medic2230 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hi everyone! I'm ready to buy my first drink machine and was wondering what your thoughts are on this one. It says that it was taken out of service working in the early 2000's and was put in service in the late eighties. This guy has had it for 5 yrs but has never had the key and has never seen inside the machine. He's is asking $150 for it and I know it will need to be cleaned up and checked after it is opened to make sure everything works. I was thinking of making an offer on it for $100 and figured if it's a total bomb then I can at least get my money back selling it as scrap. Is it possible to get a key for these machines or will the only choice be to drill the lock out? I know a rebuilt refer stack is about $300 if it needs one and I know it will need to have a DBV installed with the possibility of new coin changer to go with the DBV. Does this seem like a decent deal or is this machine basically too old to mess with? The main reason I'm looking at this one is it is close by and will keep me from driving 150-200 miles to find another one. I know I will take the pepsi logo's off the side as they are peeling and repaint the machine. I will do all the work myself so I don't have to worry about paying anyone to help with the refurb. Any thoughts or idea's? Pics of the machine are attached. Thanks in advance for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coinvestor Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I would stay away from anything that old. Its not worth the cost or time to move it and you would still have to drill the lock and assume cost of any repairs. There are a surplus of idle machines right now, and you should be able to get a good deal on a newer used machine. As an example, I just sold a 2003 Royal 650 Merlin IV with changer, a validator that will take $1's, the new $5's, and will vend cans or bottles. I got $500 for it because the market is just saturated right now, and I had it for sale since October. I would stick towards newer machines even if your plan is to refurb it. When you scrap a machine you usually get $10-15 for it only after you pull the refrigeration unit out and dispose of it properly. Hope this helps! JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coinvestor Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Just a tip, if you want to refurb a machine look for a used popular machine with a less popular branding like a Sobe, Milk, Deer Park etc. Because they are less desirable they are usually discounted more than the cost of replacement front signage for the same machine. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic2230 Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thanks for the good advice! Kinda hard to know about these things when your new in the business. I'll see if I can find a machine with one of the other logo's on it. I didn't realize I could get that new of a machine for that price. I also didn't realize that you would only get that small of an amount for a scrap machine that weighs as much as they do. Thank you for the informative reply. Now to find someone selling one of these newer machines! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I would stay away from anything that old. Its not worth the cost or time to move it and you would still have to drill the lock and assume cost of any repairs. There are a surplus of idle machines right now, and you should be able to get a good deal on a newer used machine. As an example, I just sold a 2003 Royal 650 Merlin IV with changer, a validator that will take $1's, the new $5's, and will vend cans or bottles. I got $500 for it because the market is just saturated right now, and I had it for sale since October. I would stick towards newer machines even if your plan is to refurb it. When you scrap a machine you usually get $10-15 for it only after you pull the refrigeration unit out and dispose of it properly. Hope this helps! JD Great post JD. +1 on your rep for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I would stay away from anything that old. Its not worth the cost or time to move it and you would still have to drill the lock and assume cost of any repairs. There are a surplus of idle machines right now, and you should be able to get a good deal on a newer used machine. As an example, I just sold a 2003 Royal 650 Merlin IV with changer, a validator that will take $1's, the new $5's, and will vend cans or bottles. I got $500 for it because the market is just saturated right now, and I had it for sale since October. I would stick towards newer machines even if your plan is to refurb it. When you scrap a machine you usually get $10-15 for it only after you pull the refrigeration unit out and dispose of it properly. Hope this helps! JD I would agree with this sentiment. Machines that old are usually not worth the effort, especially if its a single price machine. I will add that right now scrap metal is fetching a premium, the guy that comes around my place told me last week that he was getting a little over 10 bucks per 100lbs, so that machine would fetch 60-70 as scrap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic2230 Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 I'm really glad I asked about this before pulling the trigger on it. Really all I need for right now in this location is a single price machine. Currently there is a Dixie 501 placed by CC. All drinks are priced at .60 and will be unless they go up tremendously. This is in a EMS station and makes a pretty god profit. Of course without buying a minimum from Coke the profit will go up. I've looked at craigslist local and within 200 miles and the pickings are slim right now for the $500 or less range so I'll keep watching and ask any questions before purchasing a machine to make sure I don't get "hung out to dry" on it. Thanks again for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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