Value of machine in storage? Milltronics Partner 4

I have a Milling machine in unheated dry storage, been there for almost ten years now.
Milltronics Partner 4, Cent V controller on it.
Head is off it, and otherwise just a few other of the peripheral parts had been removed for the move and been in storage since.

If I were to sell it, what's it worth?
Circumstances are that an ex has found a listing for one at a machine dealer in the high 20K range and thinks that means this one is worth that too. I'd like some opinions.

Negative value. It's worth scrap. Scrap is worth less than fuel to haul it in.

Garwood said:

Negative value. It's worth scrap. Scrap is worth less than fuel to haul it in.

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Yep. Kinda what I figured, though it may be of some use to someone after a retrofit project.

I know more or less what it is worth, happy to hear insults or opinions of it. Looking for some reasoned opinions.

But, like I say, she found a picture of one on a dealer's website listed at $22K US/ $28K+ CAD, and is convinced that she is good for half of that value.

I'm sure somebody would pay something for it, but it's just parts.

If you’re trying to appraise the value for an ex, why not offer to let her have it? I can’t see a judge/lawyer accepting an asking price on some idiot dealer website as being indicative of the true market value.

Or list it locally for $2000 and after the third month maybe she’ll be more willing to accept reality.

Batteries in the control to die? Ease of obtaining volatile parameters? Operational/connected to power? All of these things affect value. I vote for it really not being worth much if anything.

RC Mech said:

If you’re trying to appraise the value for an ex, why not offer to let her have it? I can’t see a judge/lawyer accepting an asking price on some idiot dealer website as being indicative of the true market value.

Or list it locally for $2000 and after the third month maybe she’ll be more willing to accept reality.

Batteries in the control to die? Ease of obtaining volatile parameters? Operational/connected to power? All of these things affect value. I vote for it really not being worth much if anything.

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I offered it to her for the equivalent credit to my favor! They didn't bite. LOL! I figure that the dealer that listed it at that price, probably really wasn't that keen on selling it. Or he was just hoping for that 'one' dumb customer to wander by!

I am not "Trying to appraise it for an ex", I am looking for feedback to see if I was off base hanging a sub $2K value on it (which is pretty much what I paid for it ten+ years ago!) when they wanted me to disclose all items of any value. She found the dealer listing she wanted, and is convinced that I am trying to pull the wool over her and hers' eyes. She thinks my beat up old Myford Super Seven, is $8K too. It'd be pretty funny, if the end result of her counting up all my tools and assigning fantasy grade prices to them, did not add up to such a frikken large pile of money she expects to get from me! Her exact answer was to double down and inform me that "Everything has gone up in value!"

I have copies of the parameters in hard copy as well as in file format, tucked away in the manuals, all I need to do is find a working floppy drive! Pretty sure I stuffed away a USB external one away in my junk, for such use, back before life didn't work out quite how I had thought it would....

The battery for retaining the parameters is not hard to get at, and, IIRC, all it is, is a battery in a funky package.

Anyways, I think I am going to have to go find a picture of a horse for sale with a stupid high price on it, to present to her as a representative value for hers. After all, if it's on the internet, gotta be the gospel truth, innit?

You wont be the first to go down that road.......bitter ex screws you for your last dime,then wants half of that.

Gemstones and the like appreciate in value as they sit, if only due to inflation. Electronics depreciate in value as they sit, just consider a 10 year old cell phone.
I wouldn’t feel bad valuing it at $2k for these purposes, and honestly after sitting for a decade that might be high by >$2k. I’ve seen a lot of old CNC machines not move after being offered for $1, and most of those have run recently.
I agree that offering to sell it to her for half of whatever value she thinks it has is appropriate, though I’m not sure a judge would agree.
For that matter, do you actually want it, or is it a liability to you too at this point?

jccaclimber said:

Gemstones and the like appreciate in value as they sit, if only due to inflation. Electronics depreciate in value as they sit, just consider a 10 year old cell phone.
I wouldn’t feel bad valuing it at $2k for these purposes, and honestly after sitting for a decade that might be high by >$2k. I’ve seen a lot of old CNC machines not move after being offered for $1, and most of those have run recently.
I agree that offering to sell it to her for half of whatever value she thinks it has is appropriate, though I’m not sure a judge would agree.
For that matter, do you actually want it, or is it a liability to you too at this point?

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Meh. Not a liability, but not able to fit it in my current shop space. Am pretty neutral as to whether it stays or goes, and VERY motivated to just hand it over, if she would take it at her assumed value. But her lawyer says "No, you have to sell it and give her the money!" Which is gonna take some fancy math to make a >$2K hulk of a mill, into her getting half of $28-$29K.
More of an issue is with her dogged determination that the damn thing is worth what she found on the interwebs.

