Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

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KJohnson
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Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by KJohnson » April 16th, 2018, 7:54 pm

Hi!

My gym is closing :( and selling off some of their Model D's (PM5). They were manufactured in 2015 and have been used for Crossfit/bootcamp style group classes since then.

The owner is asking $600 (USD) for each, which appears to be in the price range of what these should be going for, based on what I've seen in other threads on here (but please correct me if I'm wrong!).

Since I was a member at this gym, I know that the machines have been well maintained and they feel smooth/solid when used. Other than that, I'm not sure what else to look out for when I go to pick one up tomorrow. Any advice on what I should keep an eye out for, or what I should ask about?

Thanks!

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Citroen
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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by Citroen » April 17th, 2018, 5:13 am

Go and buy it. It's a no-brainer.

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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by KJohnson » April 17th, 2018, 12:30 pm

Thanks! It's always nice to have confirmation that I'm making the right decision!

So is there anything in particular that might be a dealbreaker? Or not at that price? Is pretty much everything repairable if anything turns out to be wrong?

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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by jackarabit » April 17th, 2018, 12:49 pm

Citroen wrote:Go and buy it. It's a no-brainer.
Recent YOM and great price. You should, however, perform due diligence unless there’s a line forming, all waving checkbooks.

1) Check lifetime meters in the PM(s). High volume isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker but it could make you look closer for something that is—for instance the one in five gym machines with atypically low meters on the clock. Is that one the prize or has it been damaged and waited for repair?

2) Check for dings in the seat rail cap, especially in the path of the top seat rollers at each edge. Fitters are notorious for their improvisational recombination and unorthodox application of any and all gym equipment in their path—the influence of parcour and “street” gymnastics perhaps? You won’t enjoy rolling to and fro over even the slightest dent that can’t be cured by a wIndex wipedown.

3) Check the monitor screen and bezel for cracks or scratches. The most orthodox among us occasionally suffer a paroxysm of transcendent exertion which causes one to HIIT out at the bearer of (good or bad) news.

4) Check monitor operation by rowing 500m on each machine and look closely for missing pixels or vertical lines in the monitor displays.

6) Check for loose or broken plugin sockets on the PMs. (The USB socket on the PM5 is the most vulnerable. The sensor jack socket is well-protected—an advantage over previous PM models.)

7) Don’t be distracted by small talk with gym management. Concentrate on your appraisal and remember you have more than the simple binary choice of buy or walk away—you have the opportunity to choose the best in the lot.
There are two types of people in this world: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data

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KJohnson
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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by KJohnson » April 17th, 2018, 1:18 pm

Thanks for all the in-depth advice! This is so helpful!

I responded fairly quickly to the email, so I hope I'm one of the first people to get to choose which machine I want.
jackarabit wrote:
6) Check for loose or broken plugin sockets on the PMs. (The USB socket on the PM5 is the most vulnerable. The sensor jack socket is well-protected—an advantage over previous PM models.)
If the USB port is damaged, will this be apparent just from looking at it?

Also, is the bluetooth connectivity something I can/should test out? Or is that pretty reliable a long as the rest of the PM looks and works okay?

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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by blues_ » April 17th, 2018, 1:40 pm

You can test out the bluetooth easily by just downloading the ErgData app to your phone or tablet and then linking them when you're at the rower. (Takes just a few seconds.)

Good luck! Sounds like a great plan.

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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by Psychopasta » April 18th, 2018, 1:45 am

The C2 Erg is built like a brick sh**house and C2 have a great spare parts program. There's a bunch of maintenance videos on YouTube too, look at the ones from Dark Horse Rowing. Check the Blue tooth with ErgData as others have said and I can't see how you'll go wrong.

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Citroen
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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by Citroen » April 18th, 2018, 3:08 am

KJohnson wrote:Thanks for all the in-depth advice! This is so helpful!

I responded fairly quickly to the email, so I hope I'm one of the first people to get to choose which machine I want.
jackarabit wrote:
6) Check for loose or broken plugin sockets on the PMs. (The USB socket on the PM5 is the most vulnerable. The sensor jack socket is well-protected—an advantage over previous PM models.)
If the USB port is damaged, will this be apparent just from looking at it?

Also, is the bluetooth connectivity something I can/should test out? Or is that pretty reliable a long as the rest of the PM looks and works okay?
How could the USB socket be damaged? It won't have EVER been used in a Crossfit gym. Most ergo users don't even know that there are two USB sockets (one USB-A for a stick, one USB-B for the computer interface) on a PM5.

You WILL find the firmware is a bit old. First move would be an upgrade it using the Concept2 utility and a USB-A to USB-B printer cable.

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jackarabit
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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by jackarabit » April 18th, 2018, 7:02 am

Very unlikely anyone would use the B socket and cable to upload row results to a pc at the gym. Those who have previously used a logcard in a PM3 or 4 might be enticed to experiment with a usb drive to store results for later transfer to the utility. Good chance that even a fitter has a usb drive and, at a minimum, knows where to stick it--the sensitive A socket. :lol:
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Re: Newbie Buying Used Model D PM5

Post by T_M » April 20th, 2018, 1:53 pm

$600 for a 2015 model is a great price! In my neck of the woods you can't touch a decent used model D for less than $700...usually $750. I bought mine used a few years ago...took it for a short spin...maybe 20-30 strokes of varying force...noticed the smoothness of the slide, no strange vibrations or noise, appropriate DF at different damper settings and the PM3 worked like a champ. Over 6 million meters later and there is absolutely no difference in performance. Even the PM battery still has over 75% life.
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PBs: 100m 14.9 (2018); 1 minute 365m (2017); 2K 7:15 (2014); HM 1:28:39.8 (2016)

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