Used Treadmills – How To Buy A Secondhand Treadmill
If you have done any kind of research at all into buying a new treadmill, then you will probably have already realised that your dream machine is probably going to put quite a sizeable dent in your wallet. Those high 3 – 4 figure price tags can be pretty off-putting but before you decide to shelve your exercise goals for another year, consider buying a used treadmill from a private seller or a refurbished shop floor model instead. Secondhand treadmills can often be a great bargain as people buy them and lose interest fast, meaning you can pick up a barely used treadmill machine at a fraction of the new price.
Of course, shopping the used treadmill market is not without its pitfalls, so you’ll need to shop smart as well as cheap. Your search on the second user market should obviously be for a nearly new treadmill rather than a worn out old machine, regardless of the price. You want to look for an unwanted, barely used condition treadmill rather than a much loved running machine which has been pounded on for several years, no matter how cheap the price might be!
A good place to start looking for secondhand treadmills online is either on ebay, or craigslist or any of your other favourite source of private classified ads placement. Shopping through local ads is probably better as in most cases, the cost of shipping something that bulky around the country will help kill off any bargain price you may have found although, you can get lucky and find someone selling locally or willing to deliver on ebay as well.
The main disadvantage with purchasing a used treadmill is that you need to ensure you are indeed getting a bargain and not a machine with a list of repairs which need to be done now or in the near future. The original warrantee will probably not transfer to you as the new owner which means any future repairs will be solely your responsibilty which can easily eat up any money saved through purchasing a pre-owned treadmill in the first place.
As you are probably not a treadmill expert, the best way to avoid buying a problem machine is to look for a slightly used treadmill in the higher quality bracket rather than opting for a used machine from the cheap and mid-range price brackets. High quality used treadmills are more durable and should, by rights, have less issues if you find a lightly used machine than cheaper machines.
If you get to see the machine you are thinking of purchasing in person then there are a couple of areas you can look at which will give you an idea of how much use the treadmill has received over its lifetime. Firstly, look at the running deck as this is the clearest indicator of use. If it looks well worn, then the chances are it has been put through its paces and you might want to consider looking elsewhere. Try the machine out and make sure it feels right to you. If the action is jerky, or has a feel you do not like then again, regardless of the bargain price, look elsewhere.
In all cases, you should make sure to ask the seller questions you feel are relevant to your purchasing decision. Ask them how old the machine is, how much use it has had, whether it has had any repairs or replacement parts and generally whether there are any issues with the machine which you, as the potential future owner, should know about. This applies to purchasing a used treadmill both online and offline. If you choose to buy online, then asking a lot of questions from the seller is an absolute must.