It pretty much has become a case of "Well, I found THIS one online for this price, so THAT one is worth half that in cash!", although she knows or has cared nearly nothing about the stuff over the time we were together.

Easy enough to have it appraised as to the real value. I would say it has - value, as in she should be helping you get it to the scrapyard!

trevj said:

Meh. Not a liability, but not able to fit it in my current shop space. Am pretty neutral as to whether it stays or goes, and VERY motivated to just hand it over, if she would take it at her assumed value. But her lawyer says "No, you have to sell it and give her the money!" Which is gonna take some fancy math to make a >$2K hulk of a mill, into her getting half of $28-$29K.
More of an issue is with her dogged determination that the damn thing is worth what she found on the interwebs.

It pretty much has become a case of "Well, I found THIS one online for this price, so THAT one is worth half that in cash!", although she knows or has cared nearly nothing about the stuff over the time we were together.

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Did you own it before you were together?

What does your attorney say about this? I've seen attorneys in cases of difficult value disputes recommend that an item be auctioned, to determine the actual market value. Perhaps she'd front the money to rig it to an auction location if she thinks it's worth $20K. Otherwise just Ebay it where it is. If it fails to bring a $500 min bid on Ebay after 2 or 3 tries, perhaps she'd reevaluate, and probably cheaper and more reliable than an appraisal.

I don't mean to imply that logic works with divorce lawyers, but something I've used in the past to make people be quiet is "You chose any value you want, then I'll either pay you 2/3 of the value and I keep it, or you pay me 1/3 of your claimed value, and you keep it. You set the value, and then I choose which direction it goes."

50/50 rather than 67/33 would be fair, but sometimes a bit of imbalance is better faith.

jccaclimber said:

I don't mean to imply that logic works with divorce lawyers, but something I've used in the past to make people be quiet is "You chose any value you want, then I'll either pay you 2/3 of the value and I keep it, or you pay me 1/3 of your claimed value, and you keep it. You set the value, and then I choose which direction it goes."

50/50 rather than 67/33 would be fair, but sometimes a bit of imbalance is better faith.

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Not gonna work, as great an idea as it is.

If I thought that mill was worth what she does, it'd been gone YEARS ago, and I'd own something a lot nicer. Per above, I offered it to her entire, no other strings but to credit me what she thought it was worth. Then she would have ALL the money for it.

trevj said:

Not gonna work, as great an idea as it is.

If I thought that mill was worth what she does, it'd been gone YEARS ago, and I'd own something a lot nicer. Per above, I offered it to her entire, no other strings but to credit me what she thought it was worth. Then she would have ALL the money for it.

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If it’s worth what I think it is and you aren’t attached to it then it might be worth offering to her for free just for the entertainment value of the fallout.
In case it hasn’t been mentioned previously, sorry you’re having to go through this.

Tried that already. Her lawyer was pretty insistent that "I" had to sell it and give her half the money.
PITA!

trevj said:

I have a Milling machine in unheated dry storage, been there for almost ten years now.
Milltronics Partner 4, Cent V controller on it.
Head is off it, and otherwise just a few other of the peripheral parts had been removed for the move and been in storage since.

If I were to sell it, what's it worth?
Circumstances are that an ex has found a listing for one at a machine dealer in the high 20K range and thinks that means this one is worth that too. I'd like some opinions.

Click to expand...

Fing stupid lawyers

There is a Hurco on Ontario Kijiji for $1000

jccaclimber said:

I don't mean to imply that logic works with divorce lawyers, but something I've used in the past to make people be quiet is "You chose any value you want, then I'll either pay you 2/3 of the value and I keep it, or you pay me 1/3 of your claimed value, and you keep it. You set the value, and then I choose which direction it goes."

50/50 rather than 67/33 would be fair, but sometimes a bit of imbalance is better faith.

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That's brilliant. I can see that moving tough things foreword in many situations.

jccaclimber said:

If it’s worth what I think it is and you aren’t attached to it then it might be worth offering to her for free just for the entertainment value of the fallout.
In case it hasn’t been mentioned previously, sorry you’re having to go through this.

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I had forgotten to thank you for you wishes. Thank you. Yeah, that's how I feel about it too. Sadly, her Lawyer insists that to find the true price, I have to sell it, and give her half.
Per another post, I offered it to her. Thinking of offering it to her for credit at MY value, just to see the poo show that would come of that, when she found out what fun 4000 pounds of dead weight is to move around!