A friend of mine sent me this which I think is worth a read if anyone is contemplating buying a machine with "high hours". So long as it has been well-maintained and the history is known there is no reason at all to be frightened by a machine with a large amount of hours on it.
Love this post. Been all over facebook lately.
I was sent the article by a friend on Nevada. As I've said many times before before so long as the chassis is still in good order then everything else on the machine is either a bolt-on or a rebuildable component.
Nige Question on the state of the chassis: Are any reliable methods to inspect it, like ultrasound or X-ray or is it the half black arts/experience type thing ?
No secret really, all it needs is a Mk 1 eyeball. You're looking for visible cracks at known high-stress points. Obviously when a machine is completely torn down for a full overhaul then the chassis is usually sandblasted back to bare metal but even then the crack inspection is usually of the visual variety.
Thanks Nige. Interesting that in our high tech world the Mk 1 eyeball and gut feeling are still the best diagnostic tools :beatsme I wonder how much pride went into the build of this D10, everybody on the floor working on it.