I believe that the vast majority of machine tool dealers will go out
of their way to make sure that their customer is happy with what he

I agree with this. I have bought from several dealers and I even
returned a machine once. No hassle, full refund. You can operate
the machines and play with them. I have even brought in my own stock
and grinding wheels to try out surface grinders. No Hassle, no pressure
and no inconvience to anyone.

However, I have found that different dealers operate in different modes.
Some buy machines and attempt to turn them around without checking them
out very much (or at all). They still manage to find a buyer somewhere that
is happy with the machine. Others dealers are quite selective in what they
buy and sell. These are the ones I like to deal with! Some dealers will
even take a wish list. Of course you can not expect bargain prices for
service like this either.

I bought a super nice rockwell 11x24 lathe with every accessory you
could want from a dealer. Its hard to find a package like this.
I got like new Buck Adjust true chucks (3 and 6 jaw), steady
rest, follower rest, carriage stop, face plate, driver plate, etc.
After using this machine for a while, the bearings got very noisy
in the jack shaft. I replaced them, but the dealer compensated me
the next time I saw him.

I bought a rockwell horizontial machine from the same dealer a while back.
A month after I bought the machine the dealer sent me an #30 erickson
collet chuck in the mail for it. Nice guy!

So in my opinion, a good dealer will have contacts I cannot hope to make
and can find things I don't have the time to look for. He is also a good
source of information. He makes a few bucks and I get nice tools.

chuck