Refurbished Lowrance Elite 7 Chirp - Worth it or Not?

[prescott_anthony]

Hey guys,
Thinking about buying a factory refurbished Elite 7 Chirp. I am having some reservations so I was wondering if anyone may be able to give me some advice. Should I chance a refurbished device or just go with a new one? What do you guys think?

 

[ondarvr]

Kind of depends on the price.

 

[prescott_anthony]

ondarvr http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lowrance-El...062480?hash=item2cb586aa10:g:i5MAAOSwB09YM4Vg

$369.99

 

[ondarvr]

But is that a significant discount?

 

[prescott_anthony]

About $180 difference. What do you think? Thank you for your responses BTW.

 

[ondarvr]

does that include the transducer?

 

[prescott_anthony]

3/200+455/800KHz transom mount transducer included.

 

[ondarvr]

Warranty and help have been terrible in the past for Lowrance, I've heard it's improved a bit though. Some people won't buy their products due to product issues and little to no support. I have a Lowrance unit and it works well for what it is.

 

[ondarvr]

Those units go on sale frequently for that price, but I see most places show they're out of stock, are they being discontinued?

 

[prescott_anthony]

ondarvr not sure. Saw it from a seller on Ebay (link above) and I think they had like 9 of them in stock.

 

[gm280]

My take on "refurbished units". IF, and that is a big IF, the unit was refurbished via the manufacturer, then I have zero issues using them and here is why. If a unit was not working properly and therefore send back to the manufacturer under their warranty, the factory then goes through a total check out to determine what was the initial problem. And then it gets direct attention that assembly line units may never get. I gets a total checkouted unit that new units may never see. And if there is anything wrong, it gets fixed and tested. So unless it is factory refurbished, I won't mess with any refurbished item. Certainly not a "seller refurbished unit". I only trust my own checkout ordeals, not everyonne else's. JMHO

 

[ondarvr]

The warranty I saw on the refurbished unit was 90 days, one year for new.

 

[ondarvr]

Lowrance manuals are terrible, they tell you almost nothing about the unit or how to use it, the first time I used mine I wanted my money back, it took several trips and watching YouTube videos to understand it a little better and begin to like it. Menus are confusing, not easy to navigate or understand exactly what to do to get the desired result, if you can get through that part of it they work fairly well.

I was looking at buying one of those units at one time, but my plans changed.

 

[prescott_anthony]

ondarvr You've got me seriously thinking about a Hummingbird Helix model

 

[prescott_anthony]

gm280 Thank you for the response and information. I believe these units were factory refurbished. Based on what ondarvr has said I am also looking at Hummingbirds which seem to pack some good technology for a relatively good price.

 

[bruceb58]

I have a lowrance and have has good luck with it although it is not the most intuitive menu out there. The last fish finder I bought was a Garmin for my pontoonand they are much better. When I replace the Lowrance in my Wellcraft, it will be a Garmin.

 

[prescott_anthony]

bruceb58 Thank you for the response! I will give Garmin a look as well

 

[dingbat]

Menus are confusing, not easy to navigate

Exactly why I have no interest in anything but Furuno and Koden sounders. I'll take buttons and knobs over menus in a heart beat.