MountainMan Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Hey all, My wife just met a gal (a widow) that wants to sell her husbands u-turns. They are the 4 place. 14 new and 5 that were only used for a few months. She is local so no shipping. None placed now as he died some years ago. He bought these new 10 or more years ago and then decided to do something different, so they sit in storage. She said that he said (LOL) they cost him 25k for 19 machines. We all know that he got taken in a bizop scam, but now she thinks they are still worth 10 to 12k. I am not sure how to tell her that they are not worth but about 3k, I think. I am not even sure if the design has changed as I have not seen these yet. I want to have all my ducks in a row when I do. any ideas, suggestions, help, etc would be appreciated. I had planned on adding 5 machines to my business this year, not 19, but who knows, maybe I am the next T-Bird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-man422 Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Mountainman, let her sit on them for a year and then buy them for cheap. If she wants $10k for them she's crazy. I would not pay more than $950 for all of them. Keep in mind not a lot of places will support 4 selections either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 NOT TO MENTION THAT THE COIN MECHS HAVE CHANGED along with the candy tumblers and the canisters.I am not sure when they did this but the machines were revamped and the old are not compatible with new for some parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainMan Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 I jsut got off the phone with her and told her all I had learned about the machines. She said she really just wants them gone as they are eating up storage space. I offered her a grand for all 19. She is taking my offer! So, now to arrange for the money! I got notice on my 401k. I lost 25% this last year on it. Isn't that nice? So, I am going to borrow some of it before it is all gone! This is what makes this group so great. A guy that didn't know any better plopped down 25 grand for these and never used them. I come onto the scene and because of you guys, I make a realistic offer and get them. thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGERS VENDING Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 COnsidering some Vendesigns for $35 a piece... How much would new keys or locks cost?... The owner doesn't have keys... I've heard some strange things about getting Vendesign parts. I'm sure I can find a key or buy a new lock for cheap... There's not a special kind of lock is there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-man422 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Congrats MountainMan! That was a fair price. Like Antonio said, since the design changed, just be sure to keep one off location in case you need parts. Hope you get some great locations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainMan Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 That is what I was thinking and then if one breaks later on, I can replace it with a different type and use it for parts. She said the coin mechs are metal btw, so that is a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honda man Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Jesse The price list I have shows $9.50 for a lock/key for the lid. That's for the 4 selection model. Don't know about the other model. If they're all keyed alike you can get by with just a couple of keys. Let me know if you end up getting them. Ernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGERS VENDING Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Iwill Honda... But would I need to get a key for the money key as well? Why would I need two keys for the top? Can I get away with one?? Let me see if I'm thinking straight here: I would need to spend $9.95 per machine for a top lock and key. Then I would need to spend an additional $14.95 per machine for a money box key?? That's 9.95 + 14.95 = $24.90 per machine on top of the $35 I must pay to buiy... Is this correct? Or can I get by with a cheaper approach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honda man Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Jesse You're right, you can get by with 1 key. (if they're all keyed alike). I was just thinking a second key as a spare. There's a code # on the back of the lid lock. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you can order the correct key, using this code. The money tube requires a seperate key. I'm told that ALL money tubes use the same key. I'm in the process of ordering locks for a couple of my machines, so will know more about the whole process in a few days. Please note that I'm reffering to the 4 selection, rotating head model. Don't know about the other model. Ernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 all models need 1 type of lock per machine only pklus 1 maybe 2 spare keys.they about 7-8 bucks each plus shipping. thats great that they have the metal mechs,makes your buy an even bigger steal. I have never seen a metal one first hand.I want some feed back if possible and pictures of the inside of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reel Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 i understand that the metal mechs have a habit of getting coins stuck in them more readily than the new plastic mechs which are of a slightly better quality due to some metal parts in them which makes them harder to break and that old trick of breaking the mech and turning it around and around freely till all the candy gets dispensed for free . I have 73 uturns here in Aust that are approx 3 yrs old plus about 100 newer ones and i find all the latest parts completely compatable with each other. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reel Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 can someone explain for me what size site i.e machine turnover and staff numbers do you consider a 4 select uturn unsuitable for. from reading some posts in the past few days it appears that your average turnover there in the usa for a candy machine is rather low?