Buying Used Warthog - what to look for?

[Joe Lighty]

Hi all,

I am inspecting a used/second-hand TM Warthog tomorrow that I am considering purchasing.

You know the deal - "only used once", "as new", etc... :)

It is complete in its original box.

I am wondering what I should be looking for/checking when assessing whether I should buy it.

The asking price is $100 AUD (approx $75 USD) less than what I can buy a new one for, here in Australia. There may be room to negotiate on the price...

I have preloaded the drivers on my laptop and intend to check all the buttons/switches/axes/leds/stiction/etc.

Anything else the learned community can recommend?

Cheers!

Joe

[Drakoz]

Other than making sure all the buttons and axis work, you should make sure, the joystick does not twist. This is a weak point if someone abuses the stick, but it takes serious abuse to break it. It isn't so much a wear issue. Also, make sure the throttle levers have good friction when you adjust the friction wheel. If the stick has been heavily used, the throttle friction rubber might have worn down. But I mean _heavy_ use.

 

But if the stick is barely used, as you say, there is little to nothing really to worry about as long as the stick works, and the buttons and axis feel good. Just hook it up to your laptop and open the Windows game controller screen and make sure all the buttons and axis work.

[Yurgon]

Excellent advice from Drakoz!

 

Though personally I must say the friction slider on my unit never seemed to have much of an impact. Definitely a lot less than on the TM Cougar, where one or two rotations of the friction wheel made the difference between "throttle drops forward/aft purely by gravity" and "needs quite some effort to move".

 

The LEDs in the throttle base tend to fail relatively quickly I think. On my unit, one of them started acting rather intermittently until it failed. I think the LED backlight looks stupid anyway and switched it off, but might be a handle for price negotiations. :)

You can use the TARGET GUI to activate all of the lights.

 

The trigger is probably the one element that first starts showing wear. If the paint has started to come off, it's certainly been used more than just "once". My trim hat also shows the paint coming off.

 

Other than that, your preparation sounds rock solid. I'd just say that at that price, the unit better be in really good condition - that's still about 3/4 of the price of a new one, isn't it?

 

Good luck!

[Joe Lighty]

Thanks for the responses, guys - and just in time too!

Was suitably impressed with the unit - managed to negotiate the final successfully also, for a slight saving - the seller was a really decent guy and it really was in excellent condition.

I'd just say that at that price, the unit better be in really good condition - that's still about 3/4 of the price of a new one, isn't it?

You're not wrong there - thankfully it is in REALLY good condition.

No signs of obvious stiction at this stage, which was nice - I'm confident to crack it open and re-grease as per the vids available, but happy not to have to at this stage.

Looking forward to setting this up for the upcoming F18!

Cheers for your help!

[Yurgon]

Looking forward to setting this up for the upcoming F18!

 

8 more days. Less than two weeks, I can't believe it... :D

[dburne]

8 more days. Less than two weeks, I can't believe it... :D

 

:thumbup:

 

Locked and loaded and anxiously awaiting!

Has been a while since I have messed around with any of the jets, I am determined to start on the ground floor with this one and truly learn it.