Life Fitness 9500HR Treadmill

[Rod Farva]

Found this thing offered for $900. They said it had a new motherboard put in 2 years ago. Is this a potential red flag? What should I look for in a used treadmill like this as a sign of abuse / wear / neglect? Obviously by the price it's a good deal.

No clue how I'm going to transport this thing.

[FatGymRat]

I am selling my 9100HR for $700, so $900 is fair on that one.

I am a compulsive researcher, and I have a PDF of the manual if you want it.

What to look for....

Hours/Miles:
9-1-9-enter on the keypad puts it into diagnostics mode. It should alternate between total hours, total mileage, and hours on the belt. Most of the time the belt hours are the same as the total hours if the gym's maintenance staff do the service. The Lifefitness service guys will usually reset the belt hours.

(Lifefitness says commercial use is 'up to 18 hours per day, seven days per week', so it's not uncommon to see used treadmills with tens of thousands of hours)

Deck smoothness:
If it was a commercially used unit, dust and dirt from shoes gets in there and with all of that use, the deck can have light grooves.

Belt:
First, is it still the OE belt, or is it a replacement? Is it frayed or worn looking?
Make sure it's running dead down the center of the deck without drifting, and doesn't appear to be loose or too tight. Lifefitness have user serviceable roller adjustments to tighten the belt and adjust for drift. The instructions are in the manual.

Deck Lube:
Lifefitness has a wax bag that is all automatic.
The display tells you when it needs to be serviced.

Motor:
These are known to make a little growl when they first get going, but then they should be nice and smooth.
The commercial Lifefitness models are not the quietest units on the planet, btw...

Incline: Not much to go wrong here, but try it out.

Controls/Display:
Look at the buttons for signs of wear or cracks around the common buttons ('1' '2' and 'enter' are commonly worn in gym models from countless people entering 1-- & 2-- lbs of weight, 2- years of age, and 1.x to 2.x mph of speed to start).

Have the seller let you try it out. Try all of the modes, and make sure there are no burned out areas.
(note, get off the treadmill when running it up to max incline at top speed, you will be in no condition to negotiate if you are passed out)

====

I finally pulled the trigger on mine because the hours were stupid low (under 300) and the overall miles are under 2k.
Mine came from a Doctor's office, not a gym.

These 'mills are beasts. Don't be afraid of the fact that motors are *only* rated at 2.0 hp, they are AC drive and have tons of torque. Like you, I am not small (see my screen name) and I walk on mine and have never felt the belt slip ever. Some lesser products with 3 hp or higher motors still slip with fat boys like me.

Bottom line is make sure everything works, and it was not from a gym in New Orleans in '05; Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 08, or Fargo/Moorhead or Nashville this year. .

[Rod Farva]

Holy informative post. Better than I could have hoped for. Whats the best way to move one of these monsters? Do they come apart? Should i go with pickup truck or trailer or u haul box truck? Can 4 guys lift it somewhat easily? Im moving sat anyway which is why i would have access to the uhaul.

[lowblow]

Holy informative post. Better than I could have hoped for. Whats the best way to move one of these monsters? Do they come apart? Should i go with pickup truck or trailer or u haul box truck? Can 4 guys lift it somewhat easily? Im moving sat anyway which is why i would have access to the uhaul.

We carried my 9100hr down the stairs to the basment with 4 people. I think they go about 350 pounds or so. On mine we unbolted the control panel and front support arm, which makes it fairly flat. Get some big guys and take the end without the motor.lol The only awkward part for us was getting through a narrow doorway.

[FatGymRat]

370. one fell on my hand.

Bring 4 guys who eat meat.

[dumb.bell]

I've carried one of the larger Precors using two people (I got the motor end). It weighs something similar. We were on a flat surface, walking in a straight line. We made it about 30ft. I'll never attempt that again.

[CFF]

Found this thing offered for $900. They said it had a new motherboard put in 2 years ago. Is this a potential red flag? What should I look for in a used treadmill like this as a sign of abuse / wear / neglect? Obviously by the price it's a good deal.

No clue how I'm going to transport this thing.

Commercial treadmills average about 2000 - 4000 hrs a year. $900 is not a bad price for them at all. They usually run around $1350 used at this point in time. Wax will cost about $100 to replace a bag. You can pop off the side cover and see how much is left in the bag. I don't know that it matters that the control board was replaced two years ago as a lot could happen in two years. I would also check the rollers to see that they do not have a ton of wax build up as well as the bell is not breaking at the seam. Also the deck as previously stated can be worn so lift the belt to check for groves in it as well as note, the deck is able to be flipped so check to see if it has already been flipped or will you have that option in the future. A new deck will run you around $250 as well as the belt is the same. Please note that though it seems like a good price at first, you want t o do your home work because you can end up with an un-warrantied headache. If you need to get your hands on a manual, you can see one online at:
http://afsfit.com/index.php/User-Man...-category.html
This will give you the info you need to figure out how many hours are on the machine. Note, if the mother board was replaced, the hours logged will not be accurate.

[gigo2310]

Found this thing offered for $900. They said it had a new motherboard put in 2 years ago. Is this a potential red flag? What should I look for in a used treadmill like this as a sign of abuse / wear / neglect? Obviously by the price it's a good deal.

No clue how I'm going to transport this thing.

These things are workhorses, should be okay

[EvieB]

These things are workhorses, should be okay

So excited. I tried it at the sellers home it sounded like I expected and ran beautifully. and then me and my husband transported it home and with some maneuvering got it out of the truck bed and into the living room; hooked it up and ran it - well the sound from it came out like scraping metal on metal. still all moves and works just makes a scrapey sound it didn't make at the Sellers home......
Any ideas?
I got it for a really good deal but now may have to overhaul and that kinda takes the sails outta the good the deal.....not to mention I don't know who to contact in Vegas to get it done??
Thanks for any help you can give this newbie....