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This is my find of a lifetime, to date: a Flex Leverage triceps machine I picked up for free in 2014. It wasn't a find of the week. It was a once-in-a-lifetime find, and it's still my most cherished memory of finding a piece of equipment.
I want this to be useful, not just a show-and-tell. So here's the full breakdown: where it turned up, how I checked it, what I paid, how it got home and what it took to make it right.
Think of it like a good thrift-store find. The jacket on the rack isn't special because it's old. It's special because it's well made, it still has years left in it, and you paid a fraction of what it's worth. Old gym equipment is the same. Some of it is junk. Some of it was built better than anything you'll buy new today. The trick is knowing which is which.
Your First Step: Before you buy anything used, pick one piece you actually need for your training and set a price ceiling for it. Shop for that, not for whatever looks cool.
The Breakdown
The Find
The first piece I ever found was a Flex Leverage triceps machine, back in 2014. Equipment wasn't even on my radar then. It was free, so I grabbed it on a whim. I had no idea what it was, just that it looked like an old-school plate-loaded machine. I only found out later what I had.
As far as I know, it was a demo build. People told me it was a demo build from Flex, that it wasn't regularly manufactured and that only five were made. I don't know how valid that is. I can't find anything that directly links it to Flex outside of the style and the way it was manufactured, and I've never found a patent on it. It looks and feels like a Flex Leverage piece, and it resembles the Flex lat pulldown. So take it for what it is: a rare piece from a brand that's no longer around.
Why go after older equipment at all? A lot of older commercial equipment was built heavy and simple, and simple things are easier to keep running. If you are hunting your own, start with Where to Find Used Gym Equipment: Listings, Closures & Auctions.
Where It Turned Up
It was sitting at the curb. The owner was throwing it away, and he told me, "Yeah, take it." That was the whole deal.
That's not how most finds happen now. These days, if I get a push notification that something new got listed on a marketplace, I start digging, even if I'm in the middle of a workout. I use AI programs to sift through listings for keywords. There are a lot of sellers close to me, and I've picked up rowers, back extension benches and air bikes for cheap that way.
For me, it's all about proximity and use of time. Plenty of times I've grabbed a piece between clients, thrown it in the bed of my truck and kept going. The truck has a cap, so smaller things can ride along until I get home. A lot of what I find now is cable attachments and old, classic pieces.
Good equipment shows up in a handful of places: online listings, gyms that are closing or remodeling, auctions, word of mouth and, sometimes, the curb. Each one has its own rules and its own red flags. I broke them all down in Where to Find Used Gym Equipment: Listings, Closures & Auctions.
How I Checked It
Before any money changes hands, go over the piece the same way every time. The basics:
- Frame and Welds: look for cracks, especially around joints and where the frame takes load. Surface rust can be cleaned up. Cracked welds are a different story.
- Cables and Pulleys: run the full range of motion. Look for frayed cable, flat spots on pulleys and any grinding or catching.
- Moving Parts: guide rods, bushings, pins and adjustment holes. Bent rods and stripped adjustments are a pain to fix.
- Upholstery: torn pads are cheap to redo. Rotted boards under the pads are more work.
- What's Missing: weight-stack pins, selector rods, handles, bolts. Missing parts on an older machine can be hard to source.
The full list, with the red flags that make me walk away, is in Buying Used: The Inspection Checklist & the Red Flags.
What I Paid & Why
I paid nothing. It was free.
Later, someone told me what that machine goes for, and he offered me about $2,000 for it. I said no. After it was refurbished, the highest offer I've had is about $5,000. I still said no. It was the first piece I ever chose to pick up, and the sentimental value is worth more to me. I've never seen another one like it in any gym, so to me it's one of a kind, and I plan on keeping it.
I've found more since then, including Nebula hack squats and old chain-driven pieces like the early-generation pullovers. The triceps machine is still my favorite.
In the end, it comes down to people. What a piece is worth is the seller's call. What it's worth paying is the buyer's call. If a seller ever meets or beats the price you had in mind, keep a poker face. And sometimes, like this one, it's just not for sale. One man's trash is another man's treasure, especially in a day and age when somebody would just throw a piece like this away.
Most finds won't be free, and most won't be worth thousands. Price is where most people get it wrong, in both directions. Some overpay because a brand name sounds impressive. Others lowball so hard that the seller won't deal with them. A fair price comes down to condition, what it costs to fix, what it costs to move and what you'd pay for something comparable.
One thing I always count: the cost of getting it home. A great price on a machine you can't move isn't a great price.
Getting It Home
Used gym equipment is heavy, awkward and often in a basement, a second floor or the back of a building. Plan the move before you agree to the deal. Know the weight, measure the doorways, bring help and the right gear, and take it apart if you have to. Don't try to muscle a machine up a staircase alone to save a few dollars. Read Moving Heavy Equipment Safely before you load anything.
The Cleanup
I finally refurbished it more than eight years after I got it. Old equipment has to be safe to use the way it is, or it gets refurbished first. A buddy rewelded it, and during COVID we had it powder coated. A buddy did the powder coating at cost. It usually took him two to three weeks, because he had to sandblast, heat, prime and coat around his own work hours. It looks brand new now, and it looks awesome.
The machine now lives in a family friend's climate-controlled barndominium warehouse, wrapped up and protected.
Bro Science Check: "A 45 is a 45. If it says it on the plate, that's what it weighs."
What the Research Says: There's no big study on this one. What we do know is that calibrated competition plates are built to tight tolerances; Rogue, for example, machine-calibrates its calibrated steel plates to within plus or minus 10 grams (Rogue Fitness, n.d.). Ordinary cast-iron plates aren't sold with that kind of promise, and older ones may be worn, chipped or patched.
Verdict: Keep. For everyday training, a used plate is close enough. If you're tracking exact numbers or buying a big lot, put a few on a scale before you pay.
Was It Worth It?
For a free machine I've turned down $5,000 for, yes. But every find ends with the same question, and the answer won't always be that easy. This is how I judge it:
- Does it train well? A machine is only worth owning if it puts load on the target muscle the way it's supposed to. If the path feels off, no price makes it worth it.
- Was the total cost fair? Purchase price plus moving plus repairs, compared with what a similar piece would cost elsewhere.
- Will it last? Simple, heavy, well-built equipment can outlive the person who bought it.
Common Mistakes When Buying Used
- Buying because it's cheap. A cheap machine you don't need is still money spent on something that takes up space.
- Skipping the inspection. Look at it in person and run the full range of motion before you pay.
- Forgetting the move. Trucks, help, straps and time all cost something.
- Not checking parts availability. If a part breaks, can you get a replacement or have one made?
Want the backstory on one of the brands I keep an eye out for? Read Brand Files: Nautilus & the Cam. Next: Buying Used: The Inspection Checklist & the Red Flags.