 system, and it may be harder and more expensive to maintain.

 

[Teller]

That is top of the line current model regs.

I have a couple Mk20/S600s. I bought them new almost 10 years ago. One from Leisurepro for about $430. The other from Scubastore for about $330. I would guess that Scubaland paid $300 or less for them. It is not a bad price, but not a great one either. Plus I'll bet that is working condition but without a current annual service. Still could be good for a couple years before it requires the "annual" service.

My wife is still diving one but I sent mine to the ready reserves in favor of older models like a Mk5 (or Mk10) and a Balanced Adjustable. Hard to discern any performance difference and they are simpler and more durable. And less expensive.

They said the regs have been serviced within the last year but they will not service them prior to selling them and there is no warranty either and I want to say I wouldnt get the free parts from SP because I am not the original owner. After thinking about it I will end having to get both regs serviced, get the 1st stages switched to DIN and get a 7 foot hose. Probaly around $1000. I'd rather get the HOG Doubles Reg Set from DRIS for $580. People have posted pretty good results about them and you cant beat the price. Access to service kits is nice too if I decide to start servicing my own regs down the road.

 

[ajduplessis]

1.Not if reasonable taken care of them other wise I would not have a collection of 30 to 50 yo regs in prefect working order. The insides of my 1958 DAAM look like new. I restore vintage regs as a hobby so I spend a good bit of time with very old regs. We are talking about rental stuff, I understand that you look after your kit and it will last 100years, not the case with rental kit.
2. Right, and these are replaced during a normal (proper) service.
3. You still have not told me what parts go bad that are not replaced during service. Yokes don't bad, main bodies don't, end caps don't, pistons don't, springs don't, balance chambers don't.....what am I missing that wears but is not replaced as part of a normal service??? All parts if not cared for will degrade. Is this not the case?

Maybe I was a little unclear, what I ment was if I can get a used car (in that case but it holds for regs as well) that had all the major operating equipment replaced in it and it was being sold for 1/4 the price of a new car I would buy it. Scrathes on the paint or stains on the seats do not keep it from running, same holds true for regs. The fact is that springs, pistons, chambers (aka engine & transmission) is not going to be replaced new as per your statement and then sold at a 1/4 of the price.

Feedback above. What I want to say is that rental gear gets abused. Operators sell these when they become expensive to maintain, if this was not the case why the replacement?

 

[keyshunter]

DUI,
That's a wise decision. Their attitude would cause me to reject that shop's offer as well.

 

[redacted]

Feedback above. What I want to say is that rental gear gets abused. Operators sell these when they become expensive to maintain, if this was not the case why the replacement?

Dive ops replace rental gear because it is good for business and profitable. After years of use, they still sell it for more than they paid for it. While rental gear may lead a hard life, a good inspection should weed out the dogs. But I can't imagine why a shop selling such gear would not provide some type of warranty insurance unless they know they have dogs. Perhaps the dive shop equivalent of packing a manual transmission with sawdust might be gluing up crack in plastic bodies or taping a diaphragm puncture so they will seal for a while. Good dive shops would make appropriate necessary repairs and provide some reasonable warranty.

 

[diver 85]

I'm gunna ask it -----'OP, which regs & how much is 'pretty cheap?'...........We all do know everything is relative.....

 

[halocline]

They said the regs have been serviced within the last year but they will not service them prior to selling them and there is no warranty either

Perfect example of a shop shooting itself in the foot once again. It costs them nothing (assuming they are the original owner) to service the reg prior to sale and very little, probably nothing, to extend the warranty.

With this kind of attitude so prevalent, I'm really glad I just buy used cheap old regs on ebay and fix 'em up myself. I did splurge and dropped almost $100 on a 2nd stage a few months ago, but that was unusual. I am certain they perform as well as anything on the market these days.

 

[redacted]

Perfect example of a shop shooting itself in the foot once again. It costs them nothing (assuming they are the original owner) to service the reg prior to sale and very little, probably nothing, to extend the warranty.

With this kind of attitude so prevalent, I'm really glad I just buy used cheap old regs on ebay and fix 'em up myself. I did splurge and dropped almost $100 on a 2nd stage a few months ago, but that was unusual. I am certain they perform as well as anything on the market these days.

This shop charges $30 per stage. If you do the service for free just before the sale, that is about $120 of expected business that will probably be lost in the next year.

 

[DevonDiver]

Would you buy a used rental car?

If the price were right.... yes.

Regards buying rental regulators.... just be aware that the price should be substantially cheaper than equivalent second-hand (non-rental) regulators.

Do a lot of research on Ebay etc, to make sure that you are getting a fair price for them. They should be very cheap...

 

[Zung]

... Yokes don't bad, main bodies don't, end caps don't, pistons don't, springs don't, balance chambers don't.....what am I missing that wears but is not replaced as part of a normal service???...

Well, I have a 2nd (?) hand MK20 where the chrome is completely gone in the inside of the cap, where the piston rides. I have a couple more, also 2nd hand, where there're some spots with the brass showing up, same place. They all work fine after some polishing with Brasso, no big deal really, but they do wear.

OTOH, I have some others I bought new 20 years ago that still look new inside.

I guess how badly the gears are treated makes a difference.