Thoughts on purchase of unused, long-discontinued BCD?

[tursiops]

There was likely 100% markup on that BCD, so selling it at 60% he still makes a profit; at 50% he'd break even.
It is NOT a good price for plastic that has been in storage.

 

[Litefoot]

What is the price of peace of mind; especially with scuba gear? Pay less and worry about your safety or buy new and dive with confidence. That’s how I would look at it.

 

[34109411]

Hello!

For the past few years I've been diving a Mares Hybrid size XL BCD and it has served me well. It had always been on the bigger size and, after dropping 10kg in the last couple of years, it's now clearly a size too large for me.

This particular model was discontinued by Mares quite a few years ago but I've managed to find a brand-new unit that's been in storage for 10 years but has never been used and is the size I need. The seller used to own an online scuba store that shut down a while ago and he has been selling gear privately for the past few years. He's wants 245€ for it.

Do you reckon it's a good deal? Should I be concerned about maintenance? Ten years in storage is a long time ... If I bite the bullet, would you advise having it serviced by a Mares dealer? I'm thinking O-rings must have hardened and perhaps become brittle over the years, that sort of thing ...

I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter and many thanks in advance.

i have a tigullio T52 that i bought in 2005 it s stay on the shelves for 12 years. Last year my local dive shope swap a couple of part with generic one. No problems at all.

 

[emoreira]

I've seen this already too many times. A brand new BCD stored for years in the dive shop, sold at a bargain price.
After a few dives, flanges pop out broken as if they were fine glass. The cordura is pristine, the general BCD is pristine, but all 3 flanges came out as glass.
Also, a few days ago came a customer with a brand new Mares Syncro Power that was sitting in a dive shop for years, never wet. Pristine at sight, but it could not keep air. As result of the first inspection, the bladder was completelly delaminated. The urettane seals (to seal the stiches) was reduced to small plastic pieces.

Even free, the amount needed to restore to service could be high for a BCD that is old.

The customer that sent me the Mares Syncro Power BCD left it to me for spares.
As it has never seen water, I decided to give it a chance, instead of scrapping it.
I cut the stiches and separate the original bladder. With a minimun force all the 4 flanges broke away as glass.
I've bought an inflatable INTEX seat with a horseshoe form, removed the seat part and the handles, made 4 holes and installed 4 3D printed flanges that fit in the 4 holes left by the original flanges.
I've also installed 2 N° 8 tooth zippers to put inside the new bladder.
The total cost of the repair was way too high for an old BCD, but many of the materials, 3D prints and labor was mine. Attached some pics.
Can I sell this repair work to a Custemer ? Definetely no.

 

[emoreira]

Continued.

 

[emoreira]

Continued. The last two are the Intex pics published in Internet of the inflatable seat.
The bladder is way bigger than the space in the BCD to avoid overpressure.

 

[Wobbegong_th]

I was diving quite frequently way back as I was part-time Instructor. However, about 10-15 years ago, I'd dived less often due to day work commitment. My BCD was about 5yrs old at that time and was kept in storage box for maybe 6-7 months. When i brought it out to prepare for upcoming trip, I'd found brittle & leakage around the 3 flanges (inflator connection to bladder, Right shoulder dumpvalve, bottom-rear dump valve.
That was for sitting in storage for about 6-7 months. Imaging what 10yrs can do...

 

[happy-diver]

depends on the bc