Does Garmin have a trade-in program?

Garmin watch owners have a very common query about Garmin’s trade-in program. Does Garmin offer a trade-in program for smartwatches? No, Garmin does not offer any trade-in program for smartwatches.

The trade-in program is not available on its website. You could talk to the Garmin customer support team or write an email to them with your questions or offers regarding the special offers that Garmin offers from time to time. Garmin does offer smartwatches on time-limited special deals.

As of 26th November 2023, we can see that Garmin is offering discount pricing to coincide with the ‘Black Friday’ sales. Check the special offers on Garmin’s website.

Venu 3, Vivoactive 5, Forerunner 265, and Forerunner 965 are on a discount of up to $50.
Instinct 2 series standard and Crossover editions are available at a discount of up to $100.
Fenix 7 series and Enduro 2 series smartwatches carry a discount of up to $200.
Epix series is available at a discount of up to $300.

These prices may not last for many days or weeks. If you have been on the fence with any of these watches, it may be the best time to get these.

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Trade-in for Garmin smartwatches

The general trade-in offers are limited to the same watch series that you have. So, if you have a Vivoactive 4 smartwatch, your trade-in will be limited to buying a new smartwatch in the Vivoactive series of Garmin smartwatches. If you have a Fenix 6 watch, your trade-in offers will be limited to buying a new Fenix 6 or the latest model of Fenix series watches. In most cases, you can get a discount of 20 percent on the list price of the smartwatch as part of the trade-in program for the Garmin smartwatches. But, officially, Garmin does not offer any such trade-in. You may, however, get lucky if you run into a special price offering from Garmin. This may save you anywhere between 5 to 30 percent on the list price of the smartwatch you want.

Some folks have been asking us about a trade-in program for Fenix 6 for a Fenix 7. Does Garmin take Fenix 6 and offer Fenix 7 at a discounted price? Well, Garmin does not have any trade-in program that would allow you to exchange your Fenix 6 for a Fenix 7 at a discounted rate. Your best bet is to try and sell the old Fenix 6 on your own. There are quite a few people who would be happy to get a used Fenix 6 watch for some discounts. Buy the Fenix 7 using one of the discount or rebate coupons to make the most of it.

Does Garmin have battery replacements for watches?

In most cases, the battery on Garmin smartwatches has an extended life. As and when your battery starts losing charge, it may be time for you to get the batteries replaced on your smartwatch. There are multiple options for you when it comes to replacing the battery of a Garmin smartwatch that is out of warranty. If you are under warranty, you can simply request Garmin to provide a replacement watch or battery as part of the warranty terms.

The steps below are for Garmin watch owners who have watches that are out of warranty.

1. The best option, in our opinion, is to contact the Garmin customer support team. Share the device information in terms of the model, and the serial number of the watch. Seek a response in terms of the replacement of the battery on the smartwatch. In most cases, the support team may be able to offer you a refurbished smartwatch model of the same watch series.

If you are lucky, you may get the refurbished watch model without any incremental costs as part of a trade-in against your existing watch model. Or, you may have to pay a small amount as a differential fee for the refurbished model. Before you can get the refurbished model from the company, you will need to send in your watch back to the company. The entire process may take a week time before you get the refurbished model back from the company.

2. Third-party repairs – You may take your Garmin watch to a watch technician for third-party repair service. The watch technician should be able to replace the battery of your Garmin watch. And, this may also be a cost-friendlier option. Still, we do not suggest that a Garmin watch should be repaired by a third-party watch service provider or a watch technician.

The challenge with third-party repair services is that there is a high likelihood of the waterproofing on the watch getting damaged. If you use a Sapphire solar series, there is a further downside risk of the coating getting damaged due to poor or irresponsible handling. It is simply not worth getting any Garmin watch parts repaired through a third-party service because of the associated risks involved. If your watch is dated and you are unable to get anything out of Garmin for the battery replacement, you may look for third-party services as a last resort to getting the watch working again.

For a watch worth $600 or more, it is always better to plan a service period of one week. And, it is much recommended to only work with Garmin’s support team. Even for the Vivoactive and Venu 2 series smartwatches, we suggest using Garmin’s support channel for battery replacement.

You will find that in most cases, Garmin customer support walks the extra mile to keep you happy. There is no reason to believe that they will let you down for a few bucks because the revenue model of the company is not based on getting exorbitant repair costs out of the pocket of their customers.

Garmin for Blue Cross Blue Shield Customers

Blue Cross Blue Shield customers are entitled to special discounts while buying a new Garmin smartwatch. You can get a flat discount of 20 to 25 percent over the published retail price of the Garmin smartwatches through the Blue365 website. There are multiple categories on the Blue Cross Blue Shield rewards website. You will need to check the appropriate category for getting discounts on your new Garmin purchase.

1. https://www.blue365deals.com/offers/garmin-20-s – this page is for the fitness category watches. You could choose from multiple watch models on the page to get a new Garmin fitness category smartwatch. The fitness watches that are entitled to discounts on the BLUE365 website include:

Venu Sq
Lily
Fenix 6S
Forerunner 245
Forerunner 245M
Forerunner 745
Forerunner 45
Forerunner 45S
vívomove HR

The Fenix 7 and Epix series smartwatches are unavailable through the Blue365 website.

An alternate approach to buying a Fenix series smartwatch at discounted pricing is through Amazon’s Prime Day Specials. You may have to track the Amazon site for special sales such as the Prime Day Sales or the Black Friday Specials. You could end up saving up to 30 percent off the published retail price of the Fenix smartwatch range of watches.

With the Blue Cross Blue Shield site, you get a flat discount of 20 to 25 percent all through the year.

Garmin Fenix 6 to Fenix 7 trade-in program?

We have been asked multiple times about the availability of a trade-in program for the Fenix 6 to Fenix 7 exchange. We can confirm that there is no such exchange program or trade-in program that will allow you to exchange your Fenix 6 with a Fenix 7 smartwatch. That leaves you with the only option to sell your Fenix 6. You could sell your Fenix 6 watch on a store like eBay. You could also consider having a look at Swappa for selling your used Fenix 6 smartwatch. On average, a working condition Fenix 6 smartwatch may end up getting sold for close to $350.

You could also consider giving your Fenix 6 to a family member and buying a new Fenix 7 for your own use. It all boils down to the money you are willing to spend.

Summary

Garmin watches do have a decent trade-in program for new watches. Battery replacement and screen replacement on Garmin watches should be handled through Garmin’s customer support team. And, before buying a new Garmin smartwatch, check the Blue365 site for eligibility and discounts for specific watch models from Garmin.

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Helen Kurt

Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].