Machinery dealers

Anybody has had any experiences with the big used machine dealers? They are all over eBay, like YoderMachinery, MikeKandu, Sterling Machinery etc. One thing I don't find too helpful is that they give their machines a half-ass paint job and bump the price up. It makes it look like they want to hide something. Am I wrong? Anyody has made business with any of them before?

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Obviously, lots of people buy stuff from them all the time, or they would not stay in business.
But they tend to mainly sell to companies that want convenience, and are willing to pay more for it.
You can always find better prices, if you have lots of time, by searching for individual sellers.

Some companies are better than others.

The kinds of times when it makes sense to buy from a big dealer like this is when you need a specific machine, NOW, and are willing to pay more for getting it.
For instance, close to 20 years ago, I had a job where I had a deadline, and I needed a 48" x 12 gage finger brake by the end of the month. Where I live, they come up used maybe once a year, if you are lucky, so I bought a used Chicago D&K, sight unseen, from a dealer in Houston, and had it shipped. I am still using it daily, all these years later, and dont regret for a minute that, if I had spent a lot of time looking over a period of six months or so, I could have saved a few hundred bucks. It paid for itself in a month on that job.

But when you order from Yoder, or Sterling, you will be paying top dollar.
Sterling, I know, finances locally- and thats a big selling point in So-Cal, where there are fewer and fewer used tools, and the manufacturing economy is booming, so there is a lot of demand. The same way people lard on an extra 20 grand in finance and interest on a $40,000 pickup, they do for press brakes and lathes from Sterling.

On a big purchase, you are probably going to want to fly over and inspect in person anyway.

I purchased one (1) machine from Yoder out of Toledo, Ohio. If you are good at negotiating, you can get the machine for 50% off of their asking price. It was not repainted. I had them send photos of the machine, then I went to their warehouse to inspect the machine. They were OK to deal with, but had lots of equipment, tooling, etc. stacked on top of each other.

I mainly deal with a smaller used equipment dealer, Mauldin Machinery, out of Jacksonville, Arkansas. The prices are fair and they are very helpful. Inventory is smaller than Yoder's, but the quality of the machines is much better. They also have a large assortment of secondary fixturing, cutting tools, and tool holders. The Owner is very helpful and will assist in finding a machine if he doesn't have one in stock. I highly recommend using Mauldin Machinery. To date, I have purchased three (3) machines thru them.

When shopping for machines, I am always a bit leary of a fresh paint job. A. I wonder how bad it must have looked that seller felt it needed a new paint job. B. How much extra am I paying for paint.

That said, from time to time I sell a machine or two. More than a few times a machine with a worn but ok original paint job will sit for months without a nibble, slap a coat of paint on it, jack the price up, and I could sell 10 of them, go figure?

I have bought 2 machines shipped with just a few photos or video. I have driven 150 miles for inspections.

I like asking for a video of I can't visit the machine and ask for very specific things. Such as I bought an Ironworker and asked for 1/2" x 8 to 12 be cut in the shear and the put a square on it. The company did it perfectly and didn't do anything stupid like move off camera during the video, or something like cutting aluminum. This helps with weeding out who I can sorta trust with a good purchase.

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For new CNC machines I like Japan Machine Tool out of Houston, TX. For new/used manual machines I like N&R Machine Sales in Navasota, Tx. The company I work for recently got a good deal on a HBM through an auction website. It really depends on how much time and money you want to spend on finding the perfect machine for your application. The company I work for is located in Florida and we just purchased a used machine through a broker from a machine shop in Vancouver. And it wasn't cheap however the payoff was worth it in the end for our application. A fresh paint job is almost always part of the deal. You must know what to look for to get the good deal and don't buy without actually looking at the machine personally and running it through its gears and feeds. This might cost you a plane ticket and a hotel stay but worth it in the end.

dalmatiangirl61 said:

When shopping for machines, I am always a bit leary of a fresh paint job. A. I wonder how bad it must have looked that seller felt it needed a new paint job. B. How much extra am I paying for paint.

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Me too, I assume the worst as I'm denied a significant indicator of the life it's had. The world must really be full of idiots as dealers must think the time to paint worthwhile and leading to a high sale price. Then again, present company excluded, many I've encountered aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer (there is the odd notable exception). I see a machine with the crap dealer paint job, I just keep looking.

I'd also never buy a machine over something like ebay sight unseen (unless at a heavy discount), but lots do.

The dealer that most impressed me was CNC Associates in Kennebunk, Maine. Went there to look at a couple of used turning centers and noticed the edit function wasn't working on one; they replaced the board and made sure it worked before shipping it. During a tour of their facility I saw an older turning center being refurbished. It was like new except for the usual worn places around door handles. I mentioned something about that and the guy (Chris Andrews) said, "We never paint. We only clean."

Thank you guys for taking time to answer and suggest new places. Aside from ebay where the big dealers advertise it has been hard for me to find a larger variety of sellers. When I return to America will take time to visit a few of them and check their inventory. Thanks again!

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