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What's New > June 2010 Articles
Things To Check Before You Purchase Used Equipment printer friendly viewprinter friendly  

 

Things To Check Before You Purchase Used Equipment
 
Here are things to consider before buying used equipment to make the correct purchasing decision. You don't want to buy another person's problems and headaches. Today more than ever we must spend our money wisely.
 
Verify the age of the machine you are considering:
 
One of the first things we suggest you do is verify the age of the machine you are looking to purchase. This can easily be done by obtaining the serial number from the seller and contacting the original manufacturer or distributor to find out the date of manufacture.
 
Are replacement parts still readily available for this model?
 
This is a very important question to ask prior to making the decision to buy. You cannot predict when a part will fail. When it does, you need to be assured you can still get a replacement part quickly and get your machine back up and running with minimal down time. With older equipment, parts may no longer be stocked and must be manufactured to order, resulting in long lead times and higher costs. Some parts may not be available at all.
 
You also need to be concerned with what kind of electrical controls are on the used folder or other equipment. Due to changes in technology, many older electrical components such as circuit boards and motors are getting very difficult to obtain or to get repaired. Even if they are still available, it may take a long time to get one and be very costly.
 
What happens six months or a year after you've bought this used machine if you can no longer repair it? It now has become an expensive piece of scrap metal.
 
Is Tech Support still available on this Model?
 
A manufacturer or distributor may have discontinued offering any kind of technical support on many of the older model machines. It can be very frustrating and costly to find out that there is no support on the product and you have no answers to your questions or help to resolve your problem. This could interrupt getting a customer's job out in time. How many accounts can you afford to lose before the bargain is no longer a bargain?
 
Make sure the machine can handle today's work:
 
You should also take into consideration what improvements have been made since the model you are looking at was manufactured. Newer equipment is much more user friendly and normally requires a lower skill and experience level to operate than older equipment.
 
When talking with the manufacturer, ask them about what improvements have been made since that model was built and then you can decide if the improvements are significant enough to either look for a later model used machine or purchase a new machine.
 
If this is an older piece of equipment it may not be able to handle the type work being run today. For example it was perfectly normal on older floor model folders to be built with steel fold rolls and at the time they were built they ran quality work. Today with the change in paper and the how the job is printed, most jobs won't run on steel rolls. Today you need the extra grip and control afforded by the combination urethane/steel fold rolls.
 
What is the operator skill level for this machine?
 
You need to evaluate the experience and knowledge of the individuals who will be running this machine. Older machines are much more difficult to set up and run than newer machines. If you are purchasing an older model floor-model folder and you do not have an experienced operator to run it, you may be creating a big problem for yourself.
 
Try to see the machine run before you commit to the purchase if at all possible:
 
If it is feasible for you to travel to the machine location, ask the seller if you can see the machine run prior to purchase. If this isn't possible, ask if you can at least see the equipment to verify it is all there. If major components such as fold plates or stackers are missing or damaged it may be impossible to obtain replacements, or the cost may be more that what you will pay for the machine to begin with.
 
Make sure all guarding and safety devises are on the machine and in working order:
 
When purchasing used equipment, you do not want to compromise the safety of your operators so be sure there are no missing guards or non-functional safety devices.
 
You should also consider the improvements that have been incorporated into the newer designs affecting the safety of the operator. This .includes improved guarding of the fold rolls and other safety issues. Also, on some of the older machines there was nothing to prevent the machine starting up on its own after a power outage.
 
Make sure you are buying from a reputable seller:
 
If you are purchasing from a dealer, try to find out what kind of reputation they have. Is the dealer offering this used machil1e for sale located in your area, or is he' out of state? Ask them who will correct any problems or resolve any issues when you receive the equipment.
 
Who will install the equipment?
 
Has the person doing the installation been trained by the manufacturer on this model? If a machine is not properly installed it is not going to run quality work. You also have the risk of having premature failure of major components if the machine hasn't been leveled and gauged to factory specifications.
 
What happens after the sale?
 
Is there any kind of warranty? If you need to buy new fold rolls or do a rebuild before you can use the equipment, this may not be the bargain you think it is.
 
Who will provide service on the machine after the installation when it is required?
 
You also need to consider the cost of maintenance. The newer designs require less maintenance and require less service than the older models.
 
If after you have checked these things out and everything still looks good, then you may have truly found yourself a bargain.
 

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