Vent: A nursery near Austin pushed me toward a brand new chipper, but my gut said buy used

Elizabeth Martin · 2026-10-10T20:40:05.217779+00:00

So last month I finally had to deal with this after my old Echo gas trimmer gave out on a job in Round Rock. I needed a chipper for the bigger storm cleanup work I keep getting, and the guy at the equipment yard was pushing me hard toward a new 6 inch Bandit for $28,000. He kept saying the warranty and the dealer support would save me down the road, and that buying used was how you inherit someone else's problems. But my buddy who runs a crew in Pflugerville bought a used 2014 Vermeer for $11,500 and says it has run fine for three seasons with just a new set of blades and a belt. So I went used, found a 2016 model with 1,400 hours, and I have put about 60 hours on it already. Now I am second guessing myself because the hydraulic feed keeps hesitating on bigger limbs and I am worried I made the wrong call. The dealer is quoting me $1,800 just to look at the pump, which is already a chunk of what I saved. So I am stuck between two camps here, is it worth paying the premium for new and warranty, or do you roll the dice on used and just budget for repairs? Would love to hear from anyone who has been in this exact spot.

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Vent: A nursery near Austin pushed me toward a brand new chipper, but my gut said buy used | Arborists - Discusd