To buy or not to buy a used fish finder

[vet03]

Thinking about buying a fish finder and found a good deal on a used one but I have reservations.

1. I won’t know it’s working properly until after I actually use it in the water for the first time. Not really trying to have a person hang around while I install it to check it out. Plus, it’s “never been opened”. Since that’s being made a selling point I doubt that’s an option.

2. It’s never been opened so the seller doesn’t know if it works properly either.

3. I’d have no recourse if something is wrong. I’d just be out of a couple of hundred dollars bc I was trying to save 100. Manufacturers warranty is only 12 months.

Is buying a used fish finder that I have not seen in action worth the risk? What do you guys think? What are your experiences?


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[mchottie]

If it's new/sealed, i'd think you would have some re-course with the manufacturer if it's never been opened.

Generally Humminbird/Lowrance/Garmin stand by their products, is it one of the big three, or a different manufacturer?

[vet03]

To buy or not to buy a used fish finder

Big 3. Not sure on the purchase date so the warranty may or may not be in play.


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[bluefishnc]

Other issue you might encounter is "how old is it". This past season I had a pin corrode out in my Lowrance Elite DSI 5. I had a heck of a time finding a replacement power cord at a reasonable price. Something that should cost 25 or so bucks was 70+. Lowrance had stopped supporting that pin configuration so I was left to the aftermarket. Just another issue you may encounter if the system is old. It might work fine to start but can you get parts cheap if it doesn't???

[J.A. Veil]

Used electronics offer some risk, but if the selling price is sufficiently low, it may be worth the gamble. Last winter I purchased a used FF/GPS with side and down scan capability from a Snaggedline member. He explained before the sale that the unit had gotten wet -- he was not sure if it would work. He connected it to a battery, and it fired up. I bought it from him at a very favorable price as an upgrade for the unit on my center console.

My boat was in winter storage until May. At that time, I wired the power cable and ran the transducer cable from the stern to the console. Everything looked great while sitting in my garage. On my first outing, the new unit gave excellent GPS mapping and tracking, but I got no signal at all for sonar, side scan, or down scan. Initially I thought the transducer and/or cable was faulty and purchased a brand new transducer and cable. The screen unit would not recognize the transducer and still would not produce any depth signals.

I had several frustrating weeks trying to troubleshoot the problem, and never could do so. My solution was to leave my old unit on the console along with the new unit. The old unit runs full screen on sonar, and the new unit runs full screen on GPS. Had I paid a large sum for the unit, I would be disappointed. But the seller knew their was some uncertainty in the unit's condition. He fully acknowledged some potential for a problem, and concomitantly offered an attractive price. Now that I am over my frustration, I am happy to have dual screens to get larger views in both mapping and sonar.

[vet03]

Used electronics offer some risk, but if the selling price is sufficiently low, it may be worth the gamble. Last winter I purchased a used FF/GPS with side and down scan capability from a Snaggedline member. He explained before the sale that the unit had gotten wet -- he was not sure if it would work. He connected it to a battery, and it fired up. I bought it from him at a very favorable price as an upgrade for the unit on my center console.

My boat was in winter storage until May. At that time, I wired the power cable and ran the transducer cable from the stern to the console. Everything looked great while sitting in my garage. On my first outing, the new unit gave excellent GPS mapping and tracking, but I got no signal at all for sonar, side scan, or down scan. Initially I thought the transducer and/or cable was faulty and purchased a brand new transducer and cable. The screen unit would not recognize the transducer and still would not produce any depth signals.

I had several frustrating weeks trying to troubleshoot the problem, and never could do so. My solution was to leave my old unit on the console along with the new unit. The old unit runs full screen on sonar, and the new unit runs full screen on GPS. Had I paid a large sum for the unit, I would be disappointed. But the seller knew their was some uncertainty in the unit's condition. He fully acknowledged some potential for a problem, and concomitantly offered an attractive price. Now that I am over my frustration, I am happy to have dual screens to get larger views in both mapping and sonar.

Glad to hear you’re at piece with your purchase. Think I’m going to just spend a little more and buy new. Maybe I’ll catch a sale. Thanks for the input from everyone that responded.


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[Memory Maker]

Buy it using PayPal. You will get your money back if it doesn’t work. Also, buy it from someone that you know or on a board like this because they would be more likely to take it back. I buy a ton of used stuff and never had a problem that I didn’t get my money back.

[Bayvalley1]

Why can't you hook it to a battery and drop the transducer in the water to test it.