Jump to content

Keep the the same equipment?


Recommended Posts

I have purchased and placed an AP 6600 snack and a vendo 264 drink machine at my first location.

I am about to land my 2nd account and am wondering when I purchase machines for this new location, how important is it to stay with the same manufacturers?

The reason for my question is while shopping machines I have found good prices on used Dixie Narco machines.

Do operators try to avoid mixing manufacturers?

Would spare parts be compatible with both types? 

Also, would spare AP parts be compatible with different AP model #s?

Apologies for what are surely newbie questions. Thanks for any advice given.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, first welcome to the forum!! you will find plenty of people here with years and years of experience who are all willing to help. The first thing I would suggest is to spend a lot of time reading past threads on this forum because most topics  have been covered pretty well, but still feel free to ask if you don't find what your looking for.

 

In a perfect world you would stick with identical machines and place them all in booming accounts and you would never have any issues with any of your equipment, but since we don't live in that world you have to face the facts that vending machines will break down from time to time.

 

To some degree its good to have the same machines so you can have a few extra parts around to keep on your truck for quick fixes, but In my opinion, especially for a beginning business with limited capital I would stick with high quality proven brand names such as vendo, dixie narco and royal (soda) and ap, crane, usi and ams (snack). If you keep your eye out, you can usually find really good deals on craigslist and other places used. That's what I have done, and has worked well so far. You will find that for the most part, that a lot of the machines are pretty similar in operation, but parts are mostly not interchangeable except common items and bill validators and coin mechs.

 

Try and stay away from business oportunity foreign built equipment, and also stay away from combo machines because their limited capacity will make for more trips for less profit.

 

If you find a machine for sale, ask questions here and you will get help with identification and true value as well as pros and cons of each machine, good luck to you!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have purchased and placed an AP 6600 snack and a vendo 264 drink machine at my first location.

I am about to land my 2nd account and am wondering when I purchase machines for this new location, how important is it to stay with the same manufacturers?

The reason for my question is while shopping machines I have found good prices on used Dixie Narco machines.

Do operators try to avoid mixing manufacturers?

Would spare parts be compatible with both types? 

Also, would spare AP parts be compatible with different AP model #s?

Apologies for what are surely newbie questions. Thanks for any advice given.

The AP 6600 is a very good machine and parts are interchangeable with the slightly larger and more common AP 7600.  The only downside on these machines is that they're not MDB capable without rather costly upgrades but they're built much stronger the the newer stuff.  If you can find some more AP7600's that would be best.

 

I'm not as thrilled with the older Vendos ( I have about 10 of them) and would recommend Dixie as a better "go to" brand.  My personal favorites are the big Royals - they hold  a lot of cans so you don't have to fill them so often and they're very reliable but they're hard to find so you might need to stick with the Dixies.

 

As a final suggestion, I noticed that both of your machines are on the small side (especially the Vendo).  It's always best to put the largest machine you can fit in locations so you can spread out your service intervals more efficiently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  It's always best to put the largest machine you can fit in locations so you can spread out your service intervals more efficiently.

 

The same thing that makes a large machine's service intervals more efficient is the same thing that makes a very small or combo machine inefficient.. more services with less sales per visit equals more time and expenses and less money. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All the different brands have pros and cons regarding capacity, size, weight, parts availability, etc. Basically the older the machine the more problems you will have getting parts and support. However, as long as you stick to the major US made brands you will be ok. I like the newer MDB capable equipment as bill and coin acceptors are interchangeable so you only need to keep one or two of each depending on your route size for spares. The bill and coin acceptors will account for 70-80% of the parts that you will need to change and both dramatically impact the machines functionality. If you were to lose a motor, no big deal, you lose one selection for a few days while you order a part and wait for it to come in. On the other hand if a coin mech goes down, the whole machine is down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great information! Thanks so much!

So I am looking to purchase the following pieces:

A Vendo 570 single price, a DN 600 multi price, and a snack (not sure if AP or Rowe) (picture included if that helps clarify make)

All are in good working condition.

