No, if one was to purchase a new suit and dive it 10 times they would not have a suit that is not different than the one you have listed…the new suit would not have adhesives, fabric, thread, and other materials that are 14 years old that even if stored perfectly deteriorate to one degree or another. I am not a materials expert but I know that plastics become brittle with age and others lose elasticity with age. A new suit would have a warranty/guarantee as well that would not accompany a 14 year old used drysuit. And while the suit may come with a new latex zip neck seal the part that it attaches to is still 14 years old.
$2000 is a lot of money to put into a suit that age given there are better new and used options on the market…heck one can purchase a made to measure suit brand new for less.
Sorry to rain on the parade of your “for sale” listing, but in the end this is a discussion forum and while an experienced diver will know that this is not a good deal, those new to diving and drysuits should be forewarned.
The fact you represent a shop and are listing it for that price, all things considered, is something that is ripe for another whole discussion.
-Z
I want to start by saying I appreciate the tone and wording of this post today as compared to your post that the site administrator removed yesterday.
My family started Northwest Divers in 1965. I have worked in this business since I was 8 years old. I have maintained a very loyal and active customer base throughout these many years. That loyal customer base does not happen by accident. We provide quality and fair information and service to our customers. In the past and present we have worked with over 15 county dive rescue squads providing them with DUI drysuits since the early 1980's. We have also sold numerous drysuits to local sport divers. We are a full service drysuit repair center. We are one of the few facilities in the tri-state area that has a water testing tank on-site just like the DUI Factory. I am confident that I know drysuits.
While I am not a materials expert either, I have over 40 years of experience observing how time and wear affects a suit. It my opinion that materials if stored correctly can and do last over 40 years. I will site an example. Just recently a customer brought me DUI drysuit from the early 1980's for an inspection. This suit is estimated by the original owner to have been used at least 200+ dives. The zipper needed replacement and the seals both neck and wrist also needed replacement. I did a leak test in our water tank and found that the rest of the suit was dry. The seams and the material appeared to be in good condition.
I discussed the price of a new suit with the customer which was over $4000 for the same type of suit. Based on that he wanted to know if the suit was worth repairing. Because he wanted Zipseals installed we sent the suit to DUI for an opinion and possible repair. The repair department at DUI made the same assessment that I had made. The material was in good condition and the seams looked good. The folks at DUI felt the suit could go for many more years. The customer decided to go ahead with the repairs and Zipseals. They also decided to add low profile valves. The cost of repairs to the customer was approximately $1200. That may seam like a lot for an older suit, however, they saved almost $2000 compared to buying a new suit. For this customer it was the difference between a suit they were comfortable with and not having a drysuit at all.
You mentioned that you could buy a made to order suit for less and while that is true the suit would be entry level versus the high end suit that a DUI CLX450 is. It is important to compare similar suits. Your point about warranty is valid, however, the pre-owned suit is $2000 less than new.
Once again I have been a dive store operator for over 40 years. I have sold many pre-owned drysuits at similar markups. I have yet to have a customer come back and have concerns. My customers love their drysuits. I am getting older now and since the pandemic have not had the traffic through the store as in prior years so I thought this might be a good way to get the suit more exposure. I am fairly new to Scubaboard and the suits may be priced to high. I may end up holding the suit longer until it sells at the store. That will be up to my customer. Feel free to make offers and I will take it to the owner.
The bottom line is I am not the owner of the suit and am trying to sell it for the owner. The owner purchased the suit from me and I feel a responsibility to help sell it. I won't go into why the owner is selling the suit other than to say that peoples lives change.
Just so their is full disclosure I will be getting about $300 per suit to try and help them sell the suit.