Had to pick between a used $800 injector tester and a $1200 new one

I was looking at buying an injector tester for my shop last month. The used one was an old Bosch unit from a guy selling out of his garage in Des Moines. I went with the new one because the used had no warranty and looked beat. Turned out the new one works fine but honestly the savings would have been worth the risk.

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.uma7d ago

And that's exactly the kind of call I hate making. I did the same thing with a coolant pressure tester a couple years back. Found a used Mac Tools one for half price but the guy couldn't tell me if it held pressure right. I went new too and ended up paying double for basically the same tool. The new one has a gauge I don't even use and a plastic case that cracked after a year. The used one probably would have done the job just fine for what I need. I keep telling myself next time I'll take the risk but then I get there and chickening out every time. It's like paying for peace of mind you don't even end up using.

rowanr887d ago

Man that hits close to home. I did almost the same dance with a torque wrench last year. Found a used Snap-on on Facebook for a steal but the seller couldn't prove it was still calibrated. Walked away and bought the same model new for triple the money. The new one works fine but I still wonder if the used one would have been just as good. You pay extra for that piece of mind and half the time it doesn't even feel like you got any.

victorhernandez7d ago

Yeah I hear you on the peace of mind thing. But here is something I bet nobody thinks about. That coolant pressure tester you bought new, did you check if the o-rings and seals on it are any different from the used one? I looked into this when I was buying my injector tester and found out a lot of those new tools use cheaper rubber now to cut costs. The old ones from ten years ago had better seals that actually lasted longer. So by buying new you might be getting a tool that wears out faster than the beat up used one would have.