Second Hand Coffee Machines and Refurbished Coffee Machines
[caldera_form id=”CF5ac47ca6f134b”]
Buying New vs Second Hand Coffee Machines
Coffee Machines (especially commercial and industrial ones) are unfortunately not cheap-There’s no other way to say it. You can expect to pay anywhere from R20,000 up to R110,000 for a brand new coffee machines as an alternative to buying new.
Buying a refurbished model comes with its dangers but it can sometimes be an excellent idea. We will try to highlight the aspects to be aware of as well as give some indications as to what second hand discounts you can expect to get.
There are three things to look out for before buying second-hand
1. Is the seller a reputable coffee machine dealer
2. Is there a guarantee offered and if so what guarantee
3. Age of the machine as well as number of cups made
Reputable Dealer
There are two ways to buy anything pre-owned or used; You can either buy a refurbished product from the current user or owner or you can buy the used item from a used dealer. The car industry serves as a good analogy for this. When buying a second hand car you can either buy the car from the cars current owner (Peter Smith) or you can buy the car from a second hand approved trader (BMW used cards division). The sale of coffee machines works the exact same way, where you can either buy from one of these two parties. You should always rather opt for a registered seller for coffee machine as coffee machine spare parts alone can add up to more than the new selling price of a machine. We have seen many people “caught” by almost working coffee machines and the new owners have had to put in a small fortune to get their machine working as it should. Buying from a registered seller often comes at a price but it usually is well worth it in the long run.
The other reason you want to buy a second hand coffee machine from a company whose trade is in coffee is because if your machine does require a service or spare part you don’t want to then only start looking for a place to service your machine or even worse find out that no spare parts are available to fix your machine.
Guarantee
When you buy a brand new coffee machine it is a given that you get a 1 year guarantee. When you buy a second hand unit you should try and get the same. It is probably even more pertinent to get a guarantee on a second hand coffee machine as a second hand unit is more likely to give problems, in a shorter space of them, then a brand new one (and again spare parts can be pricy). As a rule-of-thumb a 1 year guarantee should be standard.
Age of the Coffee Machine
The age of a coffee machine is assessed in two ways:
1. The number of years since it was sold new
2. The number of cups the coffee machine has made
Again, just as there is a difference between a car which is 5 years old and done 50,000km and a 5 year old car which has done 200,000km, so is there difference between coffee machines of identical age.
We would suggest prioritizing number of cups over actual age. The more cups a coffee machine has done, the closer it is to its retirement. The number of cups a coffee machine has done is often concealed by unscrupulous sellers as a way to get rid of old stock and make a deal look better than it is.
The actual age in years of a coffee machine, is still an important consideration however as the older it is the sooner a new model with brand new features will be released. Commercial and automatic coffee machines release models every 3 or so years so if you buy a coffee machine which is 2.5 years old you could be missing out on a brand new model launch in just 6 months time.
Prices of second hand/refurbished coffee machines:
There is no set pricing on second hand coffee machines like there is in the car market and prices can range greatly depending on guarantees and the age of the coffee machine but as a rule-of-thumb you can expect to get a discount of 30% off the normal selling price of a brand new coffee machine for a second hand machine in good condition.
For refurbs which are in “poor condition” which is any machine which is over 5 years old or done in excess of 100,000 cups, the cost should be around half the normal selling price.
Second Hand Coffee Machines and Refurbished Coffee Machines Verdict
Buying a second hand coffee machine can sometimes be a great money saver and sometimes a big money sucker. The decision whether to buy a second hand unit or go for a new one depends on what you are more comfortable with and what the application is. Some people love that feeling of new whereas others are content with a cheaper unit as long as it works and isn’t too close to its retirement age. Bearing in mind that the average life-span of an automatic coffee machine is around 4-8 years depending on brand, a 30% discount for a machine in good working order can be a great deal.
Just always be mindful of getting too good a deal as with everything : If it sounds like too good a deal to be true, it probably is.
