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What's it worth to you? Online v. Local Electronics
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Random Quote: If you haven't run aground, you haven't been around...
Pete, just realize it is very possible to buy grey market items here in the US, sometimes from very large suppliers. These units aren't shipped from US distributors, and they don't come with US warranties.
Yours did, and you got a great deal. But if it had been purchased in Taiwan, and bulk shipped to an internet only sales site in Ohio, then Garmin may very well have said we will help you on the phone, but can't provide warranty support for your unit.
It's happened before. Many, many, times before.
Again, a little off the marine beat, but the problem gerg refers to was and still is a HUGE problem in the optics/photo/high buck camera business. Gray market merchandise is everywhere, and the North American branches of Canon, Nikon, Olympus, etc. are only too happy to slap down any warranty requests immediately.
it boils down to this. You will pay more when you buy from a local outfit that has trained NMEA/ABYC/GMDSS people on staff. Period. You pay for that expertise, and if the company is a solid outfit, they will stand behind their work. Keep in mind that not all electronics were created equally, and there are parts that are defective out there. There's nothing worse than trying to chase down a problem after you perform an installation, whether you are a professional or if you did it on your own boat. Does the risk outweigh the reward? It depends on how lucky you are. However, defective units aside, when you do buy from a local who knows what they're doing, you're basically buying yourself a little peace of mind knowing that whatever problems you may run into, whether it's user interface related, proper software, etc. you have a phone number to call and someone to fix it. That being said, there's nothing wrong with buying equipment online if you know what you're doing and are willing to wire it up on your own as long as you're ready to sweat, itch, and bleed.
it boils down to this. You will pay more when you buy from a local outfit that has trained NMEA/ABYC/GMDSS people on staff. Period. You pay for that expertise, and if the company is a solid outfit, they will stand behind their work. Keep in mind that not all electronics were created equally, and there are parts that are defective out there. There's nothing worse than trying to chase down a problem after you perform an installation, whether you are a professional or if you did it on your own boat. Does the risk outweigh the reward? It depends on how lucky you are. However, defective units aside, when you do buy from a local who knows what they're doing, you're basically buying yourself a little peace of mind knowing that whatever problems you may run into, whether it's user interface related, proper software, etc. you have a phone number to call and someone to fix it. That being said, there's nothing wrong with buying equipment online if you know what you're doing and are willing to wire it up on your own as long as you're ready to sweat, itch, and bleed.
never better written....amen - it's all about choice
I've heard enough bad repair stories from Charleston Marine that would keep me from ever going there.
After being turned down for service by one very well known area dealer because I didn't buy the boat from them (I moved here from MD) and an unsatisfactory service experience at a marina on the Ashley River that's an "authorized" Volvo service center, I took my previous boat to Charleston Marine for service. I was able to make an appointment, take it in in the morning, and pick it up that evening. They even waited for me to get there.
Everything was done as requested and the price was fair.
Based on my experience, I would recommend them. There is a local fishing forum for Charleston and Chris (the owner) is highly thought of on that forum.
After they [needlessly] replaced the head gaskets on my friends i/o when the real problem was rusted out risers...I'll try somewhere else. I've heard others that had rebuild issues that I can only imagine didn't need a rebuild.
The local guys around here ... west marine ... have insane prices. If I were in the market for new electronics I would look no further than Jim at boemarine.
Something has been puzzling me for a while quite along these lines. It has to do with manufacturing batches. Let's look at Navico HDS units. When the first manufacturing batch hit the market, there was some serious water issues with some models which created negative responses from John Q. In the second manufactured batch these water intrusion problems were addressed and corrected, creating positive response and more interest by John Q.
Here's my quandary. If the first manufactured batch was 100,000 units, of which they sold 40,000, of which 80% had the water problem, it's understandable that somewhere there is 60,000 units from this first batch that are un-sold. While the better, second manufactured batch, is now flooding the market and getting rave response from John Q, what is Navico doing with the remaining 60,000 from the first batch?
Question to GlennE or Jim.....When this type of situation occurs, does the Manufacturer put out a recall of the known BAD batch from it's retailers? Do you guys have the option of swapping for the second batch?
I know I'm probably looking way too far into something I don't understand, but is their an answer?
Edd
__________________ If you didn't get a Border Collie, you shoulda just got a CAT!
any bad units still in tulsa when the intrusion was discovered went right back to mexico to get sorted out. Navico made good to the Big Three distributors on their current stock and swapped what was left of the bad batch, but the numbers aren't nearly what you describe, Navico had serious stock problems that hindered the number of units out in the field before those displays were deemed no good. similar the HX850S situation last year, but Standard handled it much more gracefully.
