Remember that in the secondhand market the buyer normally doesn’t have much recourse if later he finds that the merchandise is defective.
4. As with a car, ask why the seller is selling.
5. Find out what generation of equipment it is. Does it include all the wrinkles of new models advertised.
6. Learn where you stand legally if you’re buying software with the used machine. Some companies may require you to register yourself as the new owner; software manuals or accompanying literature may have this information. If you’re on good terms with the software company, there’s more of a chance its people will answer questions. The company may require you to give the serial number of your disk before it will respond.
7. Call up commercial auctioneers and find out if they’re holding any auctions offering the equipment you’re interested in.
Don’t buy equipment at an auction unless you’ve been around the computer for a while or have a friend who can watch out for you. Very possibly you won’t get a chance to give a machine a good test. Don’t buy unless the price is low enough so you’ll still be okay even if you must spend 25 percent of the auction price on repairs.
8. Obviously you’ll want to consider a maintenance agreement with a local dealer or repair shop if you need the machine for your work. You may, of course, have to pay for an inspection.