Used vs new gear

[BuzzGA]

I bought my regs used and they work great. I keep up with the annual service and have had no problems. My wife has all new gear and I've used her rig once and my older stuff breaths just as well

[Daddy Diver]

You have to think in terms of annual cost. A new reg with free parts for life might be a lot cheaper in the long run if the parts pack runs 50 bucks or so I know I just spent alomost 90 dollars to have a simple older bullet proof reg reservice (Aqua Lung Conshelf XIV). So my bargain 35 dollar reg really cost me $125, and will proabbaly cost me 25/year in parts.

Conversly the new Dacor Trainer I just bought from Scuba Toys, will cost me nothing in parts and only 50/year to service. So the conshelf is going on ebay as is my other aqualung reg wich has no parts warranty either (I lost the recipt somewhere). It was almost cheaper for me to just buy a new reg set up (another Dacor trainer pro) than to have it serviced. Add in the money I'll get selling it on ebay and I'm saving money now and every year after.

[ReefHound]

Originally Posted by Daddy Diver

You have to think in terms of annual cost. A new reg with free parts for life might be a lot cheaper in the long run if the parts pack runs 50 bucks or so I know I just spent alomost 90 dollars to have a simple older bullet proof reg reservice (Aqua Lung Conshelf XIV). So my bargain 35 dollar reg really cost me $125, and will proabbaly cost me 25/year in parts.

True, but you must get your reg serviced annually to maintain that warranty. Some of us believe in service "as needed" rather than set time intervals. If buying used, the key is to avoid those brands with high parts kit costs.

[COJeff]

I just bought a used reg on Craigslist, and took it right to the LDS to have it inspected/fixed. $50 for the reg, $70 for the work, $30-40 for parts. I'm hoping it's worth it in the long run, but we'll see.

[mitsuguy]

it definitely depends on how good of a deal you get... I got lucky and bought a pair of Tusa RS460 regs (I had been looking at the RS130's, but came across these used)

Just an example:

RS460
SS10 Octo
Mares SPG
I paid $250, got a receipt like it was purchased new, and it had been used about 6 months is all...I've since dove with it on about 25 dives with no issues, and plan on having it rebuilt end of summer... New, even at Scubatoys prices, it would have cost a little over $500

I also got a second RS460/Mares console for $150, a value of about $460, and it had only been on a dozen or so dives when purchased - it has since been used about a dozen dives since purchased with no issues - I'll probably have it rebuilt end of the year...

I basically got $960 worth of gear for $400 - it would take a lot of services to equate to that $560 savings...

[BouzoukiJoe]

Everyone dives with used gear.

The real question is whether you'd rather dive with your own used gear versus someone else's used gear. With your own used gear you know the service history and you probably had some sort of initial warranty to protect you from getting bad merchandise. When you buy someone else's used gear you have more unknowns and probably no warranty of any kind.

Since you are asking this question I will assume that you are not an expert at evealuating dive gear, so it would be prudent to have someone check out any used gear that you buy.

[Geoff_T]

Originally Posted by BouzoukiJoe

Everyone dives with used gear.

The real question is whether you'd rather dive with your own used gear versus someone else's used gear. With your own used gear you know the service history and you probably had some sort of initial warranty to protect you from getting bad merchandise. When you buy someone else's used gear you have more unknowns and probably no warranty of any kind.

Since you are asking this question I will assume that you are not an expert at evealuating dive gear, so it would be prudent to have someone check out any used gear that you buy.

I take the same stance I do when buying a 20k camera. Used is no problem but I want to have it inspected by a trusted tecnition first. If it is in good condition I will buy if not than no deal. Now as for smaller items like support equiptment flags and the like than I would probialy buy first and just eat the cost if it did not work out for me.

[Crimediver]

I replace parts as needed. I have Conshelfs that have worked fine with nothing other than a mouthpiece replaced going strong that are over 20 years old. I have got conshelf rebuild kits for as cheap as 10 bucks and done the work myself. I downloaded manuals and made whatever tools were needed. I have bought 50 buck Conshelf Supremes used and maybe spent a couple bucks for an exhaust diaphram once every 5 years or so. Prorated I might have 10-15 dollars a year tied up in the reg and service. Something goes wrong I replace it or tweak it.

[pyrotech]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that the biggest depreciation in used gear would be with dive computers. We all know what a 3-4 year old PC is worth (not much), and this seems like an area where advances are occurring faster than with mechanical components. Also, w/o a personal decomp chamber, how do you test one (or even repair it)?

[mitsuguy]

Not a whole lot changes from year to year with dive computers though... There is very little difference between my old atmos 2 and the new xr2... That being said, I only lost shipping charges on the veo180 I sold - although it was only 6 months old roughly, and my atmos 2, I only lost $20 when I sold it on ebay, and it was a year old... I suppose it depends on how good of a deal you got it when new...