Used Elliptical Machines

Although a used elliptical machine might cost less than a brand new comparable model, what potential problems do you face when buying second hand exercise equipment? In today's world of rapid obsolescence... is it really worth saving a few dollars only to be stuck with yesterday's machine?

When this was written, a search on eBay for "used elliptical machine" under the Sports category revealed 4 items being sold.  The lowest price was $150 for a ProForm 485E machine and the most expensive was $1,699 for the Cybex 600A Elliptical ARC Training Gym Home Machine.

Repeating the search as "used elliptical" resulted in literally dozens of units ranging in price all the way up to $5,150 for the Precor 576i Elliptical Experience Series EFX 576e - and keep in mind this is for a used machine!

Precor is one of the best rated machines on the market, so it is possible that the buyer of this used system will get some residual time left on the product guarantee clock.

But, one of the biggest disadvantages of buying any used exercise equipment is that, if something goes wrong, more than likely you will be left holding the bag for the total cost of repair. Many times the warranty is not transferable... or it has already expired!

If the warranty issue is not important to you, then you might want to check out Craigslist. For example, I just checked out a nearby city and inputted the search for "elliptical" under the Sporting category and came up with 88 elliptical machines for sale... many of them simply saying "best offer".

More than likely, you can bargain down the price with this type of listing... especially if you have a truck and are willing to haul it away immediately. Plus, you should be able to hop on for a test run before committing yourself to the purchase.

Another good source for used elliptical machines is Amazon. The best search term seems to be "elliptical used" and the results are pretty good.  I even found one that listed the Precor EFX 5.23 Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer for $2,999 new and $1,999 used - in the same listing.  When you click through various links on the Amazon site you will find their limited "stand behind guarantee", as well as the rating of the seller.

Word of caution though... the seller ratings won't necessarily be for that type of specific item. In other words, the seller may have received a 97% approval rating, but was actually selling more books or small items rather than the odd elliptical machine. Nevertheless, the Amazon presentation is pretty trustworthy.

There are numerous elliptical machines reviews on the internet that focus on both new and used exercise equipment for the home. Many of them tackle the controversy between the benefits of elliptical versus treadmill workout sessions.

For example, the Schwinn, Nordic Track and Octane elliptical product lines are frequently compared with treadmills offered by Weslo, Landice and Heathrider. Typically, higher priced units come with a longer and more user friendly guarantee; therefore, buying a used elliptical machine from those product lines is more favorable.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you get what you pay for. Let's say you want to buy a new low cost elliptical trainer and you wind up getting the $250 budget model instead of the $1,950 unit. Low and behold, after a few workout sessions you notice there's a slight squeak in the gearing mechanism, which gets louder by the minute.

After awhile, the noise becomes so annoying it actually begins to affect your ability to get maximum results from your workout. You're convinced there's a defect somewhere, so you begin the process of contacting the "service department" to get it fixed. Weeks go by... maybe even months.

Finally, someone comes to your home to fix the problem, but it can't be fixed without dismantling the machine and sending the broken part back to the manufacturer. Well, you can probably guess the rest of the story. Maybe there's a happy ending... maybe not.

The point is... if this type of problem can happen with a brand new machine (and it certainly can), what kind of issues do you think you will face with a used elliptical machine?