Is this worth it?

[ScubaFeenD]

I am looking into buying a used dive light: Salvo 21W HID light. The battery will need to be replaced ($200) and the canister itself is pretty beat up (not necessary to replace it, though) The seller wants 465 while i take care of shipping. The question is: is it worth it, should i buy it?

thanks for you help; pardon my indecisiveness.

-ddd

 

[pollywogg]

I don't know a whole hell of a lot about lights, but I was just looking around on lights and I see 21W HID Light Monkey lights brand new for anywhere from 1200-2000, depending on the battery pack. It seems to me that for $465 for the light+ $200 for the new battery+shipping(Total around $700), you would be better off looking for a light in which the canister isn't beat to hell. $700 is getting pretty close to the neighborhood of a new light, especially if you can talk someone into a discount.
The way I look at buying used from someone personally it is like this.....Is the deal so good that if the light was a piece of $h!+ and you never got it working, would you be ok with that? I would think that for $700, you probably wouldn't be cool with that. I know I wouldn't.
IMHO, I would look around for a light in better condition, look for new lights on sale, or try to sweettalk a dive shop owner into giving you a discount.
Hope this was helpful.
Good Luck!

 

[BabyDuck]

i disagree & think it's worth it, so aren't you glad you asked??

 

[TSandM]

What worries me is whether you know that the problem with the light is the battery.

In the last year, I've bought a fully functional 9.5 aH 21W Salvo for $600, and a fully functional 21W Salvo with the small LiIon battery and the remote ballast for $400. So I'd say this is not any kind of a deal.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

I don't know a whole hell of a lot about lights, but I was just looking around on lights and I see 21W HID Light Monkey lights brand new for anywhere from 1200-2000, depending on the battery pack. It seems to me that for $465 for the light+ $200 for the new battery+shipping(Total around $700), you would be better off looking for a light in which the canister isn't beat to hell. $700 is getting pretty close to the neighborhood of a new light, especially if you can talk someone into a discount.
The way I look at buying used from someone personally it is like this.....Is the deal so good that if the light was a piece of $h!+ and you never got it working, would you be ok with that? I would think that for $700, you probably wouldn't be cool with that. I know I wouldn't.
IMHO, I would look around for a light in better condition, look for new lights on sale, or try to sweettalk a dive shop owner into giving you a discount.
Hope this was helpful.
Good Luck!

What worries me is whether you know that the problem with the light is the battery.

In the last year, I've bought a fully functional 9.5 aH 21W Salvo for $600, and a fully functional 21W Salvo with the small LiIon battery and the remote ballast for $400. So I'd say this is not any kind of a deal.

Thanks. This was my gut feeling, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being overly cautious. This is first foray into message board commerce, so I tend to try an be as cautious as possible.

 

[JohnB47]

I buy a lot of things online. In general, the following are true:
1. If you have to convince yourself that it is a good deal, it probably isn't.
2. If it has something wrong with it, it is probably not a good deal.
3. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[nelsondejesus]

I bought a salvo myself. What I'm interested in also is, considering that the manufacturer is no longer around (read somewhere that Salvo was sued by Halcyon, if I'm not mistaken), and has halted operations, is the availability of parts in case it needs to be serviced.

 

[BabyDuck]

as far as i know, salvo lights can be serviced many places, including light monkey, the shop started by guys who used to work at salvo. so there are plenty of parts & willing hands available.

 

[TSandM]

Getting Salvo lights serviced is definitely not an issue. They just aren't done under warranty any more. But LM's prices for working on them are very reasonable.

 

[nelsondejesus]

Ok. Thanks for the assurance. I can now heave a sigh of relief!!!