The Machinery Dealers
National Association (MDNA) is an industry group made up of Machinery and
Equipment Dealers from around the world. It was created in order to give
its members a platform to support, educate and inform one another about changes
in the industry, advancements in technology and equipment as well as a forum to
meet and network with each other. Through this 'network' most dealers
know each other or know someone who knows a particular individual. This
can be extremely advantageous when a buyer of equipment is trying to find out
more about dealer or company's reputation. In today's fast moving market
place it is not uncommon for someone to buy a machine they have never seen from
a dealer they have never met. Due to that I always encourage buyers to
check with a dealer they know about one they don't.
Most dealers that we know and come into contact with pride themselves on being
thorough and do their best to know the running condition and functionality of
the machines they buy and sell. There are occasions, however, when an
issue is missed during an inspection. If this is the case, a reputable
dealer will usually work with the buyer to resolve the issue unless that
machine was sold "as is, where is" or in the case of an inspection,
"as inspected". When not sold under these parameters a machine
may be sold with a "30 Day MDNA Repair/Return Privilege"; this is
sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "30 Day Warranty". It
was designed in order to protect a buyer from an unscrupulous seller or from
the gross misrepresentation of a machine or its condition. The actual
verbiage from the MDNA is below:
*Accept
within 30 days from shipment any machinery and equipment sold with return
privilege, freight prepaid, for refund of the purchase price if proven
mechanically unsatisfactory; or repair at dealer's option.
I have found that many
times someone has bought a machine with this condition applied to the sale who
thinks that the selling dealer is supposed to cover anything that breaks on the
machine within the first 30 days - this is not the case. In actuality it
gives the buyer up to 30 days in which to determine whether or not the machine
that bought is as represented; if it is not, the selling dealer can fix
whatever needs to be repaired in order to get the machine to the condition as
represented or take the machine back for a refund. This repair/return option
is the seller's (not the buyer's) and the buyer is responsible to pay the
freight back to the dealer's warehouse or location that they designate.
In theory, I believe that in most cases a buyer should know if a machine is in
the condition it was represented to be within 2 - 3 days after putting power to
it and getting it into production.
In summary, this mechanism should give most buyers a certain level of comfort
but the best way to purchase used equipment is to have it inspected by you, one
of your team or a service tech that you know and trust. As always, if you
have any questions regarding the above or we can help you in any way please
give us a call!!
