Reconditioned Power Tools

Reconditioned power tools - depending on who you ask - are either the bane or the boon of the power tool industry. Mostly they're the boon, especially if it's a name brand tool from a name brand reseller.
However if you're not careful there's a chance that your great deal today may turn into tomorrow's yard sale giveaway. Or worse - a prolonged and difficult exchange with a retailer that's way more trouble than it's worth.
We recently asked for opinions on reconditioned power tools from the woodworkers at WoodNet, FamilyWoodworking and LumberJocks. They kindly gave us the lowdown on their opinion of reconditioned power tools and without their help this article could not be.
Here are the threads - in forums we don't own - that we covered to write this article:
WoodNet.Net
FamilyWoodworking.org
LumberJocks.com
Their responses ranged from "just wait for a sale and buy new" to "primarily (and proudly) buy reconditioned!" The majority of woodworkers appeared to have bought reconditioned at one time or another.
From their responses we put together five questions you should be asking before you buy reconditioned power tools.
1) Is there a Warranty?
Are you slapping your head and saying "DUH"?
You might be surprised at how many reconditioned power tools sell without warranty. Especially at fly-by-night traveling tool sales and end-of-bin sales of off brand or broken tools. If there's no warranty then there's no deal. Except perhaps if you need spare parts and the price is a steal.
2) How Does the Warranty for Reconditioned Compare to the Warranty for New?
More often than not you'll find that the warranty for new power tools is exactly the same as the warranty for reconditioned power tools.
The one case I heard where they were different was on a major stationary tool that offered a six month warranty for reconditioned and a year warranty for new tools.
Still, this is a crucial indicator of how much trust the company puts in their reconditioning process. If the warranties are identical to new then, well, you're looking good if the price is right ;)
3) Why Was this Tool Reconditioned?
This question is likely not going to be easy to answer - though if you're in a brick and mortar you might as well ask someone to see if they know.
In the best cases reconditioned power tools are purchased, possibly opened, used once or never and then returned.
In the worst cases they're used as anchors, or at least they're used hard and lived in the back of a pick up truck.

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