yourmomm
Registered
hi. Ok i need advice.
My trusty suunto stinger has been worn everyday as a watch, and dived about 250 dives for the years i have owned it from new (yes, i know its an old watch!). Never skipped a beat. Always washed in plain, unpressured, water (no soap) after every dive, and always serviced/battery changed at suunto authorised service centres. Only thing i had was stainless steel strap failure, forcefully sorted by replacing with elastomer (which has lasted 5 years without any signs of failing, unlike the newer suuntos!).
However, the battery was dying again, so i took it in to the local dealer for a change. It came back clearly malfunctioning (flashing ascent warning, mode button unresponsive, looked like a locked error mode). I refused to take it back (although they did try to give it to me, and charge me for the battery change!). I then get a call from the dealer saying its stuffed, and that this is a normal wear and tear issue, and that i will have to pay for a replacement computer.
I kicked up a stink, as, although this is an old watch, and we cant expect anything to last forever nowadays it seems (although why a computer should EVER fail in the absence of water ingress is beyond me....), it seemed suspiciousness to me that the failure occurred whilst it was under someone elsess care, when it had never shown any problems or warning signs whilst under mine.
I was always told the reason to get an authorised service centre to (eg) change battery, rather than do it yourself, was that, if it went wrong, they would see you right....well, this has gone wrong, and they are saying its a normal wear and tear issue....is this right? I dont want to be unreasonable, so would appreciate balanced opinions from others....
Many thanks
Ryan
My trusty suunto stinger has been worn everyday as a watch, and dived about 250 dives for the years i have owned it from new (yes, i know its an old watch!). Never skipped a beat. Always washed in plain, unpressured, water (no soap) after every dive, and always serviced/battery changed at suunto authorised service centres. Only thing i had was stainless steel strap failure, forcefully sorted by replacing with elastomer (which has lasted 5 years without any signs of failing, unlike the newer suuntos!).
However, the battery was dying again, so i took it in to the local dealer for a change. It came back clearly malfunctioning (flashing ascent warning, mode button unresponsive, looked like a locked error mode). I refused to take it back (although they did try to give it to me, and charge me for the battery change!). I then get a call from the dealer saying its stuffed, and that this is a normal wear and tear issue, and that i will have to pay for a replacement computer.
I kicked up a stink, as, although this is an old watch, and we cant expect anything to last forever nowadays it seems (although why a computer should EVER fail in the absence of water ingress is beyond me....), it seemed suspiciousness to me that the failure occurred whilst it was under someone elsess care, when it had never shown any problems or warning signs whilst under mine.
I was always told the reason to get an authorised service centre to (eg) change battery, rather than do it yourself, was that, if it went wrong, they would see you right....well, this has gone wrong, and they are saying its a normal wear and tear issue....is this right? I dont want to be unreasonable, so would appreciate balanced opinions from others....
Many thanks
Ryan
