Current value of used Espon 9800

[bignegs]

I have an option to buy a 2 year old 9800 from a small lab.

It has about a half load of ink onboard. I know the folks at the lab, and have found them knowledgeable, responsible and careful. I do need a printer of this size, so I wonder

1) how I can assess the remaining useful life of the machine
2) what would be a fair price for such a unit sold as-is, given that lightly used demos are available for around $4K, and include a full one year warranty
3) what should I look out for in terms of potential pitfalls?

Unfortunately, the offer just came in, and I need to decide quickly ....

Thanks in advance for any advice!!!

Bignegs

[ssgphoto]

They can print a status report that gives remaining life on the printhead, carriage motor and several other key parts giving each 1 through 5 stars. You can also purchase an extended warranty for about $650/year from epson until the unit is 4 years old, if it isn't currently covered. I have always renewed my warranty for my 9600 and now my 9800. I havent had a lot of service issues but  they did once come in and replace the printhead on my earlier 9600 which might have been overkill for my issue, but certainly appreciated.  

Its worth noting how much ink and gunk buildup is around the cap assemble where the head parks on the right. The head can be manually slid to the left and with a flashlight you can see the sponge and squeegee which should need some normal cleaning but one they get beyond covered with buildup it can require a service call to avoid drips and excessive clogging. Printers often cutting matte papers will be worse due to paper dust.

My guess is the value is in the lower twos, check ebay for completed auctions to get an idea of real market value. Of course if you are getting a lot of inks that adds to the value especially considering that will be your real end cost.

I hope that helps.

[bignegs]

Great tip on the extended warranty - presumably that will be available even if the current owner allowed their warranty to lapse.....

Thank you for the useful information - it will help me a lot in making my decision!

I will probably decide how to proceed in the next day or so.

[bignegs]

Great tip on the extended warranty - presumably that will be available even if the current owner allowed their warranty to lapse.....

Well, after checking with Epson, they will only allow purchase of a warranty extension while the printer is currently under warranty. Since the current owner did not extend beyond the first year, it ain't gonna happen.

I'll just keep my fingers crossed.

[Paul2660]

I would agree on mid to low two's depending on the MA report.

Also it's my understanding that when some of the parts get below one *, then the machine will give out an error until these are replaced.  Stepper motor, is a common one you see.  On the older 9600/7600 there are way's to reset this counter and the printer will continue.  I am not sure how all that works on the 9800 series.  

I would also ask them what papers they were running.  If the printer has run alot of canvas and not cleaned regularly you may have some issues, but as was previously pointed out, you can see a lot of the issues, by sliding the head out of the way and looking at the sponge, capping station and wiper.

Paul C

[bignegs]

I would agree on mid to low two's depending on the MA report.

Also it's my understanding that when some of the parts get below one *, then the machine will give out an error until these are replaced. 

Paul,

Thanks!

None of the values are less than two stars and most are 4 or 5.

I Googled the 9800 and saw one that sold for what seemed a high price, and one that didn't get a bid at a significantly lower price, but I suspect your price estimates are correct, and it looks as though the machine will sell in that range.