From: RWolf99@aol.com
Message-ID: <42.11f58fd4.27dfcfd4@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 14:32:36 EST
Subject: Re: Garmin Boycott
To: lancair.list@olsusa.com
Reply-To: lancair.list@olsusa.com
Mime-Version: 1.0

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In a message dated 3/13/01 2:07:09 PM EST, Hamid Wasti writes:

<< What if you feel that the reason you had to spend $1,000 in support is 
because of lousy documentation on their part? (The assumed too much knowledge 
on your part)  How would you be feeling, if after spending $3,000 for 
support, things were no better? >>

Hamid -

In these two cases I would have paid the same whether I paid it directly to 
Garmin or to my local avionics shop.  So these arguments are invalid.

Having said that, I think the best solution for all -- us as builders and 
Garmin as suppliers -- is to work out an arrangement with an "approved shop" 
so that the "professional expertise" that you claim we are lacking comes from 
that shop.  When we run into difficulty -- maybe at the end when we power it 
up and it doesn't work, but hopefully before -- we bother the local avionics 
tech (presumably trained either by Garmin or by trial-and-error from his 
previous installation experience) and Garmin incurs no costs.  If the local 
shop is really that much better than us (certainly true in my case but maybe 
not in Curtis' case as he is a former avionics technician) then everyone goes 
home happy.  We get a properly installed product, Garmin has a happy 
customer, and we save some bucks which may be a key factor in buying this 
gazillion dollar jewel in the first place.

The key here is "installed under the supervision of an approved shop" versus 
"installed by an approved shop".  I'd have no problems with such a 
requirement.  If I'm really good, I do the whole job myself and present it to 
the shop with it working properly.  They then sign it off to activate my 
warrantee.  If I bollix the installation, they fix it and any damage that 
results is paid for by me.  (In such a case, I'd want the local shop to run a 
functional check on the unit on their bench before I power it up the first 
time.)

We can probably set up such an arrangement without Garmin knowing about it, 
but it would help if they sanctioned such an arrangement.  Hell, I've got 
more money invested in my Lycoming engine and THEY don't care if I install it 
myself.....

- Rob Wolf
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