I would like to buy a second hand fridge but am worried about getting a dudd. Any tips on what to ask and what to look for would be greatly appreciated. Also, is it reasonable to ask to pay via paypal? If so, is there any point in doing so? In terms of being ripped off?
Get the oldest cheapest one you can.
Its worked for me twice..
One was free one was $20.
One was used to brew beer and the other was used as a general fridge.
I just wouldnt get a relatively new fridge on gumtree but thats just me..
Some of the older fridges can cost $500 per year more to run, so this can be a significant false economy.
How could a fridge that uses around 500KW per year (approx $130 a year) increase its electricity costs by 400%?
There might be a slight increase but over time this would barely be noticed..
Some older fridges use 8kWh per DAY thanks to poor energy efficiency and poor seals. It's only since the energy star ratings came it that fridges got down to this low power usage.
My 20yro little bar fridge has an energy star label that reads over 600kWh p.a.
I guess this is possible, lets rephrase my first comment to 'Get the oldest and cheapest one you can that doesnt use a stupid amount of energy'.
i've got a smaller fridge (not tiny but not large) that was made in 1959 and its 110W, so assuming that ran all day every day it would still only use about 2.64KW, but its only on about half the time. (This fridge is awesome).
I also have a larger main fridge that uses about 500-600KW per year also.
Look for somebody moving overseas or inter-state selling a house full of stuff. You can be pretty sure then they aren't selling a dud.
EDIT: I probably wouldn't accept paypal if I was the seller. I would strongly suspect you would be trying some scam. Just go find a fridge, nearly everyone is honest and buying second hand will save you.
I second this idea - in particular look for someone who has bought recently and is selling everything. We've had some great furniture from people who have moved to Australia for only a couple of years and are leaving again (yay for German students…they have awesome taste…and bucket loads of money by the look of it…hahaha). Also, once you get chatting to someone you will get a feel for if they are genuine or not and if their reason for selling checks out.
That all said, no matter how new/old the fridge is, there's still the possibility of it going ka-put just randomly a short time after you buy it. So you do need to factor in the value of a warranty when comparing prices of second hand ones with new ones. The seals tend to go on older ones, so if you are looking at older ones check them.
Make sure it's cold before you take it. Make sure they turn it off well before you pick it up so the refrigerant can condense and not damage the fridge during the move. Don't buy from someone with heaps of fridges, they probably Frankenstein fix them up and sell them.
Ask them to turn it on for you an hour or so before you arrive. I bought one a bar fridge a year ago for homebrew kegs, practically brand new for half price. Dont be in a hurry - wait til someone who is moving interstate is selling one - they will take the forst reasoanable offer.
buy stuff second hand, take the risk IMO.
best you can do is ask them to make sure its cold when you arrive. then be careful transporting it and make sure you leave it upright for half a day before starting it up again.
go for something that's less than 20 years old preferably :)
first fridge I bought off gumtree blew up (with smoke etc) as soon as I plugged it in - no recourse - wasted $100 and got another person on gumtree to come take it away for free. :)
Went through this a couple of years ago. I found that old fridges have poor seals and cost a lot to run.
It was more economical to buy a new one.
I bought a Samsung, with a high energy star rating.
Thank you all!
Plus don't forget to transport it home stood upright!! - otherwise the gas can cause damage to the workings of the fridge.
Forgot to mention that we have a 60yr. old Kelvinator which is used solely for beer etc. in the pool bar at home. Never had to regas it or maintain at all. When we have bbq's or functions it is turned on & works beautifully. We paid $50.00 (2nd. hand) for it about 20yrs. ago. I don't think for a moment that it is cost efficient but is large & stores heaps of beer & wine when we need to use it. Absolutely love it's old retro style & hope to keep it for years to come. In addition, please remember to keep the door of the fridge open slightly should it not be in constant use to allow air to circulate & stop mould & corrosion forming.This also protects the seals.
You can pay via paypal, but you are not going to get any buyer protection like you do on Ebay, so I wouldnt bother.
I found this link when I was looking a while back and found it pretty comprehensive: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/thriftyliving/tl-refrigerator.h…
Also just gauge the owner, do they look like the sort of people to care about their gear, if its in the shed exposed to the elements and never clean then Id want to get a great deal on it.