Five things to ask a refurbished equipment vendor
The questions that separate a credible vendor from a refurbisher.
Not every refurbished medical-imaging vendor is the same. Here are five questions to ask before you sign.
1. Where did the system come from?
A credible vendor will tell you the country of origin, the decommissioning hospital (or, in some cases, the leasing company), and the system’s prior usage profile. If the answer is vague — “Europe” or “from our own inventory” — push for more.
A 1.5T MRI decommissioned from a high-volume German university hospital has a different service history from one sourced from a regional leasing auction. Both can be excellent systems, but the prior use is what determines the remaining life of the cold head, gradients and RF coils.
2. Can I see the refurbishment record?
Every credible refurbishment includes a written report: what was replaced, what was tested, what was calibrated, and what was left alone. The report is signed by the engineer and dated.
If the vendor doesn’t have a written refurbishment record, the system hasn’t been refurbished. It’s been cleaned.
3. What’s the warranty, and what’s the service response SLA?
The warranty is the safety net for the parts that fail in the first year. The service response SLA is what happens when the warranty expires. Both matter.
A 12-month comprehensive warranty and a 24-hour response SLA is the floor of what’s acceptable for any refurbished imaging system.
4. Who handles CDSCO and AERB paperwork?
Most vendors do not handle regulatory paperwork — they leave it to you. We do, end to end. The difference is three to four weeks of your project team’s time.
Ask whether the vendor includes CDSCO registration transfer, AERB layout approval and AERB commissioning certificate in the scope. If not, the answer tells you how much of your time the project will consume.
5. What happens at month 13?
A 12-month warranty expires. What then? The vendor’s answer reveals whether they have a long-term service model or are only selling equipment.
A credible vendor has a written service contract offering, with predictable pricing. The answer “we’ll figure it out” is a red flag.