Hello guys,
I am the new one here, I've been following the PM's forums for a couple of years but I didn't register until about a week ago. This is my very first post but I believe it may become a bit unpopular, I've just never seen this question objectively addressed.
When you are in the market for a lathe or mill, grinder etc. on a determined price range you normally have two main options: purchasing a used good ol' american machine or a new import. I absolutely understand the love for an older beautifully built machine, but there are many things to take into consideration when you want to make business with one. Reliability and ease to find parts are sometimes as important as the precision of the machine itself.
I see many people referring to import machines as 'cheap chinese crap' and yes the finish could be largely improved and it won't last you 70 years like a pacemaker would, but you can actually plan based on the projected lifetime of an import and run your business accordingly. New imports would normally carry a 3-year warranty and some have very good customer support and availability of parts at a decent price. Not to mention that asset depreciation would make your life easier taxwise when you are starting up.
Bottomline, I consider downtime to be my biggest enemy. And I hate to say it, but I've seen more old Mustangs stranded on the side of the road than I've seen 5-year old Hyundais.
How do you justify purchasing old American Iron over a new import? Appreciate your input guys, and please don't hate me.
Thanks!
Luis
I am the new one here, I've been following the PM's forums for a couple of years but I didn't register until about a week ago. This is my very first post but I believe it may become a bit unpopular, I've just never seen this question objectively addressed.
When you are in the market for a lathe or mill, grinder etc. on a determined price range you normally have two main options: purchasing a used good ol' american machine or a new import. I absolutely understand the love for an older beautifully built machine, but there are many things to take into consideration when you want to make business with one. Reliability and ease to find parts are sometimes as important as the precision of the machine itself.
I see many people referring to import machines as 'cheap chinese crap' and yes the finish could be largely improved and it won't last you 70 years like a pacemaker would, but you can actually plan based on the projected lifetime of an import and run your business accordingly. New imports would normally carry a 3-year warranty and some have very good customer support and availability of parts at a decent price. Not to mention that asset depreciation would make your life easier taxwise when you are starting up.
Bottomline, I consider downtime to be my biggest enemy. And I hate to say it, but I've seen more old Mustangs stranded on the side of the road than I've seen 5-year old Hyundais.
How do you justify purchasing old American Iron over a new import? Appreciate your input guys, and please don't hate me.
Thanks!
Luis