Assessing Quality of Used Appliances

You don't have to buy everything brand new out of the box. Some appliances are far too expensive--overpriced for hype, especially if the appliance is already popular as it hits stores for the first time--and do not provide the right value to the home for what you'd pay. Getting used or refurbished appliances is a great idea, but it's important to know what to look out for when buying from different vendors. Here are a few inspection points beyond basic cleanliness to make sure you're getting a good buy.

What Features Are Available?

Aside from the appliance falling apart completely, the worst thing that could happen to your used purchase is a lack of function. Your appliance may be able to perform a lot of different jobs that you simply won't get to when trying it out for the first time.

This is why commercials and product demos are so important. You need to know everything that a device is able to do in order to make sure that your used appliance is working properly. If a feature is missing, you need to be asking for discounts and looking up ways to get the malfunction fixed--which could be an even better discount.

Using stand mixers as an example, there are multiple functions to the standard whisking action. The high-end mixers have multiple speeds, but they also have multiple attachments that should be able to spin without noticeable problem. Every shape may have a different spin balancing, and you may discover that one of the attachments is broken. The base may also have problems, as heavily-used stand mixers with rotating bowl mounts may scrap against the gnarled plastic and lead to further damage.

How Much Are Repairs?

You may walk away from the more problematic used appliances, but they're amazing haggling opportunities if you have patience and the ability to repair or find someone who can repair for less than the total product cost.

When buying used appliances for parts only, be sure to look at the current market value and pay yourself for your time. If you enjoy tinkering, by all means spend all the time you want. If this appliance needs to be saving more time around the home or turning food into great product at a restaurant, keep in mind that the time you're wasting on repairs is time better spent on other parts of the business or doing other household chores.

There are repair professionals who can handle the repairs, but there are times when getting a working, used appliance is just cheaper. To see a selection of working used, as well as broken appliances for parts only, contact a used appliance professional. For more information, contact a business such as Preferred Appliance.