Thinking of buying a used Ambex YM-15, need help with valuation

[LBBeans]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and coffee roasting.

I have the opportunity to purchase a nearly new Ambex ym-15 as part of taking over a failed roaster business. The roaster was manufactured in 2010, wasn't used until the summer 2011 and only lightly used at that. It comes with the ProfilePlus RT control system. It is in mint condition. The original invoice was for $26500. Can anyone tell me what a reasonable price for this roaster would be? The roaster is being sold separately from the business because it had a lien from a creditor.

I spoke with Mary today at Roaster Authority and discovered that Ambex is out of business. Roaster Authority will be able to offer support for parts and questions but they won't honor any warranty from Ambex. From reading other threads it seems that Don is a good guy and can be counted on. Are there any Roaster Authority customers out there that can offer some feedback about their customer service? Are there other companies that offer support for the Ambex roasters?

 

[chast]

I would offer12K and take it from there. Have you seen it actually working? might have some unknown issues. Propane or gas? if you need to convert it will cost you if you do not know how. Crating and shipping, what are the charges if any and can they properly crate it without any damage. UPS freight can damage, and has in the past, a properly crated roaster. The only person who can properly take care of the Profiling system is Paul Ribich. He actually designed the system. Great guy to do business with! Roaster Dynamics, LLC in Florida. Talk to him about who can handle the mechanical repairs correctly. Good Luck
Charlie

 

[coffeejoes]

Speak to the creditor to find out what is against the machine. You will need to get a release from the lien holder otherwise you may pay twice. The creditor may have to take a haircut on the deal. Most creditors are just attempting to get some of their money back. Equipment is usually worth 30-50% on the used market depending on condition. If you are only dealing with a creditor you should be able to save 10%. Good luck.

 

[expat]

Hi LB,
It seems you may have your heart set on the Ambex -- and if you can get it for $12K as Charlie suggests it could definitely be the way to go -- but I roast with an Ozturk 10kg machine (from Turkey) and it has proven to be a nice machine. One reason I bought was price, my budget was pretty slim, but it seems like I got a good roaster for the price. There is a guy in upstate New York, Duane Bast of Adirondak Coffee Roasters, that distributes the Ozturks. I also think part of his service with a sale is to fly down, help you install, and do some roasting.

Anyway, you might want to look him up and give him a call.

I know I called him from over here in Ireland because he was given as a reference (and there's only about 4 specialty roasters here in the country so no one was using an Ozturk) and gave me a lot of good insight. And when I flew over to the U.S. last November he invited me up to his roastery to see how it was done and what to expect. As a complete novice it was nice to have the roasting process demystified and see it in person. At the very least my wife and I came back home knowing that we had a long learning curve ahead of us but we could do it.

So, for what it is worth . . . especially if the Ambex is tied up in a lien situation . . .

 

[LBBeans]

Thanks for the helpful replies everyone. It's been a hectic couple of weeks. The roaster arrived a couple days ago, back into the space it came from so we just need the gasfitter to reconnect it and then we're ready to go! We went with the Ambex since we were able to acquire it a very fair price.

Now we begin the process of learning some roasting skills and producing some coffee!

 

[PinkRose]

Hi "LBBeans"

Thanks for the update! It sounds you're almost ready to roast! Good luck with it.

Rose