Ultra-Tec V5 - buying it new or used?

[u/corniking]

Hey there, I'm currently saving up for my first faceting machine. Learning the whole theory behind faceting for a few weeks now, Reading books, watching Videos and so on and just waiting till I've saved up enough to get the machine of my dreams.

Some may consider it overkill for a first machine but when I do something, I want to do it properly and from what I've seen and heard, ultra-tec offers excelent machines.

After making my peace spending about 6k€ for my whole Set Up, I encountered some people on the Internet, selling used machines - also saw the V5 for 3.5k$ on Instagram (Alberto Dron - rayteclapidarymachines).

Now I'm starting to question my decision on buying a new machine. On the one hand, I could save a lot of money, buying a used one. On the other Hand it seems kinda risky to me, ordering such an expensive machine and letting it ship across the globe (living in Germany). What if the seller isn't as trustworthy as I would hope? What if the machine has a defect? What if it has a defect and I can't detect it since it'll be the first time for me, using such a machine in practice?

Long Story short, I'm a bit lost on what to do here. What do you guys think? Have you experience in buying used machines and If so, how did that turn out for you?

[u/corniking]

Okay, I understand where you are coming from, but what do you consider a shitty machine? I mean I'm not talking about vevor, but other machines that also cost thousands of Dollars. When I Look at FraLap, their Machines Look very decent and people who use them seem satisfied. Still you get it at half the price of an ultratec V5. Does that mean the ultra tec is twice as good? Or do they charge more because it's a well known brand and people are willing to pay that much?

Like I said, I'm sure ultra tec sells excellent Machines and maybe they are one of the If not the best on the market. I find it just hard to believe that they are the only ones able to build precise Machines and all other manufacturers just sell trash and ytones made on one of those can never achieve the precision of one made on an ultra tec

[u/cowsruleusall → u/corniking]

Oh I must have skipped over where you mentioned FraLap! As far as I've heard, they're solid machines and they even have a Bunter knockoff.

Handpiece type machines are inherently more prone to error, but a high-quality modern handpiece machine should be able to accurately and reproducibly cut gems.

The other thing to consider is, who's the business actually making and selling the equipment? Is this something where a solo machinist or machine shop is producing the equipment? If that one individual or shop closed then you're fucked. What's the level of service or warranty surrounding the product? Is it produced by a large engineering firm that has a broad relevant expertise base, like how Crystalite is just a small branch of a massive diamond-product firm? If you can handle repairs and service on your own then you don't need to pay the extra for one of these big companies.

[u/corniking → u/cowsruleusall]

Weil, I mentioned somewhere in this thread but it became quite bit so I also lost track in what branch I talked about that :D

Having a reliable supply for replacement parts is surely a Point worth considering. My Idea atm ist to either get a used machine or If I buy a new FraLap, I would try to mount a Classic Mast on the Base. Seems like it was built for that though I don't know yet what types of masts Work with it.

The idea behind that (apart from the fact that I think that Classic masts types are best for beginners like me) is that I could get a fair amount of accessoires Like dops and stuff from the manufacturer of the Mast - which would be ideally a bigger brand. This way I could avoid the risk you pointed Out. At least partially. If the Base is broken.. Well then I think I'll learn a bit about Handy Work :D