Buying Second Hand Phantom 4

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Hi all,
I'm looking at buying a second hand phantom 4 drone for $600. It comes with batteries, a controller and a drone. In the photos it looks fine and like new.

Is there something I should look for when buying second hand drones or questions I should ask? Or should I just not do it at all?

Thanks

Ps. Here are the photos i have.
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Not to deter you, but many drone-hours have been spent on this site trying to help new pilots diagnose issues with their newly obtained second-hand drones.

The only true test I can think of is to fly the thing and test everything while doing so. Short of a flight test, know your seller, protect your purchase as much as possible with a credit card or PayPal (business transaction only. Avoid a "friends/family path). Research the price on E-Bay. Search "ended listings" for actual selling price.
 
LarBear: You are so right.......they might look great BUT have all kinds of issues in the year and a half that i have been here i also have read countless stories of what a second hand user of a newly acquired drone is dealing with.......So Buyer beware.

See it Fly.....a few batteries and then make a decision !

In the yellow circled areas of the picture ARE them slight cracks or scratches ?

And how long has the Drone been activated....will the owner tell you that?

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I'm looking at buying a second hand phantom 4 drone for $600.
Is there something I should look for when buying second hand drones or questions I should ask? Or should I just not do it at all?
A lightly used Phantom can be a great buy.
It gives you a chance to pick up a top quality flying machine and maybe a few batteries etc for a great price.
I've bought two myself and they've been great.
But you don't want to end up with someone's problems.

You need to have a flight test to check that it does everything as it should and check the cosmetic condition.
The other thing to check is the flight hours.
If you are lucky you might find something like my backup Phantom
i-hPxdCvh-M.jpg

It's only got 8 hours on the clock because I've only used it twice for a couple of days each tome while #1 was in the shop getting a new shell.
When I bought it, it had only 58 minutes!! The three almost new batteries were a nice bonus too.

That would probably be a better buy than my regular fly which has had a hard working life for the last 2.5 yrs flying in all sorts of conditions.
It's still a great machine and I trust it to do the job but I'd look elsewhere if I was shopping around.
It's showing 121 hrs (just on DHI Go4) and has probably half that much again on Litchi and DroneDeploy.
i-7v7p87v-M.jpg
 
A lightly used Phantom can be a great buy.
It gives you a chance to pick up a top quality flying machine and maybe a few batteries etc for a great price.
I've bought two myself and they've been great.
But you don't want to end up with someone's problems.

You need to have a flight test to check that it does everything as it should and check the cosmetic condition.
The other thing to check is the flight hours.
If you are lucky you might find something like my backup Phantom
i-hPxdCvh-M.jpg

It's only got 8 hours on the clock because I've only used it twice for a couple of days each tome while #1 was in the shop getting a new shell.
When I bought it, it had only 58 minutes!! The three almost new batteries were a nice bonus too.

That would probably be a better buy than my regular fly which has had a hard working life for the last 2.5 yrs flying in all sorts of conditions.
It's still a great machine and I trust it to do the job but I'd look elsewhere if I was shopping around.
It's showing 121 hrs (just on DHI Go4) and has probably half that much again on Litchi and DroneDeploy.
i-7v7p87v-M.jpg
What if I can't manage to fly it. Should I still trust a drone with a small flight time?
 
I would only buy without seeing and test flying if it was a good deal and after questioning the owner, I was convinced it was as good as I hoped.
What questions should i ask to compensate for the inability to see it fly. Thanks for your help by the way.
 
What questions should i ask to compensate for the inability to see it fly.
I did buy one from a distant owner once and got a feeling that he was genuine trustworthy.
I had him show the hours as above and also email me a photo so I could check that the camera worked well.
 
LarBear: You are so right.......they might look great BUT have all kinds of issues in the year and a half that i have been here i also have read countless stories of what a second hand user of a newly acquired drone is dealing with.......So Buyer beware.

See it Fly.....a few batteries and then make a decision !

In the yellow circled areas of the picture ARE them slight cracks or scratches ?

And how long has the Drone been activated....will the owner tell you that?

View attachment 108949
Those could be hairline cracks from a hard landing.
 
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What questions should i ask to compensate for the inability to see it fly. Thanks for your help by the way.
I would pay an extra $100.00, and buy a refurbished one from the dji store. You only get one battery, but you get a one year warranty. That's how I bought my p4 last year, and it looked brand spanking new when I removed it from the box. I've had it one year now, and it has an hour and a half flight time, and no scratches.
 
The props could have been scratched like that from a command stick shut down so ?
Early in my first flights it happened to me a few scary times....Till i found the right and proper way.

The camera base is metal and will bend first, then crack.

Well IF thats the case.....its been "Slammed" pretty hard to crack the metal in a terrible landing and its has extensively repaired (new landing gear camera gimbal ect)
The choice is yours to Buy it Or pass it by ?

If i was the seller.. id get rid of it too.. asap.

The best of luck to you.
 
Um for the price I would buy it but only cause mine in many pieces (still sad),,does look quite clean ,in ok condition but see it fly ,,really is luck of the draw if ok,second hand always risky with anything in life,,if you buy put some new props on your spare parts list ,,you could if possible turn all on and see what compass and imu readings say,,,it's probly never had a imu calibration which sets all the sensors etc on board,,,if imu and compass settings fluxuating really bad there could be a issue,,if they all in normal range,,,buy it,replace props and fly :)and download the manual,,it's good read
 
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I would pay an extra $100.00, and buy a refurbished one from the dji store. You only get one battery, but you get a one year warranty. That's how I bought my p4 last year, and it looked brand spanking new when I removed it from the box. I've had it one year now, and it has an hour and a half flight time, and no scratches.
In Australia, we have a retailer (**** Smith) who sells a refurbished Phantom 4 for $950 plus warranty but I'd like to try and save the $350 if possible.
 
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In Australia, we have a retailer (**** Smith) who sells a refurbished Phantom 4 for $950 plus warranty but I'd like to try and save the $350 if possible.
Sorry didn't realize your in Aulstralia. So the dji store wont ship to you?
 
I bought a used P4 for $450. Love it. I only got one battery. Have him demo it for you or better yet fly it yourself before you buy it.
 
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Yes make sure you can get money back no cash deal! here. In the US there are a lot of scams on eBay and Craig's list good luck
 

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