Importance of chipper warranty

[deezyboy]

I currently have a 2 year old tw230 just coming out of warranty, machine is great and I have no complaints with mine, however,

in people’s experiences is it best to upgrade when you can to a new machine with 3 more years warranty, or the cheaper option of sticking with what you have already got and crossing your fingers?

chipper is on 200 hours so low but there is mixed reviews on the longevity of the 230 chassis etc due to cracks and what have you. 

Thanks 

[Andymacp]

Is there a way to buy extended warranties ?

[wicklamulla]

how much is a new 230 Ben?

[swinny]

Think theyre 14500 or 14750 plus vat

[Matthew Storrs]

Different ways of looking at it- all with different pluses and minuses. This applies to any machinery not just chippers- but this is my own thoughts- a machine will almost certainly do the largest percentage of depreciation in its first 3 years- but also these 3 years SHOULD be trouble free so that has to be offset against potential repairs and downtime from running an older machine. Personally if finances allow My preferred method is to buy a machine brand new look after it and keep it for more like 6-10 years and it will be these later years once it’s paid for itself when the machine really starts to actually earn you money- if you just chop and change every 3 years I’d be surprised if you really ever make much money off the actual machine other than just covering depreciation. And in any case a warranty isn’t a sure fire method that things will be hassle free- downtime is still downtime and that often costs more than the actual repair bill.

just my thoughts.

[Matthew Storrs]

I should also add- whenever I have bought something brand new and kept it a decent amount of time I seem to do quite well from it- my method is to do plenty research prior to purchase and buy the best you can afford- it usually pays off in the long run, flimsy kit is just a no no for the  full time contractor.

[benedmonds]

9 hours ago, Matthew Storrs said:

Different ways of looking at it- all with different pluses and minuses. This applies to any machinery not just chippers- but this is my own thoughts- a machine will almost certainly do the largest percentage of depreciation in its first 3 years- but also these 3 years SHOULD be trouble free so that has to be offset against potential repairs and downtime from running an older machine. ...

My approach is to buy after the initial depreciation and keep it forever. My preferred would always be an ex demo machine...

 

Used kit seems to be hardly ever worth anything when I try and sell it... we have had our TW190 about 12 years it is not used every day and has been a back up for probably the last 6 years, but is still a perfectly usable machine.. Keep your kit maintained and it can last a long time...

 

New things break, old things break..  I admit we might have to spend more time fixing stuff but it is rare for a breakage to stop work as we can normally find a workable solution with the other kit..

Edited December 8, 2017 by benedmonds

[Richard 1234]

My approach is to buy after the initial depreciation and keep it forever. My preferred would always be an ex demo machine...
 
Used kit seems to be hardly ever worth anything when I try and sell it... we have had our TW190 about 12 years it is not used every day and has been a back up for probably the last 6 years, but is still a perfectly usable machine.. Keep your kit maintained and it can last a long time...
 
New things break, old things break..  I admit we might have to spend more time fixing stuff but it is rare for a breakage to stop work as we can normally find a workable solution with the other kit..

That’s fine if you have plenty of kit with spares to fall back on. If you don’t I would think newer machines would be better, though new or old can break as you say

[aspenarb]

On 12/6/2017 at 18:59, deezyboy said:

I currently have a 2 year old tw230 just coming out of warranty, machine is great and I have no complaints with mine, however,

in people’s experiences is it best to upgrade when you can to a new machine with 3 more years warranty, or the cheaper option of sticking with what you have already got and crossing your fingers?

chipper is on 200 hours so low but there is mixed reviews on the longevity of the 230 chassis etc due to cracks and what have you. 

Thanks 

Two hundred hours in two years ? You need to remember to hitch it on in the morning and take it to work

 

These TW chippers will rack up thousands of trouble free hours if they are looked after, I would stick with what you have for the moment.

 

Bob

[wicklamulla]

5 hours ago, aspenarb said:

Two hundred hours in two years ? You need to remember to hitch it on in the morning and take it to work

 

These TW chippers will rack up thousands of trouble free hours if they are looked after, I would stick with what you have for the moment.

 

Bob

It's the metal fatigue he's concerned about Bob.  It would appear TW230's are made of cheese and there have been quite a number of reported failures.