I think Rick is right in this situation. I don't think he looks bad, just standing up for himself. I do not think most people understand the risk associated with used equipment. You can buy a used machine and it can blow up then next day at your expense. See below for extreme case...
My first chipper was a bandit 90 purchased off Craigslist from a local landscaper. Purchase price was $12,000. It was around 5 years old and had only 68 hours on it. From their description it had pretty much sat indoors getting used only a handful of times. I used this chipper for around 2-3 years. The only problem we ever had with the machine was with the display /ECM. When running the chipper would idle down on its own. Best I could figure it was loose connection in the display. I could reach behind the panel, jiggle the wiring harness going into it and it would throttle back up. I ended up having the display/ECM replaced at the bandit factory and the chipper ran fine. I preformed regular maintenance and it was used relatively lightly as I was just starting out at the time. I purchased a new 1590 from Bandit in late 2012. I wanted to keep the 90 but I really didn't have a need for a second chipper at the time. I sold the machine on this site for $16,000.
The 90 went to the Bandit factory to be inspected and then shipped to a Bandit dealer out west for pickup by the new owner. To my knowledge bandit found nothing wrong with the machine and it shipped. The new owner picked up the machine and within a week had trouble with it overheating. He called me and asked if I had any issues with the machine overheating. I never did and told him so. I don't believe I ever heard from him again until this shows up in my in box.
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Evan Hope your holidays are going well. I bought a chipper from you about 6 years ago. The chipper basically ended up being a lemon and I was a bit dissapointed that you didnt honestly represent how it functioned. It overheated the first week here and then continued to do so until I finally sold it a year and a half into it. I replaced the raidiator, put new screens on it, eventually had bandit send me a new engine which didnt fix the radiator issue. So basically it was a bandit design issue, arborist to arborist I felt screwed by you but just swallowed it since I am so far away. It would have been nice if your were more honest about the machine being a high maintenance piece of shit.
Anyways hope you but your best foot forward in the future. Best Wishes **** ****"
I am posting this to show that no matter how good a machine is inspected it can break down at anytime. If a machine breaks down after the sale is made it is the problem of the new owner. I had said multiple times over the years that I wish I had not sold the 90. There were jobs where we needed more then 1 chipper or a smaller chipper. In 2015 I bought a Bandit 250 to start a second crew. At that point I wish I had held onto the 90 instead of having to buy a different chipper. Turns out I had been lucky to sell it when I did. It was unfortunate for the new owner but a great outcome for me.
The guy who purchased the 90 from me will never believe that it did not have overheating/radiator issues before. I'm not even a dealer and I would have at least 1 horrible review