Coaches often struggle with decisions such as what workouts are most beneficial or which athletes should sit where to make their top boat go as fast as it can, but rarely do they think about equipment until it breaks. This is particularly true of the Cox Box. These trusty round soldiers go in and out of the boathouse multiple times a day, doing their job, sometimes getting a little finicky if they’ve had a long time since their last checkup, until finally they give up and stop working. Now the Coach or equipment manager is faced with the question, “should I buy a new Cox Box or should I invest in having this old one repaired one more time?” To help our customers make an informed decision, we analyzed our repair database to give you some solid figures. The math is pretty clear: if your Cox Box is six or more years old, or has already one battery replacement, it makes more sense to upgrade to a new style Cox Box than to sink more money into the old one.
Anyone who has sent in a metal can style Cox Box knows that the cost to open and clean the unit and replace the battery is $145. The cost to replace the battery and repair damaged connections and parts is $245 (about half the price of the Cox Box itself). However, even if we repair failed parts, many others are still the original equipment with hours of use and even abuse. Although we give the unit a full functional check after repair, there’s no way we can guarantee that a part that wasn’t replaced won’t fail a few months later.
An analysis of Cox Boxes returned to NK in the last year showed that the majority of Cox Boxes we repaired were six to seven years old. Most of these units were on their second trip through our shop (with steady use, sealed can Cox Box batteries provide three to four years of full capacity performance.) Many of these repairs also included a P5 and a BNC replacement, putting them at the $245 level. Many customers considered a trade-in at this point, but opted for the repair in the belief that it was the more cost-effective approach. Further analysis shows that this decision may not adequately account for the financial benefits of upgrading to the new style Cox Box.
One of our major goals with the new Cox Box was to minimize the scheduled or expected maintenance, and to maximize the years of use with no trips back to the NK shop. The user-replaceable batteries allow you to just buy a new battery pack after a few years of hard use, and the durable P2 microphone connector reduces maintenance and repairs on the Cox Box and the microphone. And remember, when you trade up to a new Cox Box, you get a brand-new two-year warranty on the entire unit. So, we compared the total cost of ownership over fourteen years of doing that second repair versus moving up sooner to a new Cox Box:
| Scenario 1: Repair Original Cox Box Twice, then Trade In |
| Year |
Action |
Cost |
Warranty |
| 0 |
Purchase CB & Microphone |
$ 498 |
2 |
| 3 |
Replace CB Battery |
$ 145 |
|
| 6 |
Replace Microphone |
$ 99 |
|
| 6 |
Replace CB Battery and Repair |
$ 245 |
|
| 8 |
Trade In CB & Mic on New Style CB & Mic |
$ 502 |
2 |
| 11 |
Purchase new Battery Pack |
$ 125 |
|
| 14 |
Residual Value (Trade-in) |
$ (126) |
|
|
TOTAL COST / YEARS OF WARRANTY |
$ 1,488 |
4 |
| Scenario 2: Repair Original Cox Box Once, Then Trade In |
| Year |
Action |
Cost |
Warranty |
| 0 |
Purchase CB & Microphone |
$ 498 |
2 |
| 3 |
Replace CB Battery |
$ 145 |
|
| 6 |
Trade In CB & Mic on New Style CB & Mic |
$ 502 |
2 |
| 9 |
Purchase new Battery Pack |
$ 125 |
|
| 12 |
Trade In CB & Mic on New CB & Mic |
$ 491 |
2 |
| 14 |
Residual Value (2/3 unit, 1/3 battery) |
$ (208) |
|
|
TOTAL COST / YEARS OF WARRANTY |
$ 1,553 |
6 |
|
Cost Difference |
$ 65 |
|
As you can see, the total cost differs less than the cost of one unisuit or a few box lunches. Plus, you’ve enjoyed two more years of warranty coverage and the benefits of the new Cox Box including longer battery life, battery status indicator, ability to swap to a back-up battery, rubber bumper protection, lighter weight and full buoyancy.
While we cannot guarantee that every Cox Box will experience exactly the same life-cycle as we have outlined above, this represents the most common scenario we see with Cox Box units in typical two to three season use. We hope this illustration is helpful next time your club or school is facing the “trade-in or fix” question.
(Note also that the typical life span cost of a Cox Box and microphone is only about $100 a year for hours and hours of use.)