New vs Secondhand

Hi

I'm getting an MPC soon (at last) and am considering going the secondhand / ebay route as it seems you can generally get a nicely expanded MPC for less secondhand than a new basic unit. My question is whether there are any particular areas to be wary of when buying secondhand, eg any weak spots that wear out on older machines ie display problems / pads wearing out etc.

I had a search around the forums before posting so apologies if this has been asked before and I missed it...


http://www.earthboundboy.co.uk

The displays can eventually go - costs a couple of hundred quid to fix apparently. I've had mine since the XL first came out and not had a problem yet.

SCSI port at the back can blow a fuse and not work - the fuse is not user replaceable (can take three monhs for a new one). Best to check it first.

Check to see if the advertised memory is all there (shift and 4, OPEN)

I don't advise buying anything without seeing it in the 'flesh'. Also this is a good way to know exaclty where the guy lives in case he does shaft you.

Sound on Sound is a good place to look.

Cool, thanks. I'll keep an eye on Sound on Sound (got my Ensoniq EPS that way actually) and probably give ebay a miss unless the seller is London or local.

Great site, btw. I've been reading the forums for a while now so I should be pretty clued up by the time I get my MPC.

Ditto...

I got mine on EBay in US and Shipped out to Australia... But It was only 3months old and like new...I made sure I asked the seller heaps of questions like "why are you selling?" "have you ever had any thing fixed?" "did you ever use it out of your studio?" I wouldn't have done it otherwise.... However, If you see a good deal (and lets face it you can get good deals on ebay) you might consider jumping on it!! But never ever buy off someone without 100% approval rating.... and atleast 10+ transactions...

I got burnt on Ebay because the deal sounded to good to be true, so be careful. Luckily since I paid thru PayPal They were able to get my money back. I bought the one I have now used from the Guitar Center in town. I pretty much knew what to look for not to mention they have extended warranties you can purchase for like $50 for 2 years. So it's just like buying a new one. Make sure you do a pad test before you purchase any used MPC.

-D. James