Can anyone give me any tips on buying a used elliptical? Specifically what bells and whistles to look for, good and bad brands, etc. I think $1000 would be close to my budget... Hope that can get something decent. Thanks.

Hmm. Sears sells Proform ellipticals. They are about $600. I didn't care for the one I bought. The equipment I have now I bought is from a store that sells gym quality items like Life Fitness.

I have a Sole E95 Elliptical and it is awesome but not cheap(I paid $1600 with a discount) however you may be able to find a good used one...Sole has several different models and I have never heard anything bad about them and Sole also makes treadmills.I wanted a heart rate monitor on the grips as well as an optional chest strap.I also looked for one with a heavy fly wheel for the smoothest motion and I wanted various ramp and resistance levels.I tried a lot of different machines before settling on this one...The proforms nordic trac and schwinns weren't bad they had all 3 of these brands as well as sole at sears.

I bought mine new a couple years ago on amazon for under $600. It's a gold gym brand. I am happy with it. It doesn't have major bells and whistles, but it tracks speed, distance, calories burned, time and pulse.

If you can find an used precor, I would look at that

Can anyone give me any tips on buying a used elliptical? Specifically what bells and whistles to look for, good and bad brands, etc. I think $1000 would be close to my budget... Hope that can get something decent. Thanks.

I bought my Nordik Track from Craigslist. Make sure you have plenty of programs available to change it up.

. I did look around at new equipment, but there are always people selling these things used for really cheap. I tried a couple of stores that specialize in used exercise equipment but they were almost as expensive as new.

Bought a used Nordic Trek elliptical from Play It Again Sports. Very happy with it and them.

Agree with Laura the a used Precor elliptical is rock solid. Mine is about 20 years old and does not have bells / whistles. Yet it is really good at just being a high quality elliptical. Unfortunately, the motor just gave out on it (after such a long time of daily use) so we may be in the market for a used elliptical as well. It lasted a really long time before motor went out

Hmm. Sears sells Proform ellipticals. They are about $600. I didn't care for the one I bought. The equipment I have now I bought is from a store that sells gym quality items like Life Fitness.

LifeFitness is a decent brand used in lots of gyms. Also agree with Laura-ven and Fiddleman, Precor is good as well. Stay away from department store brands.

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LifeFitness is a decent brand used in lots of gyms. Also agree with Laura-ven and Fiddleman' date=' Precor is good as well. Stay away from department store brands.[/quote']

I know what you mean about life fitness. Every time I stay at the Marriott on vacation, I get to use the latest in commercial life fitness and love the machines. They are not only really solid like Precor, but Lao have the fancy HD video displays with TV and neat programs. The programs on the latest Life Fitness machines are the part I would appreciate the most in a new elliptical next to the solid an smooth feel of their machines. Any idea what one of the commercial grade life fitness machines would cost? I am thinking somewhere between 5k and 10 k. I would buy a used one of these on Craigslist if they were between 1000-1500 max and would really get excited and start salivating if they were listed under 1000.

I bought a Life Fitness gym treadmill and it was 4500. Worth every penny. Quiet, quick on increasing speed, doesn't shake or make any noise beside the belt going. Full lifetime warranty. I love this treadmill. Next time I move, I will have a dedicated gym with everything in it. I also bought a row machine and that was 1400.

(My husband is a fitness fanatic)

Here's the exact one I have. I highly recommend it.

http://www.fitnesszone.com/product/Life-Fitness-T7-0-Treadmill.html

And here's the Water rower:

http://www.waterrower.com/professional.php

Both great pieces of equipment.

We have two that we like very much. We have the Sole E95 and a Precor. I bought both new and they are both in great shape and have lifetime limited guarantees.

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I bought a Life Fitness gym treadmill and it was 4500. Worth every penny. Quiet' date=' quick on increasing speed, doesn't shake or make any noise beside the belt going. Full lifetime warranty. I love this treadmill. Next time I move, I will have a dedicated gym with everything in it. I also bought a row machine and that was 1400.

(My husband is a fitness fanatic)

Here's the exact one I have. I highly recommend it.

http://www.fitnesszone.com/product/Life-Fitness-T7-0-Treadmill.html

And here's the Water rower:

http://www.waterrower.com/professional.php

Both great pieces of equipment.

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Thanks for the link to the treadmill. Appreciate it I would love to buy new equipment and never have, but 4500 seems obtainable. Time to start saving! My wife is going to have VSG later this month and I would love for her to have a nice piece of equipment (with a warranty!!) for her to get really motivated about exercising when the time is right. I have really enjoyed having equipment in the house for a constant reminder about working out when my motivation was waning at best. Now that I enjoy working out, it is just great!

We also both love to row and have a good ol' trust concept II model B rower in our little gym. This model is built like a tank and I think it would survive a nuclear blast. It is very well made. You just have to keep it oiled and replace the batteries on the display. They have made newer models (model D now?), but this one is very good. My wife used to be a crew rower and this is one of her fondest memories of childhood - to go out on Green lake here in Seattle area and row. it is a strong motivator for her to exercise again. Maybe while she is rowing, I will run around a few times (3 miles one time around the lake) if I am not out there with her on the water. She turned me onto rowing after we got married, but I have yet to try it out on the water. However, I do row short distances now as part of Warmup before my cross fit session (not so much long rowing rowing like I used to do many years ago). Let me tell you (the reader) that rowing is an excellent full body workout and really builds that upper body strength!! It also is a great stomach Shrinker as you will be really working that area.

Great, guys! This is exactly what I was hoping to get, thanks so much. I've been watching Craigslist but nothing too good right now. I imagine you can buy a good hardly-used one since people buy them and don't end up staying with it. I'll just keep stalking Craigslist, I appreciate the brand info:)