Jump to content

North American machines any good?


Honda man

Recommended Posts

I might be going to look at some North American machines in the morning.  They're burgandy, on metal stands, with plastic bodies. Coin mechs are metal and might be gold in color. There are a total of 30 heads (15 doubles on stands) for $200 and the price is negotiable. He says thy've been in storage for years and need cleaning but are supposedly in pretty good shape. For the price it seems like a no brainer, but wanted to find out what everybody thinks. Are these reliable? I think theyr're out of business, so what about parts?

Ernie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a NAV double and have no problems with them. I didn't know they made a plastic body though. Mine are all metal and have the coin drawer.

They are out of business and I have no idea where to get parts. So far I haven't had to hunt for any. That's a great deal I wouldn't pass up. Even if you need parts, save one or two for parts and you're ahead of the game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have both metal and plastic ones.  The metal ones are great, but the paint is chipping quite a bit.  I have 10 double heads of the plastic one, I like them seem good.  The only thing I don't like is how the cash draw unscrews rather then a swing lock.  For that price, can't go too wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 I thought these had the keyed money drawer that opens at the front but the guy says that you have to remove the complete top of the machine and scoop the quarters out of the bottom.

Steve, do the machines just look cheap, jam up, or??

If I were to get them for $150, that would be $10 per double. I'm thinking that even if the machines are junk, the stands might be worth the price. Although could be a headache if the machines are trouble prone.

I'm not disagreeing with the advice I'm getting. Just letting you know where my thoughts are.

Hopefully the picture will show up. I seem to be having trouble attaching it.

Thanks for all the input.      Ernie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ernie,

for $10 a double you cant go wrong. Although there are better machines on the market, these will not give you too much trouble. To be honest, I've never really had many problems out of any of my machines, no matter the brand.

The pic did not show up. Can you email the pic to me? I will post it for you. support@vendiscuss.com

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These were part of an old out of business biz op.  From what I understand they had 100% free replacement on any equipment, even if it got stolen!  I think anything less then $20-$25 for a double head you really can't go wrong. 

Think about it, say you pay $25 for a double head, $35 for a locator.  You will pay for the equipment in 5 to 6 months (using the average gross) , can't beat that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll second that thought. The shipping on the stands can be more than the price of the stand. I've bought a couple off ebay but only when the price was so cheap that I felt it justifed paying the shipping cost. You can do searches for the stands just like buying machines too. I've bought several from different vendors selling ones they no longer needed. I've never bought a new machine direct but did buy one new stand. That will be the last one too! Thank God for craigslist and search engines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I drove about an hour this morning to pick up the NAV machines. They're in pretty nice looking condition and actually a lot better than he had described. I will say that they do look kind of cheap and not high quality, but for $10 per double I feel like it was a  bargain. Asking price was $200 for 15 doubles and he accepted $150. I don't know how they'll hold up , but the coin mechs are heavy and all metal.

Also picked up another machine later in the day. A nice A&A with heavy stand and a few extra parts , including a 10 cent coin mech, all for $40. Don't know if that was a good deal. Not sure what model it is but it has a kind of small square head and is set up with a gumball wheel.

My plan is to get the NAV's out there making money and use the profits to upgrade to something better. Maybe Southern Beavers?

Ernie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I started out with NAV They are still a great machine . Basicly they are made by T pico, but  the  parts from them are high.   ijust wish they had not  gone out of business. To bad Terry Bird had a stroke.  If  I were you i would check in to Beavers. i have  done some research, they are equivlate to NAV.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At hat price you  should get them. They don't brake down  very often if they do you can buy some things off  ebay.  Just  from   some reasearch I have done.  Beaver parts might fit  too if you should evr need parts. I plan to find out  sometime in the future

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And how did you find out the y went out of business for false profit claim, They sent me a letter that said they closed because the Ceo. Terry bird had a very bad Stroke. If I still had the letter I would post it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That all happend  prior to 2002. I statrted buying machines from them in 2003, They  nolonger made that claim then  that I can rember  i just  looked at books and they  no longer made thtat calim abnd I found the doc. on the  net that said it was just  class action suit.   Terry Bird had a stroke  in arond 2005 or 2006.  And they closed after that. some of the empleyys went to  another comany but  most of them left

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMHO,

NAV is just another member in a long line of failed biz-ops. That company would have most likely failed regardless of the owner's stroke. Their equipment is average at best.

Beaver is quality, but way over priced and those round globes are a real pain to service and place labeling in. In fact, Beaver recently introduced a square globe because of all the complaints. However, they do seem to have the best coin mech. I also hate the fact that this company had no facility in the USA. International orders are a real pain as well! Their key and lock policy also sucks! If you buy used equipment and want to match a common key, you will mostly likely have to buy all new locks since they will not sell you a key code that another vendor supposedly has in your area. They also will not sell you just a key, you have to buy the lock as well.

NW and Oak are the happy medium for price, value and serviceability.

Rodger Foltz build an empire with NW equipment.

Jax

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we each have own opion on what machines are best. The best way to run a business is to do your reasearch . And get what works best for you. But always rember you get what you pay for. If you buy junk you get junk and just my thoughts on beavers key system. I think it great.

My bro in law has machine that he bought. I could open it with my keys. as soon as I buy him it from him

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...