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Important Treadmill Buying FactsDec 30 '03 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Sport and Outdoor
The Bottom Line Read treadmilldoctor.com and go forth and haggle on a new treadmill from a speciality fitness store (NOT Sears Walmart, etc)!
Other reviewers have already covered the difference between the Sears/Walmart type treadmills (which are almost all made by the same company regardless of brand name) and those found at specialty fitness stores, and I won't repeat that. To make a long story short, the quality is much higher at the specialty stores. Models at the higher price end in the department store model lines (i.e. the high end proform, reebok and nordictrack) are a paticularly bad deal because you can buy a treadmill of established quality from a speciality store for $1500 or less. If you must go with a department store brand, some are better then others, and some may even be the best value in their price class (as there are not many specialty store models in the under $1000 range). See Treadmilldoctor.com for the best treadmill reviews I've seen. When looking at other review sites, keep in mind that many are "fronts" for manufacturers -- despicable, but true. Consumerguide, consumersearch, runner's world and Consumer Reports have objective reviews, but if you read em all you'll come back to treadmill doctor I think. KEEP IN MIND that as models are beeing phased out, the proforms, reeboks, and other similar brands get discounted AS MUCH AS 50% off. If you want one of these brands, this is the way to go. Another small advantage to buying one of the deartment store brands is that the secondary market on Ebay is great for these brands -- if you buy one at a substantial discount, you may not take much of a loss if you resell in a year. You might take a bigger hit reselling a less known (but better) brand from a specialty fitness store. Because the secondary market for department store mills is so lively, it looks v. hard to get a good deal on one of these on Ebay. The lack of a warranty on used mills in general, and used department store brands in particular,is another key issue -- while most of the department brands have mini-warranties when new (as little as 30 days) compared to the lengthy warranties of better brands (as much as 10 years or even lifetime), the department store treadmill warranty can generally be extended several years for a reasonable cost. Once you've decided on going the fitness store route and checked out treadmilldoctor.com, the first thing you have to realize is that at the specialty fitness stores treadmills are usually bought and sold like cars, mattresses and other high haggle items. Ugghh!! You go in you'll see a "sale" sign and a price several hundred off the list. (If you don't see a sale sign, thats probably a bad sign like the car dealer who starts at full sticker price.) The "sale" price is then just the starting point for negotiations. OK you say, I am internet savvy, I can check what I should pay and haggle. Unfortunately, it isn't quite that easy. Treadmilldoctor.com is not helpful here. Moreover, many of the major specialty fitness store models restrict their retailers to selling treadmills to people that live nearby. Also, there seems to be a reluctance to post the best price on the net -- most say to call for best price, and then they won't give it to you if you don't live nearby. What worked for me was indicating that I had read the treadmill doctor's reviews and had several models in mind (all sold at different stores) and was able to argue that if "you don't give me a better discount I'll buy model X" from Y other store. I got a $2999 model for $2145 including shipping and full set-up. Don't worry -- you can get one that the treadmilldoctor really likes for *much* less. For example, look to pay 1600 or so for the Bodyguard Radisson, which comes with a 10 year parts warranty and 3 years labor (can't get the 3 years elsewhere without paying extra). Another KEY POINT -- the wonderful warranties on some of the specialty fitness store models are often not at all transferable making the mills hard to resell if you don't end up using it. Related KEY POINT -- be very carefull buying a used high quality mill. The parts are often very expensive, so the lengthy parts warranty is *important* and buying a "litely" used mill for 50% off may not be a good deal at all. (As a good negotiator, you might be able to get it for 60 or 70% of list price new, with the real generous warranty). I'm no expert, but I concluded after studying the issue that ebay treadmills were generally no bargain for this reason -- for instance, I saw a treadmill that goes for $4100 new (list) go on ebay for $2550 not including shipping. Thats a somewhat dubious buy because you could probably get the mill new for around $3500 including shipping (this brand restricts retailer discounts) and the new mill comes with a LIFETIME parts warranty. A replacement motor alone for this treadmill costs $655. So less then $1000 off doesn't seem like a great bargain does it? Another example would be a used prior generation model of this line which went for $2000 new but, now, many years later, can be had used for $500 or so -- I didn't call on the parts on that one, but it wouldn't surprise me if the motor was over $500. The cost of your old treadmill just doubled. I've provided several reasons to be nervous of buying a used treadmill. Another is that there are no reviews I could find of them anywhere, and the brands regarded as quality brands today were not necessarily the best brands years ago. For example, years ago Precor (which now starts at 3k) had mills for just over $1000 such as the 9.2 (based on what the majority of people say they paid). Yet many people will say they payed over $2000 for the 9.2 -- they either dont remember, paid more then other people or are lying.  |
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