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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 1133
Location: Parrish, FL | Hey y'all,
First post although have been lurking for the last couple of months. Looking to pick up my first O in the near future and came across what may be a fair deal on a reconditioned LX.
I would appreciate this groups comments on the pros and cons of this purchase. The obvious is that I can save a bunch of $$$$ on what is essentially a new guitar. On the down side, only a five yr warranty, lower resale, etc.
What I'm looking for is info on the condition, sound, cosmetics, etc on reconditioned Ovations.
Who here has experience in that area?
Looking forward to becoming an active member of this forum. I'm returning to the guitar after a 35 yr hiatus, thus essentially starting over. Always have kicked myself for not staying at it, but better now to do something about it rather than lament the passing of more time.
BAM |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Welcome BAM!
FRG is not a kiss of death! Any "defects" are bound to show up in five years anyway.
Look it over, buy it, pull the FRG sticker!
90% of our inventories are Pre-owned with no warrantee anyway. Most damage is Operator induced. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 863
Location: Central Florida | There's been a lot of discussion on this topic in the past. Try doing a search under "FRG," or Factory Reconditioned," and you should get some good info. FWIW, I owned a FRG Ovation a while back and thought it was fine.
Jeff |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I believe the "NO SEARCH" rule is still in effect until Miles gives us the green light. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | How will we know if the site is fixed if we don't "test" it? :rolleyes:
MWoody Cliff-Notes: Don't worry about the FRG - Get a good deal. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7247
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I won't be back in town until next week. Search is still broke. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 2
Location: Chicago | Originally posted by BluesSailor:
Hey y'all,
First post although have been lurking for the last couple of months. Looking to pick up my first O in the near future and came across what may be a fair deal on a reconditioned LX.
I would appreciate this groups comments on the pros and cons of this purchase. The obvious is that I can save a bunch of $$$$ on what is essentially a new guitar. On the down side, only a five yr warranty, lower resale, etc.
What I'm looking for is info on the condition, sound, cosmetics, etc on reconditioned Ovations.
Who here has experience in that area?
Looking forward to becoming an active member of this forum. I'm returning to the guitar after a 35 yr hiatus, thus essentially starting over. Always have kicked myself for not staying at it, but better now to do something about it rather than lament the passing of more time.
BAM |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Yup! The quote feature works. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Come On Willard,
Give the new kid a break, it was only his 2nd post (but that one really shouldn't count! :rolleyes: |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Actually, he deserves a lot of credit for even trying it. |
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Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 2503
Location: Fayetteville, NC | BAM.
Welcome aboard. even though it's been discussed previously, I'll give you a rundown of th egeneral consensus.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with FRG guitars.
The only thing is that they usually carry a 5 year warranty instead of the limited lifetime warranty on new. Al can clarify that statement if i got anything wrong.
What it amounts to is it generally gives a purchaser an opportunity to save money buying an ovation that frg. It has simply been returned to the factory and checked from top to bottom and any problems repaired. Thus selling at a cheaper price than a Brand new Ovation fresh from the factory on it's first go around.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy an FRG if it meant getting a great Ovation while saving a little bit of cash in the process.
Hope that kind of helps fill in the blank.
agian welcome aboard. |
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Joined:
June 2004
Posts: 580
Location: NW NJ | BAM:
As the others have said, welcome! Congratulations on your first post as well. I haven't owned an FRG myself, but I am, and have been, seriously tempted. Like MWoody said, most of us here (me included) have most of our guitars as the result of buying used ones which don't carry any warranty at all. I have never had any problems with used ones and have never filed a warranty claim with a new axe either, which I think would be true especially for U.S. made instruments and especially, especially ones from the mothership. Ovation makes guitars of extraordinary build. I don't expect that they have a whole lot of warranty business at all, but rather keep Kim and company busy fixing things that us owners do to the guitars ourselves.
To make a long story short, I wouldn't hesitate to buy an Ovation FRG. Again, I agree with MWoody that most (if not all) manufacturing defects will show up real soon (like when you open the case and try it out the first time) and almost certainly in the first five years.
Buy it and fall in love! :D |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Hey, the way I look at it a number of my Ovations have been worked on by the factory for various reasons (with STELLER results), so by definition I would call these "Factory Referbs".
Before buying an FRG, ask yourself these questions:
1. How much more does a non-FRG version of the same guitar cost
2. Is the shorter warranty of the FRG worth the savings to you
3. Is the reason it's an FRG (assuming it's something you can see) with the savings to you
My guess is that 9 out of 10 times, there is nothing wrong with going for the FRG. HOWEVER, I would say this - I would ONLY buy an FRG from a dealer that I could see, play and inspect it first. NO WAY would I buy an FRG site unseen from an on-line dealer. |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | Welcome BluesSailor,
You will find a lot of good advice on this site. The following site has a few Factory Reconditioned Ovations, (Usually links to ebay).
http://used-guitars.com/s/Ovation-Guitar
"Remember every Guitar is used once it leaves the store."
Happy Guitar Hunting :D |
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Joined:
July 2002
Posts: 1900
| ..bought a 1758 12-string FRG once, I went over it with a fine tooth comb, couldn't find a thing wrong with it...
Steve |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | MikeW, that's a nice site! |
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Opinions on Factory Reconditon Models
