What to look at when buying used P3Pro?

Joined
Dec 21, 2017
Messages
38
Reaction score
4
Age
64
Looking to buy my first used P3P and am interested in advice on what to look for and how to obtain relevant AC info before making a purchase decision. Thank you.
 
OK,if buying off ebay etc, there is always a risk, you need to balance that with reward,ie big discount.
If you can, examine the Phantom ask to see it flying, ask if it has been crashed, thoroughly check for cracks, these are hard to see, and are near the motor mounts.
Check the gimbal operation.
Check the battery usage, the number of charges is easy to check and is indicative of overall use, the batteries have only so many useful charges, the seller should be keen and able to show you the charges. Heavy use is not particularly a problem, but batteries are expensive, and failure is usually catastrophic.
My ultimate guide is my personal feel and trust towards the seller. I have bought 3 DJI used quads with no problems.
Good luck
 
@Jayfdee has given you some good tips. Re the battery condition cycle count might be an indication however there is more useful information available you should also look at. Total pack capacity (compared to new), battery life % and cell voltage imbalance are also reliable indicators of serviceability and performance. Capacity and static cell variations are available in the GO app with life % reported by the battery lights. Airdata will tell you a lot about a Battery by reviewing the flight log from the last flight.

A battery is unlikely to cause a catastrophic failure if you pay attention to app warnings and reported data/telemetry.
 
Good thing to try is craigslist or Letgo. Meet up with the person selling it, have them fly it or test it out just to check that it works. I got my P3P for 600 on craigslist about a year ago. Only had around 30 hours total on it. I have put a lot more on. It also came with an extra battery and range extenders and a case. Other important things to check are the number of times the battery has been cycled and that they are reset (down to 8% and then charged) every 11 cycles. Everything that With The Birds said will help a lot.
 
My personal believe is to not buy used drones... Not because is bad but most of the time, the owner itself does not even know the details of his aircraft. I rather buy it new or factory refurbished. Factory refurbished is my preferred because it's cheaper than buying new but you get warranty.
 
I'm selling one. I was looking for a spark trade. But decided to sell mine see link,it will also explain the camera issue and show it in flight. Any questions let me know.

Look at this on eBay
DJI Phantom 3 Pro 4K Drone with Case and Extras - WATCH VIDEO SHOWING OPERATION! | eBay
Great deal! However, your video link does not work. You used the edit link which just brings other people to their own videos. Go to the videos actual page and copy the link from there and put it in.
 
Great deal! However, your video link does not work. You used the edit link which just brings other people to their own videos. Go to the videos actual page and copy the link from there and put it in.
Sorry about that here is the link

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
I bought a second hand P3P .... I knew what to look for ... I took a PC etc. - checked the logs on it ... was thorough ...
Test flew it at sellers place before any money ...

Everything was fine ... flew nice ... good hard case .... got home - had a ball with it.

Then had a FW failure that bricked it. No fault of seller. Sent it to DJI ... and they reckoned it had bent gimbal arm as well as the FW board failure ...

They repaired boards under warranty based on being older versions subject to FW problems. The arm was replaced ... and they made mistake in invoicing - it got added to the warranty !!

Point of the story ... I checked that baby and she flew .. recorded .. worked fine ... if that FW hadn't bricked it - I would never have known about bent arm ... it appeared dead straight ...

Nigel
 
Good feedback...I myself subscribe to the notion of buying new or refurbd for obvious reasons but you can not count out a good deal buying used which prompted my seeking advice. I need to become familiar with the procedure to view the logs and battery data, am assuming this is all covered in manual, I am not one for reading the manual but getting my hands dirty. Other than the logs and battery data is there other info that should be pulled from the AC to verify condition?
 
Good feedback...I myself subscribe to the notion of buying new or refurbd for obvious reasons but you can not count out a good deal buying used which prompted my seeking advice. I need to become familiar with the procedure to view the logs and battery data, am assuming this is all covered in manual, I am not one for reading the manual but getting my hands dirty. Other than the logs and battery data is there other info that should be pulled from the AC to verify condition?
Only other things I can think of are checking the props for imperfections, check the shell for hairline fractures check the lens for any scratches. Make sure all the motors rotate the same and that one isn't harder to move. Basically just a visual inspection. There is also a sticker on the topside of the battery compartment. It turns red it it's water damaged so check to make sure it is white.
 
great advice, if i find a platform at a reasonable price i will employ the advice above and hopefully walk away ith a reliable ac.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,358
Members
104,936
Latest member
hirehackers