Discontinued Dive Computer
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DEPENDS...if original owner the manufacturer might offer a replacement at a discount..all on what their policy is..
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depends on the manufacturer, Shearwater is still supporting all of their computers even though most have been discontinued for 3+ years. Most manufacturers unfortunately aren't Shearwater. Dive Rite still supports a few of the old ones as well if they have the parts on hand, but good luck with the "big boys", Suunto, AUP, etc, they are not known for their CS
Slamfire
Contributor
Call them and find out about your specific case. Some years ago I had a Dacor Darwin that formed a weird bubble in between the laminated glass screen layers. At that point in time the brand name Dacor had already gone down the drain. I emailed Mares some pictures to find out if that bubble was any cause for concern. Mares reply was to replace the Dacor with a new Mares Puck.
K
KeithG
Guest
Basic answer is YES! You bought it. You used it. It died. What do you expect? A product for life?
The obvious standard "good corporate citizen" behaviour is to offer a discount on a relatively current model OR ignore you entirely for really old stuff.
The supported life span of a computer is generally very short. 3 to 5 years would be very generous. Small products runs and specialized products means support costs are very high.
The computer(s) I use are over 20 years old. At this point, I expect nothing from the manufacturer.
The obvious standard "good corporate citizen" behaviour is to offer a discount on a relatively current model OR ignore you entirely for really old stuff.
The supported life span of a computer is generally very short. 3 to 5 years would be very generous. Small products runs and specialized products means support costs are very high.
The computer(s) I use are over 20 years old. At this point, I expect nothing from the manufacturer.
Kharon
Contributor
+1 for Mares support. I got an unbelievable upgrade deal when my Icon HD was discontinued.
What giffenk said. Bought used there is probably no warrenty even if not discontinued. I would guess that any manufacturer would repair the unit as long as they still have parts and a tech that knows how. Of course, you're going to pay for the repair, and I wouldn't expect it to be cheap.
Once parts are gone there is nothing they could do anyway. These computers are very specialized and not like the plug-and-play generic part accepting PC's. I would also guess that an old broken dive computer might cost way more to repair than buying a new one.
What giffenk said. Bought used there is probably no warrenty even if not discontinued. I would guess that any manufacturer would repair the unit as long as they still have parts and a tech that knows how. Of course, you're going to pay for the repair, and I wouldn't expect it to be cheap.
Once parts are gone there is nothing they could do anyway. These computers are very specialized and not like the plug-and-play generic part accepting PC's. I would also guess that an old broken dive computer might cost way more to repair than buying a new one.
I had a "new" computer die within the one year warranty and had trouble getting a replacement since the actual manufacturer had stopped making them. Finally I got a replacement... and it died. I won't name the company because they generally make good products, but this really peaved me. In fact, three out of the four computers from them failed on me. The one that didn't was stolen.
There are different kinds os of computer. E.g. for desktop computers and servers Dell does 3 years standard, more available for pay. Dive computer market is way more conservative -- your own computers are old enough to drink -- so an expectation of 3-5 year support is not unreasonable I think. After 20 years there's likely components inside that haven't been made for a decade or so, then there's nothing they can do. Other than offer you a discount on a current model, if they're nice.
Kharon
Contributor
drbill, man you have bad luck.
I got a very sizable discount on trading in a discontinued model that went into "paperweight mode" while in storage to purchase a current model from a manufacturer. I had all the paperwork, so it was easy to deal with them....
Not sure there are similar results to be expected from many of the vendors out there... the things really are "throw away", despite what some of the price tags are.
There appear to be exceptions though, and a certain Canadian company seems to be in the "exceptional" category for support of their "legacy products"....
Not sure there are similar results to be expected from many of the vendors out there... the things really are "throw away", despite what some of the price tags are.
There appear to be exceptions though, and a certain Canadian company seems to be in the "exceptional" category for support of their "legacy products"....
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