Bought a $700 concrete vibrator from a guy on Craigslist and it died on the second pour
Two years back I picked up a used pencil vibrator off Craigslist from a guy up in Kent. He told me it was only used on a few jobs and ran great. Gave him $700 cash in a gas station lot. It worked fine on one footing pour. Then on the next one the motor started smoking and the head just froze up. Took it to a repair place and the guy told me the bearings were shot and the windings were burnt, said it wasn't worth fixing. So I was out $700 plus $60 for the look and I still had to finish that pour by hand with a spud bar and a mallet. My old vibrating head from 2009 that I paid $400 for brand new still runs. Here is my question for you all: is buying used concrete gear ever worth it, or should a guy just wait and buy new? Half of me says you get burned every time, and the other half says there is good stuff out there if you know what to look at. What do you guys check before you hand over cash?