When will they get it right ?

[Completely Average]

where did KIA wind up on the list?
mike

Kia is an average car maker with an exceptional warranty.

Mercedes is an average car maker with an exceptional price. You're definitely NOT going to find Mercedes at the top of any reliability rankings. You'll find the far cheaper Toyota at the top of that list.

I paid about $50-60 (some less) for almost every small appliance in my home and they are still serving duty 3-4 years later (or more!) Microwave, coffee maker, NOAA weather radio, blender, iron, toaster, electric can opener, clock radio.

And that relates to ecig mods how exactly?

And $50 for a can opener is still more than twice as much as a Vamo costs. I'm not saying you need to spend $500 on a Vicious Ant Variant to get a good mod, but you should expect to pay $50-$100 if you're wanting one that works well and lasts for at least a couple of years.

And you'll excuse me if I doubt your claim on some of those items. A microwave for less than $60? It's either the tiniest, lowest power, no-name brand microwave on the market or you're not being entirely truthful here. A Rival brand .7 cu foot, 700W microwave costs $50 at Walmart. That's not even large enough to fit a full sized dinner plate in it.

I didn't even pay that much for my hot water heater for goodness sake. It's been going for 7
years now. Flawlessly. Ditto, my washing machine. Dehumidifier, etc.

I can name a whole ton of stuff I didn't pay that much for. I'm not saying that everyone should buy one, I certainly don't have one and I wouldn't buy one unless I won the lottery and had money to throw away. But in general you do get what you pay for. If you pay rock bottom prices you should expect the lowest quality, least reliable products on the market. If you spend twice as much you should expect something that is MUCH better built and far more reliable. But like everything else it's not a linear progression. The law of diminishing returns applies as well. $70-$100 will get you a higher quality mod that should last for years without a problem. $200+ will only get you slightly better reliability and quality compared to the $100 mods. $500 will only give you a tiny improvement over the $200-$300 mods. There are mods that cost over $1,000, but they're really not measurably better than the $500 mods.

The point is, the Vamo is a sub $25 mod. $10 cheaper than an iStick 30W which absolutely is disposable. When the iStick 30W battery dies you throw the mod away, it's not replaceable. When the Vamo dies you also throw it away. It's $10 cheaper than a mod that is designed to be thrown away when the battery dies.

As for warranties, not sure in an industry that is changing as fast as this one that I would "pay" high dollar for warranties. They may very well be out of business in 5 years. Provape has a lifetime warranty on Provape-1.....hope they have a warehouse with some because I suspect if your provape-1 goes belly up, you will get a regular provari for a replacement, since they no longer sell provape-1.

And this is a very stable and long lived vendor. Just sayin......

So even Provari has realized that a lifetime warranty is unsustainable and that ALL mods will eventually fail. But as far as Vicious Ant goes, with their profit margin I don't see them going anywhere anytime soon. The Variant Titanium is their most expensive product, but they have a large line of products and have already been around for several years. These are the guys that introduced the Cyclone RDA, Kraken RTA, and Valkyrie hybrid mod.

 

[Completely Average]

So you want me to pay 20x more for a longer warranty.. Why wouldn't I just save some money and buy a new Vamo everytime they break. Sorry there is just no way to justify spending $500 on a Battery case. 5 year warranty or not.

No, I said quite clearly that a Vamo should be considered a disposable mod. You buy it expecting to have to replace it. If you're thinking it's going to be durable and reliable for years then you're deluding yourself.

There are a few exceptions. I'm sure there are a handful of Vamo owners who have mods that are more than a year old, but I can assure you that for every one of them there are hundreds who have thrown theirs in the trash after just a few months as well.

 

[hurricanegirl100]

I have a Vamo V3 that I don't use that often anymore, but it works fine. I've had it for three years. Then there's my IPV 30 watt that's been working perfectly for almost a year and my Coolfire IV that's only a couple of months old, but no problem there, either.

I agree that a lot of the longevity of a mod is up to the owner. Clean the threads out a couple of times a week or so, don't drop the thing onto concrete, stuff like that. But, on the other side of that, I've never spent more than $50 on any mod I own (including my mechs) so (other than my mechs!) I don't expect them to last forever. IMHO, if I get a full year out of a $50 mod (or less!), I got what I paid for.

Besides, have you seen the price of a carton of Marlboro's lately?

I was buying a carton of Marlboro Menthols + 2-3 packs every two weeks, when I smoked. October will be four years I've been a non-smoker....for less than the price of ONE carton of cigarettes, I get a mod that lasts at least nine months, usually longer!

 

[crxess]

My microwave has averaged out to $30 over the 20yrs. I have owned it and it is large enough to cook a huge Turkey.

Still don't get the point of comparing Apples to Sour Kraut.

Some know how to use and some can well abuse. that makes the BIG difference.
Some of my cheaper tools are over 40yrs and still perform well.

 

[skoony]

Kia is an average car maker with an exceptional warranty.

Mercedes is an average car maker with an exceptional price. You're definitely NOT going to find Mercedes at the top of any reliability rankings. You'll find the far cheaper Toyota at the top of that list.

you sir are full of it.
a Mercedes is leaps and bounds above a KIA.
to imply otherwise by comparing like quality cars
against a Mercedes is the same as ANTZ quantifying
there bogus science compared to good science.
you are not going to buy a new Mercedes at a new
KIA price.
i stand by what i say.
there is a distinct group of vapers that will use any
excuse possible as a reason to trash anyone they
perceive that actually makes a profit.
in the old days we called them cheap.
regards
mike

 

[AndriaD]

All I know is... if I had a Mercedes budget... I'd buy a BMW.

Andria

 

[Baditude]

So you want me to pay 20x more for a longer warranty.. Why wouldn't I just save some money and buy a new Vamo everytime they break. Sorry there is just no way to justify spending $500 on a Battery case. 5 year warranty or not.

I'll agree with you, $500 seems too pricey for any mod, long warranty or not.

For cost vs value, my sweet spot is in the intermediate range. A Provari is reasonably affordable ($100) for most people, with a 1 year warranty. An optional extra year on top of that for an additional $25. I don't know anyone who was able to take advantange of that extra warranty, because Provari's rarely break down; I wouldn't recommend the extra warranty.

Provape will repair your Provari for life even after warranty. Post warranty repair costs are quite reasonable, and in most cases only take a week.

Standard Post-Warranty Service Repair Costs for a Provari
Replace Window and screws- $10.00
Replace Circuit Board - $65.00
Upgrade to V2 - $20.00
Replace plastic pushbutton - $5.00
Repairs to the circuit board - $25.00
Cleaning - $20.00
Replace top cap - $15.00
Broken Cartomizer Service - $10.00
Return shipping within the USA - $5.00
​

It all boils down to how you want to spend your money. Myself, I got tired of replacing my cheaper mods every six months and got a Provari. I don't baby it in any way, and its lasted over three years. If your philosophy is to buy cheaper mods and replace them with another, that's your choice.