Crashed Inspire 1 - worth getting a repair quote?

[BigSteel]

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this already, but anyway...

I was too busy admiring the beautiful fall foliage early this morning, and with the 45mm on the X5R, ended up too close to those tall spindly things with the colourful leaves that are a cause of woe for many.

Seems pretty busted... shattered 3 of my 4 carbon fibre props, popped the whole front piece off the 45mm, snapped the X5R vibration dampener/mount under the drone, bent and broke the gimbal (nooooo! I was really hoping the X5R would have made it! I love the image from it), broke the left rear arm, a couple of the landing gear pistons, and probably a few other bits and bobs here and there.

I'm thinking I'll write DJI here just to see what they say (I'm in South Korea, and when I asked about new TB48 batteries a few months ago they had them right on had and were quite helpful!), but I'm assuming this ain't worth bothering about. I've got an extra set of props, the Osmo handle and batteries, 2 good new TB48s, PolarPro ND filters, the 15mm DJI lens, and this n' that. I'll likely just sell what I can and try not to shed too many tears over the fact that happened literally hours before the Mavic 3 announcement.

Just thought I'd check here for any input first.

Cheers

 

[IronSky1]

I crashed mine almost identical 3 years ago 690 from DJI repair was worth it then . Now not sure

 

[niki]

X5R is very capable camera, while on paper Mavic 3 cine have the same camera as bitrate and sensor size there is no way to shoot on it what the 45mm can do. You can use the zoom camera but there is no prores for it.

 

[BigSteel]

Thanks IronSky, niki.
I shot DJI an email, so we'll see what they say.
I bought the X5R, SSD, DJI 15mm lens, and the Osmo handle used for about 1200 USD, so even if the drone is repairable, I can't really imagine there's a cost effective or worthwhile way to get another X5R in 2021. Any money would likely be better spent going towards a used Inspire 2 or Mavic 3. (Or Inspire 2 and Mavic Air 2s?? That's an interesting idea. I feel like you could get both (the Inspire 2 used) for about the price of the Mavic 3 Cine).

 

[niki]

I was thinking could the X5R arm be 3d printed? If there are no damaged motors and wires on the gimbal this could be a way to revive it.
If you are not after RAW video, MA2S is pretty good and cheap option.

 

[JeffB2002]

I have a whole Inspire 1 set of parts. If you are up to fixing it yourself, let me know and we can see about the parts.

 

[BigSteel]

Hey thanks for that, Jeff.
I talked to DJI on the phone last night - they called from China (I'm in South Korea). Apparently, since it's an Inspire, it needs to be set off to to their flagship store there to be inspected.
I was able to get a rough idea of the component costs via their website, and it seems like it's at least worth sending off. I'll get a price from them and a component list, and then make the decision If there are some parts that seem like I could do them myself, I'll give you a shout. Thanks again.

 

[BigSteel]

So I've got a working Inspire 1 again!

I was actually really impressed with DJI's service (minus one fairly major thing that I'll get to in a sec!). I sent the drone and my busted X5R gimbal off to their Honk Kong store, after which I believe it was passed on to their main China store.

Once they got their hands on it it was logged into the system quickly, and I got a quote within two days of them receiving it. When I paid (on a Thursday or Friday, I think), I wasn't expecting any more action until the following week. I was therefore surprised to get an email on Saturday afternoon that it had been sent back via FedEx.
The cost of repairing the drone was 170 USD (item list and costs attached below), and the cost for the gimbal was 344 USD (attached).
I was pretty happy with the costs of the repairs, as the pricing list I had been sent by a support rep earlier had me pegging the repairs at about twice that much.
With free shipping back, I couldn't complain, especially with a unit that hasn't had any kind of warranty for years.

It was getting it back into the country that was a pain. Because it's so old, there was no way to register it and send it in via DJI's website. I talked with someone who emailed me directly with instructions, and took it from there. When it was coming back through customs here in Korea, there were no papers to verify that it was indeed the exact same unit, merely with repairs, and not something else. This went back and forth for a couple weeks, and I was in Canada for a month and just returned recently, but got it sorted in the meantime. I ended up paying just over 100,000 KRW (less than 100 USD), and it presumably would have been a little less had they had the proper documentation.

Anyway, that's that. Have only had one chance to fly it, briefly, and it seems to be dancing around more than it used to (although it was a bit breezy). And that's after an IMU and compass calibration. I'm also back on the stock props after my carbon ones where smooshed in the crash. I'll have to take a better look But maybe I'm just used to how amazingly steady the Mini 2 is after flying it for a few weeks in Canada!

 

[R.Perry]

One of the companies I contract to had similar accident, drone dropped from about eighty feet. DJI repaired if for a little under a thousand dollars. The thing about having DJI do the repairs is they also evaluate the entire drone and make sure all damage is repaired. So my recommendation is to send it in and at least see what is needed.

 

[BigSteel]

Yup, done and done, Perry.
That's also a reason why I wanted to send it in - to see how much it would be and also to have DJI make sure everything was ship shape.
So with shipping to HK on my dime, getting the drone itself and X5R fixed, and then the customs fee upon arrival cost me a total of about 680 USD.
I'm getting some drifting while flying now, though, so I'm trying to sort that out!