Is a Fitness Equipment Diagnosis Truly Worth It? (2024 Update)
Check out our video covering why a diagnosis is worth it!
When a fitness machine breaks down, many people think they know exactly what’s wrong. Maybe they’ve seen the problem before, maybe a previous company gave them a part number, or maybe they Googled it and found a likely culprit. Whatever the source, they’re ready to skip the diagnosis and go straight to repairs.
And on the surface, that might seem like a great way to save time and money.
But here’s the problem: it’s often wrong and being wrong gets expensive.
2023: The Case for Diagnostics
More than half of those installs failed to resolve the issue on the first try.
Multiple parts shipments were often required.
In many cases, customers ended up paying more than they would have if they’d simply started with a professional diagnostic visit.
That data formed the backbone of the original version of this article, which we published on August 7, 2023. Our goal? Help customers avoid unnecessary costs and delays by showing the real-world impact of skipping step one.
In 2024, we continued tracking and here’s what we found:
2024 | Number of Undiagnosed Parts Install Jobs | Number of machines that required Essential parts after undiagnosed install | Number of machines that required Recommended parts after undiagnosed install | Percentage of machines that required Essential or Recommended parts after undiagnosed install | Percentage of machines that required Essential parts after undiagnosed install |
January | 7 | 2 | 2 | 57% | 29% |
February | 9 | 2 | 5 | 78% | 22% |
March | 8 | 5 | 0 | 63% | 63% |
April | 9 | 3 | 1 | 44% | 33% |
May | 8 | 5 | 2 | 88% | 63% |
June | 4 | 1 | 1 | 50% | 25% |
July | 10 | 3 | 3 | 60% | 30% |
August | 11 | 4 | 1 | 45% | 36% |
September | 6 | 0 | 1 | 17% | 0% |
October | 6 | 3 | 0 | 50% | 50% |
November | 7 | 2 | 0 | 29% | 29% |
December | 18 | 5 | 2 | 39% | 28% |
Cumulative | 103 | 35 | 18 | 51% | 34% |
These numbers reinforce what we already knew: skipping diagnostics leads to errors more than half the time.
But then something unexpected happened.
Our Article Changed Behavior
From January through July 2024, the failure rate for self-diagnosed part installs was sitting at 64%, almost a carbon copy of the previous year.
But after this article was published on August 7, that number dropped to 38% for the remainder of the year.
Failure rate of skipping diagnostics in 2024 dropped significantly after August 7 article release
We can’t say with 100% certainty that this article was the reason, but the timing is hard to ignore. It seems that many customers, once shown the data and the real cost of guesswork, made smarter decisions moving forward. Naturally, we’re thrilled about that.
Diagnostics Aren’t Just About the Problem — They’re About the Process
Some people think a diagnosis is just an extra charge, a way for service companies to make a few extra bucks. But the truth is, a proper diagnosis is what saves you:
Saves you from buying the wrong part.
Saves you from multiple repair visits.
Saves you from having your machine out of service for weeks.
And in most cases, it’s a small upfront investment that prevents much larger downstream costs.
Still not convinced? Ask about our reciprocal agreement with Fitness Factory, they’ll give you a store credit toward the MSRP of a new machine purchase equal to your diagnosis charge. You can’t lose!
The Takeaway
You wouldn’t let a mechanic replace half your engine without checking the codes. You wouldn’t want a surgeon to start cutting based on a guess. The same logic applies here.
If your fitness equipment isn’t working right, the fastest, cheapest, and smartest path to a solution almost always starts with a proper diagnosis.
We’ve now got two years of hard data, and one clear message:
Don’t guess. Diagnose.