Fadal delimma

Thanks everyone for your replies. You given me a lot to think about. After reading all your replies I think if the deal goes through (haven't got an answer yet about my offer) I'll just buy the small 4th and have it available. It is a small and I may not get anything more out of it installed and I won't include it for free with the machine. I'll try selling the machine and offering the 4th as an add on.

After I pay to have the electronics removed I'll have almost $1000 in it depending on how long it takes to remove it. Honestly I'm thinking $2k for it after seeing what just the 4th itself is going for without the electronics. And I'm in no hurry to sell the machine or the 4th. I've got plenty of room and not hurting for the money. I'm going to offer it and tell people the date I'll have a forklift here they can use to load it if if I get the other machine.. Otherwise they pay for the forklift. And I'll take at least a $1k deposit to make sure they are serious, and cash on delivery. No checks of any kind unless they give one to me long enough before machine pick up so it has time to clear my bank.

I'm using Erik out of Albany to do the work on the machine. The vmc15 is a DC machine and so is the 4th. So according to Erik it's a direct bolt in.

The $2k price on the VMC15 was the good guy, been at the company for 8 years, 50 plus hour weeks slave. And, the dealer bought the 4020 and another of the 3016's, but was not willing to pay a dime for the 15. Said he would take it for free but that's it. So I made an offer and got it. The $5k for the other machines is a steal. I've ran them for 8 years and they are rock solid. One needs a oil restrictor replaced, but that's the only repair any of them need.


The "Fatal Dilimma" comment is funny. Years ago when I bought my 4020 new it didn't run for almost a month. I almost went out of business. Turns out when Giddings and Lweis bought Fadal they had their electonics supplier start making boards for the machine. I got one of the first of those machines. They finally found a machine back east and pulled all the electronics out of it and put into mine. So for years we called it the "Fatal" because it almost was for us.

Edit, almost forgot about the Haas 4th question. They have a stand alone controller for their 4th's Not sure on compatibility with your 4th, but here is one on EBay. Seems to be a lot of them there at a decent price.

www.ebay.com

Haas Industrial Rotary Tables for sale | eBay

Get the best deals on Haas Industrial Rotary Tables when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices.
www.ebay.com
 
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alloy said:
I'm using Erik out of Albany to do the work on the machine. The vmc15 is a DC machine and so is the 4th. So according to Erik it's a direct bolt in.
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Yup, he's a good guy, and good luck with the Fadal shuffle.
 
I just made the deal for the 3016 with the big 4th, and bought the vh5c 4th for $500. I also made an $500 offer on a spare brand new spare spindle we have. Hopefully they will accept the offer on the spindle. If they do it's $6000 total.

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When I talked with the owner after we made the deal he said he was going to change what he's offering for sale to the machine tool dealer that is interested in buying he machines. My boss said later the buyer told him that the 4th axis's were worth nothing to him and he'd give $5k per machine. Two of them have a 4th on them and I'm buying the one machine with a 4th, and buying the 4th off the other machine.

Now after he offered the remaining two machine with no 4th on them, the dealer isn't willing to offer as much without the 4th axis's.

So are the 4th's worth something or not??? Is the dealer lying? Probably so. To me that's not kosher. Now with knowing this I'm wondering if the owner will go through with our deal and lose money?
 
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alloy said:
When I talked with the owner after we made the deal he said he was going to change what he's offering for sale to the machine tool dealer that is interested in buying he machines. My boss said later the buyer told him that the 4th axis's were worth nothing to him and he'd give $5k per machine. Two of them have a 4th on them and I'm buying the one machine with a 4th, and buying the 4th off the other machine.

Now after he offered the remaining two machine with no 4th on them, the dealer isn't willing to offer as much without the 4th axis's.

So are the 4th's worth something or not??? Is the dealer lying? Probably so. To me that's not kosher. Now with knowing this I'm wondering if the owner will go through with our deal and lose money?
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I sure hope the owner of a business you've worked at for 8 years will consider goodwill with a loyal employee over some small amount of money on selling surplus equipment. Afterall, the new machines won't run themselves will they?

If I were in your position I would proactively explain to the boss that you don't want him to loose money and would forego the 4th axis if necessary. You might loose out on the deal but knowing how valued you are to him would be worth the risk IMHO.

I've had bosses let me go because I started a related (but not competitive) side business. The fact you have one who will supply you with the means to potentially compete probably means he has a certain amount of trust in you. You can affirm this by graciously backing out of the deal he made with you and showing you have his (and the company you work for) best interest in mind.

Of course you know your situation better than anyone and my free advice is probably worth exactly as much as you paid for it;)

Good luck either way....

Cheers,

John
 
Thanks John, you made me feel a little better about it. And yes in the grand scheme of things the money lost is inconsequential to the overall picture.


I think the carrot for the dealer offering to buy the machines is the one with the big 4 th, that's the one I hope I'll be getting and they were just conning him to get the price down. Now the real truth comes out.

Just the machine on eBay runs from $12k up to $18k without the 4th, and a 4th is worth between $6 to $8k.

For now I thInk I'm just going to sit back and see what happens. I don't want to give anything away I don't have to.
 
Man, I wish I had the chance to buy some of this equipment:) Sounds like you are in a good place. Just take your time and don't tick off the boss man!
 
I hope not to tick them off, but we have a deal and I expect them to live up to it. I'm going to stand up for myself on this one.

I'm not the bad guy here, it's the lying machine tool dealer saying the 4th's aren't worth anything, but all of a sudden now they are.

These are good machines, I'm running all three now. I wish a private party would buy them. They are a steal even without the 4th. But there are leary of trying to sell them on Craigslist. When the new machines come in these have to go. And if a CL buyer flakes out then they have to pay for storage.

I'm trying not to get involved with selling them, just not something I'm not comfortable with if a deal goes south.

But I will tell everyone here about them. Much higher quality people on here as far as Im concerned.
 
I don't know that I would characterize the dealer as "lying".

More like negotiating....

;)

John
 
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