Oh Man! Now that is funny. Where's Paladin when he's needed?
Restarting parts for life program
- Thread starter OldNSalty
- Start date
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Graeme Tolton
Contributor
This sounds a lot like the usual "do it my way or you will die a horrible death" line.
brmoney
New
Hi Tom,
No what he is saying is there is no incentive to have your regulator inspected or serviced annually if you buy it second hand. I understand Aqualung's desire to sell new regulators and the "Free Parts for Life" program both help and hinders that. BUT face facts as with any recreational equipment the second hand market is huge often it is filled with older barely used equipment from people that bought new and after a few dives quit diving and are now selling 5+ year old equipment with less that 100 dives (often a lot less) on it or from Divers upgrading. New divers often buy from the second hand market allowing them to get into the sport cheaper as they figure out just how much they will be diving in the future. If you allow the Free Parts for Life Program to the next owner then when that diver plans on upgrading to new equipment he will think Aqulung first because when he brought in his second hand reg for check out he will see a company that stands behind there products. The single most important criteria I use when I buy new equipment is how a manufacture supports old equipment. The first place I check is the support pages on a companies website.
The Answers I look for are
Can I get manuals for discontinued equipment?
Is all the information that is available for new equipment available for discontinued equipment?
Has the manufacturer continued to make upgrades to discontinued equipment?
Has the manufacturer continued to supply parts for discontinued equipment?
Does the manufacturer have good support for equipment from companies they have acquired?
The manufacturer that has this information available gets my business because I know that down the road I will be able to count on them.
BTW Tom your support of this forum is exactly what I am talking about.
Thank you
No what he is saying is there is no incentive to have your regulator inspected or serviced annually if you buy it second hand. I understand Aqualung's desire to sell new regulators and the "Free Parts for Life" program both help and hinders that. BUT face facts as with any recreational equipment the second hand market is huge often it is filled with older barely used equipment from people that bought new and after a few dives quit diving and are now selling 5+ year old equipment with less that 100 dives (often a lot less) on it or from Divers upgrading. New divers often buy from the second hand market allowing them to get into the sport cheaper as they figure out just how much they will be diving in the future. If you allow the Free Parts for Life Program to the next owner then when that diver plans on upgrading to new equipment he will think Aqulung first because when he brought in his second hand reg for check out he will see a company that stands behind there products. The single most important criteria I use when I buy new equipment is how a manufacture supports old equipment. The first place I check is the support pages on a companies website.
The Answers I look for are
Can I get manuals for discontinued equipment?
Is all the information that is available for new equipment available for discontinued equipment?
Has the manufacturer continued to make upgrades to discontinued equipment?
Has the manufacturer continued to supply parts for discontinued equipment?
Does the manufacturer have good support for equipment from companies they have acquired?
The manufacturer that has this information available gets my business because I know that down the road I will be able to count on them.
BTW Tom your support of this forum is exactly what I am talking about.
Thank you
oldschoolto
Contributor
Tom...
I am diving a conshelf XIV supreme that you guys made in 1979.... Bought it as "NEW-OLD STOCK" 4 years ago... Never had a service kit in it... Flipped the seat last time I cleaned it two years ago... Breaths really nice and doesn't free flow... No IP creep.... It's had new o-rings on the hoses... I also dive a Aqua-Master from the early 70's...
The equipment that US divers / Aqua lung has made stood the test of time.... I would think that your company is very proud of that and find it funny that you would say that without yearly service the diver is risking his life.... Maybe you need to re-think the company's stance on service...
Jim...
I am diving a conshelf XIV supreme that you guys made in 1979.... Bought it as "NEW-OLD STOCK" 4 years ago... Never had a service kit in it... Flipped the seat last time I cleaned it two years ago... Breaths really nice and doesn't free flow... No IP creep.... It's had new o-rings on the hoses... I also dive a Aqua-Master from the early 70's...
The equipment that US divers / Aqua lung has made stood the test of time.... I would think that your company is very proud of that and find it funny that you would say that without yearly service the diver is risking his life.... Maybe you need to re-think the company's stance on service...
Jim...
Willar
Contributor
Due to a society that runs to lawyers who sue every possible time something "not right" happens, companies must protect themselves from product liability lawsuits. There are lawyers who are just drooling to find a case where they can sue for big money when something goes wrong. I call them "bloodsuckers" because they create nothing, only destroy things, and cause us all to spend huge money to protect ourselves (or to protect the company).
Unfortunately, that's the society we have. Aqualung must operate in a manner that protects them from predator lawyers. I fully understand their stance. If you don't service the reg according to their service recommendations, you take your chances. Just like driving your car without doing oil changes... you may get lucky and get many miles out of it, but don't blame them when it fails. Just remember, it's life support equipment, is it really worth taking a chance??? If you chose to service in some other way, then it's your responsibility. (Let the flaming begin.)
Unfortunately, that's the society we have. Aqualung must operate in a manner that protects them from predator lawyers. I fully understand their stance. If you don't service the reg according to their service recommendations, you take your chances. Just like driving your car without doing oil changes... you may get lucky and get many miles out of it, but don't blame them when it fails. Just remember, it's life support equipment, is it really worth taking a chance??? If you chose to service in some other way, then it's your responsibility. (Let the flaming begin.)
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