It is not uncommon, with the high price of massage chairs, for people to look for refurbished or used massage chairs. Not a bad idea, but I think there are some things you need to consider before taking the plunge with a used or refurbished chair. Consider these things:
USED
1. Do you want your massage chair to have a warranty? Make sure you ask the seller of the chair you are considering buying whether there is warranty left. To really make sure, just in case the seller has a poor memory of when the chair was purchased, ask for the make and model of the chair along with the serial number and name of the buyer so that you can call the massage chair company and verify for sure when the chair was bought, if there is any warranty remaining, and, if so, how much time left and what is covered.ย
Most chairs, except for Inada chairs and recent Panasonic chairs, have a 1 year parts and labor, in-home warranty along with a second year of parts only (Inada and Panasonic have 3 years parts and labor, in-home warranties). Find out if any of that warranty is remaining.
Here is another thing to consider…
If you are thinking of buying a used Inada massage chair, i.e. Sogno, you cannot transfer a warranty from one owner to another UNLESS that transaction is mediated by an authorized seller of Inada massage chairs. This is a fairly recent change to the warranty structure, as of a year or so ago, and it precludes warranty transfer from one a seller to a buyer without an authorized dealer involved in the transaction.
It is a really, really good idea to always find out what the make and model of the chair is and call the massage chair company to find out what little details, just like the one I shared with you about the Inada chairs, might need to be known before purchase.
If a warranty on a used chair is not important to you, then ignore what I just told you.
2. Make sure the chair you are buying is built or imported by a well-known company. Should something go wrong with the chair while you own it, it is great to know that you can get parts for the chair. If you are not sure about a chair company, feel free to give me a call and I can let you know.
3. If the used chair you are looking at is a discontinued model by the maker or importer of the chair, check with the company to make sure that parts are still available. I will discuss this topic more in the “Refurbished” section below.
REFURBISHED
1. You can find refurbished chairs out there, but the single biggest problem with refurbished chairs is whether or not the company that made or imported the chair still makes the chair. If the chair has been discontinued, you may have a great difficulty getting parts for the chair.
I had two experiences with this pertaining to the HT-1650 by Human Touch. The chair was a popular seller before it was discontinued and replaced with the HT-9500. Well, in two cases of clients of mine, the chair broke down and when the customers called Human Touch to get a part for the chair’s repair, they were told that the parts they needed were no longer available. If they wanted to keep a semblance of the chair, they would have to purchase the new HT-9500. Fortunately, Human Touch had a generous purchase plan for customers who could no longer get their HT-1650 serviced. But, not all companies have that available. And, even still, the customer will have to spend some significant dollars to get the replacement chair.
So, the long and short of what I am saying is…if you are getting a refurbished chair, as I mentioned regarding used chairs, make sure that the parts are still available from the massage chair company. Call the massage chair company and get straightened out in your mind what is available and what problems you may run into down the road.
Hope this helps!! Be careful out there. Remember that you can always give me a call if you need some direction in this area.
Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com