Is there anyone who bought a used commercial grade treadmill from a health club or similar? I really like the one in my gym (I think its a lifefitness something), but brand new its like $5-6k. If anyone has any experience with buying one, please let me know.
I’ve got a similar one, although I bought from a private seller. My only issues with it are the power requirements. If I run my plasma TV and the treadmill over 10MPh, the 15A breaker will blow. So make sure you have adequate power. A lot of gym treadmills (here in the US) are 220V as well, so check that also. I would also check the mileage on the unit.
I looked into it a couple of years ago when our health club was trading out a few treadmills for newer units.
They were asking a minimum bid of 5 or 6 hundred, I believe, which seemed a good deal.
I called the factory service rep (I had their business card) and, he basically told me it’s like buying a used car.
Depending on the mileage, you may get a lot more use out of it, or you could end up spending a ton on fixing it, particularly the drums.
And without disassembling the unit you’re buying, you can’t know the condition of the drums.
In my case, there was no guarantee as to which one I was bidding on, it was an open process, highest bidder got first pick, so I didn’t bid.
I know that’s vague, but I think that must be my point.
It’s a crap shoot, unless your club has some sort of service record they keep for each individual unit (unlikely, but possible)
Is there anyone who bought a used commercial grade treadmill from a health club or similar? I really like the one in my gym (I think its a lifefitness something), but brand new its like $5-6k. If anyone has any experience with buying one, please let me know.
I took this approach about 10 years ago. The treadmill is a beast (Trackmaster) without any of the fancy programming or automated stuff. The health club I bought it from was in a small down in Wisconsin, so it didn’t get used as heavily as it would have in a busy gym.
Some of the wire connections seem to be coming loose now, but it was well worth it.
The biggest hassle was getting it home and into the basement. It wasn’t meant to be portable and weighs more than a clothes washer. Make sure you have help and beer to pay them.
I bought one at an auction when the gym went into windup. As it happens I got a high end commercial grade that should last ten years. I only found this out once I had to get the keyboard replaced by a treadmill tech. So perhaps my $1000 investment in a $7000 machine would be worth the call to several treadmill tech for feedback of common issues and what to “run” away from.
Due diligence…