miketsp
Contributor
In my family we have 4 sets of Aqualung/US Divers Micra Adj regs with Cousteau 1st stages.
These have been in use for many years and maintenance costs have been low.
About 18 months ago I was on a trip and my 1st stage started playing up with an unstable IP causing free-flow at the second stage. Since we were doing 3 or 4 dives every day and I didn't want to lose any while the reg was in for service plus I was in a place where regs were cheap compared to Brazil where I live (very high import taxes) I decided to invest in a new one. I bought a ScubaPro MK17/C300 which seemed to be comparable with what I was used to and the initial price was good. Medium performance diaphragm models.
Well I just got it back from service together with a couple of the Micra's and I was shocked by the fact that even though all 3 were rebuilt with standard refurbishment kits the bill for the ScubaPro was almost double the Micra's. Labour was a little higher but parts were much higher.
I discussed this with the tech and he confirmed that he pays much more for SP parts.
He told me it was just as well I didn't buy an APEKs, then I'd really see what high parts prices are!
I'd never really factored in spares prices before when selecting equipment but I will do in the future.
Now I'm curious, is this spares price discrepancy between brands seen in other countries outside Brazil?
These have been in use for many years and maintenance costs have been low.
About 18 months ago I was on a trip and my 1st stage started playing up with an unstable IP causing free-flow at the second stage. Since we were doing 3 or 4 dives every day and I didn't want to lose any while the reg was in for service plus I was in a place where regs were cheap compared to Brazil where I live (very high import taxes) I decided to invest in a new one. I bought a ScubaPro MK17/C300 which seemed to be comparable with what I was used to and the initial price was good. Medium performance diaphragm models.
Well I just got it back from service together with a couple of the Micra's and I was shocked by the fact that even though all 3 were rebuilt with standard refurbishment kits the bill for the ScubaPro was almost double the Micra's. Labour was a little higher but parts were much higher.
I discussed this with the tech and he confirmed that he pays much more for SP parts.
He told me it was just as well I didn't buy an APEKs, then I'd really see what high parts prices are!
I'd never really factored in spares prices before when selecting equipment but I will do in the future.
Now I'm curious, is this spares price discrepancy between brands seen in other countries outside Brazil?