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGERS VENDING Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Thanks everybody (especially Honda and Antonio)... Everybody is so much help on this site. I'll let you know how this goes... It will be next week before I get a chance to check them out. I'm not sure if these are metal mechs or not, it's a different group of Vendesigns than the first group I mentioned. Now I'm on my way to Big D to buy some used Northwesterns. This will be my first purchase!! Cheers, Jesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nepavend Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Nice job mountain man! Hopefully they will add revenue to your fleet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainMan Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Well, the deal went through. I paid the money and finally met up at her storage locker. She was wrong. There were 23 boxes, not 19. I tried to pay her extra because I knew there were probably 2 machines per box and the extra boxes. She would not take it and was just happy to be rid of them. It was: 19 small boxes and 4 large ones. Plus one with extra parts. that came out to 38 U-Turn (8 used and 30 new) 8 of the larger 8 U-turns all new. All converted to the new canister. All have plastic coin mechs. Most are yellow. I have like 6 of the gold and 8 of the red. I think if I can get these located I will be actually making a part time income. If my average holds. I am a very happy vendor right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGERS VENDING Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Way to go Mountain Man. So these are the 4 select? Did you get a good deal on them? I know you were talking her price down. Jesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 MountainMan, Happy you got your deal and will now have a good sized army of quarter collectors on the street. I like my U Turn machines. They have their good and bad points as most of these machines do but I would buy more too. It seems the biggest complaint everyone always says is too big and candy going stale. Well, it doesn't matter if you have an 8 select in a business as long as that business has kids you won't have a problem. Instead of filling all those cannisters with candy, just put candy in some and capsules in the others. Call Brand and order some Zoo mania and Sea Mania as well as some rings and whatever else you like in the 1" round capsules. These will vend with the gumball wheels just the same as an 850 gumball. Order a couple of the display cards with each bag so you can split the bags of capsules in more than one machine and put a nice display on each cannister. Turn that U Turn into a mini rack! This should give you guys with the nice big racks a laugh but why not? The main thing is to take advantage of what you have. This might not work in a store break room but sure will in a retail setting. I know in so many of your small rural towns you just can't support those big U Turns and this should help. Even with a 4 select it can be too much so put in 2 or maybe three candies and the other cannisters put in caps for the kids with tattoos or whatever. Some of the displays may have to be trimmed just a bit to fit but they will fit and looks good in the machine too! nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 this is something I do and recomend.except I would do akll toys on top and all candy on bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainMan Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 I was thinking along the same lines. All the top 4 toys and the bottoms with candy. I was probably confusing earlier. I have 36 of the regular 4 place u-turns and only 8 of the larger 8 place u-turns. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 MountainMan, You are king of the hill! I thought I had some pretty good deals but yours is the best of the best. That was unreal with most of those machines being brand new in the box. Don't you just love it when they say they just want to get them out of their garage. lol $25,000 worth of machines for a grand. Wow! nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainMan Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 I am pretty jacked about it. I can hardly stand it. I want to run out and place them. Can't wait! Can't believe the deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGERS VENDING Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 MOUNTAIN MAN, You are on top of the Mountain tonight!! That is an EXCELLENT DEAL! It's deals like this that can really springboard a business to success. You've found a great deal that should allow you to pay off these machines fairly quickly. Then you have that extra income to buy more machines. And the business slowly starts to grow and before you know it you are adding more and more machines and locations every month buy reinvesting your ROI. Then things go from gradual growth to exponentially as more machines are placed and income reaches a breaking point. It's kind of like when that dude spends a fortune buying a certain business. Despite a fair amount of customers, he goes broke because of overhead. He sells for pennies on the dollar and the second or third owner makes a killing, then sells the business for a huge profit. It happens all the time in the restaurant business. In a small, you have purchased a business for pennies on the dollar. NOW go make some money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainMan Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Thank you Roger, Yes, it is times like this that make me smile. I am going to dig out my business plan. iirc I had planned on having 10 machines by July of this year. this deal puts me way ahead of the plan! The plan called for a 5 years of building to where I could leave my J.O.B. I would love to see that go quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainMan Posted February 16, 2009 Author Share Posted February 16, 2009 They are in the shop. I am waiting for money for parts. I have one that will be located as soon as I fix it. I will locate the other one myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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