00J0J_fLpSO8yQVfZ_600x450.jpg

Looking for opinions on this equipment and suggested prices I should be paying.

Thanks in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great information! Thanks so much!

So I am looking to purchase the following pieces:

A Vendo 570 single price, a DN 600 multi price, and a snack (not sure if AP or Rowe) (picture included if that helps clarify make)

All are in good working condition.

00J0J_fLpSO8yQVfZ_600x450.jpg

Looking for opinions on this equipment and suggested prices I should be paying.

Thanks in advance!

It's hard to view that picture from my phone but I'm 90% sure it's a rowe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great information! Thanks so much!

So I am looking to purchase the following pieces:

A Vendo 570 single price, a DN 600 multi price, and a snack (not sure if AP or Rowe) (picture included if that helps clarify make)

All are in good working condition.

00J0J_fLpSO8yQVfZ_600x450.jpg

Looking for opinions on this equipment and suggested prices I should be paying.

Thanks in advance!

I'd pass on the single price Vendo and any Rowe machines ( the picture's too small to see the coin return - a half moon coin return is always a Rowe).  The Rowes were well made but they've been out of manufacture for a long time and parts are hard to come by,  I'd pay maybe $700 for the big Dixie.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made a mistake concerning above machines I'm considering.

The Vendo is the multi price and the Dixie is the single price.

The snack appears to be a Rowe.

What is the real value of each of these pieces?

Moondog, you advised against the Rowe. Is there any price that you would deem too good to pass up?

I can acquire all three for $1200. Opinions on that deal?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great information! Thanks so much!

So I am looking to purchase the following pieces:

A Vendo 570 single price, a DN 600 multi price, and a snack (not sure if AP or Rowe) (picture included if that helps clarify make)

All are in good working condition.

00J0J_fLpSO8yQVfZ_600x450.jpg

Looking for opinions on this equipment and suggested prices I should be paying.

Thanks in advance!

I'd recommend sticking with similar equipment/brands. You'll learn how to repair/service them. The DN 600 is a good

machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You said that you are about to land your second account, so there might be some pressure on you to get equipment, and I know the feeling. I think all 3 are good machines, but like others have said, it might be hard to get parts for the rowe snack. The price is not to bad, probably about what they are worth (in my opinion) unless the dixie is a multi price 600E, then it would be worth it easily. If you could stall for a little bit, it might be good to scout out a different snack machine. I would buy it and use it however, if i thought I was going to lose a good account because I couldn't get a snack machine fast enough as long as it was in good condition and everything was in good working order.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made a mistake concerning above machines I'm considering.

The Vendo is the multi price and the Dixie is the single price.

The snack appears to be a Rowe.

What is the real value of each of these pieces?

Moondog, you advised against the Rowe. Is there any price that you would deem too good to pass up?

I can acquire all three for $1200. Opinions on that deal?

I might give $200 for a working Rowe 4900 - just know that many of the parts are unavailable and you could end up with something worthless for your needs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't know how to quote a post yet but yes Jerry, you figured me out lol. I'm feeling a little pressure to locate machines to place at my next account. I've previously made mistakes by purchasing the wrong equipment (cough, combo units, cough) and want to avoid this mistake again. I appreciate all the advice and will try to locate a snack that will better suit me. In a worst case, I feel this would serve the purpose. Wanna make sure I'm not overpaying.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't know how to quote a post yet but yes Jerry, you figured me out lol. I'm feeling a little pressure to locate machines to place at my next account. I've previously made mistakes by purchasing the wrong equipment (cough, combo units, cough) and want to avoid this mistake again. I appreciate all the advice and will try to locate a snack that will better suit me. In a worst case, I feel this would serve the purpose. Wanna make sure I'm not overpaying.

If you are trying to quote from a mobile device, click on the post you want to quote and the button should pop up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally I wouldn't touch either of those  machines, the rowe should be stripped for parts and then dumped,  when it comes to the old can drink machines I believe Dixie Narco is the way to go they are a fantastic machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...