I am currently looking at an offer to purchase an 8kVA demo unit over a new unit. The cost saving is about 37% and the retailer is offering a 2 year warranty. It seems a good deal to me. Does anyone advise against it and why?
asked
Quattro 8kVA Demo - should I, shouldn't I?
You could perform a visual check and assess the unit. Check for case damage and denting. Check screw heads for abuse. Internal connections for burn marks or damage due to incorrect tool use. Water and corrosion damage internally and externally. Dust soot and wildlife. These all void the Victron Warranty immediately.
If they had it connected to the VRM or have an SD card in it you can check how it was used. But i do agree with @JustinCook on this one. The units are incredibly robust and usually a demo unit has not been worked much (some retailers demo unit runs their showrooms) but most of the abuse maybe from transporting it and assembly and disassembly of a demo setup.
Check the age of the unit using the serial number to find out when it was manufactured. Since usually after 5 years plus some extra time for the dealer to sell the unit but it does still have a limit. The choice is really yours at the end of the day.
@SJZA I would find out how old the unit is, to begin with... the retailer "offering a 2-year warranty" confuses me a little because the units are already covered by a 5-year warranty, so either the unit is already more than 5 years old or the dealer is using it as a gimmick... not sure which. Bottom line, though, I'd ask a couple of questions:
1: Do you trust the dealer? Since any technical support and warranty service for a Victron device runs through the authorized dealer/distributor who sells the device, it's very important to trust your dealer.
2: What can they tell you about the unit? If it's just been a demo unit, it may well have just been sitting on a display stand, powered up but not really doing much... we have a MultiPlus 3kVA like that here in our main office and if we ever decided to sell it, someone would get a great deal on it because it's literally never done anything except sit there, powered on and keeping a battery on float. On the other hand, "demo unit" might mean it's been packed up or thrown in the back of a truck and traipsed around to trade shows or abused in any number of other possible ways. It'll be important to establish how it was treated in its time as a demo unit.
Overall this is very possibly a great deal, since these units are extremely robust and dependable so long as they've been installed properly and treated well, so it's just very important for you to establish how the unit has been treated, how old it is, and make sure you that you trust the dealer to be knowledgeable and supportive.
I would consider following things:
- Do a visual check of terminals and circuit boards for corrosion, dust build-up, etc. (need to open covers for you) - will give indication of environment been operating in....
- Is the 37% discount 'real'? - check other offers for same equipment from other suppliers to assess
- What is likelihood that supplier will be in business over next 2 years?
- Check warranty details/small print - what failure modes are excluded?
- Check microprocessor version - older microprocessor versions may not have functionality that you are looking for/need.... See https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/manual-VE.Bus-firmware-versions-explained-EN.pdf
In my opinion if above checks out then go for it - if something does not go wrong in next 2 years, unlikely will go wrong soon after!
