Well, as many know I upgraded my stove this year after only burning my new VC Encore NC for one season. It was new about this time last year (installed in November) and I fell out of love with it sometime in February. At any rate, I had put it on the market last spring hoping to sell it before moving it, had a few interested folks and a few lowball offers as well, but didn't sell it before summer hit and things got busy... Then it came time to install my new stove so I went to move it out of place and this is where the story gets interesting...
When I removed the flue collar I noticed a hairline crack in the cast there in the throat of the flue exit. It is about an inch or so long. ARG! So.. of course now I knew I was going to have more trouble selling it. I contacted the dealer and after sending pictures etc, they were great about it. Although their recommendation was to just not worry about it unless the crack grew, they did go ahead and ship me the replacement part while I still had warranty so that "if and when the time came I'd be ready."It arrived a week or so later - big box with the whole back of the stove, a piece of gasket, and a tube of cement! Installation isn't included in the warranty and well, I did buy it online. At least I have the parts I figure so I'm ok, right? Well.. then it came time to move the stove a few weeks later and one of the legs literally fell off when we lifted the stove. What the heck? Close inspection shows that the leg is attached by a bolt that runs through the leg and into the cast bottom of the stove - and guess what? There is a nice big crack right there across that cast where the bolt is inserted so the threads basically don't touch both sides of the bolt. Seems this had to have been split during or prior to install (I had it installed by someone, not me) and likely it has just been sitting there on the leg - which it was quite stable, but... it again doesn't help sell the stove now does it? Another round with the dealer who is again VERY good to me I think and agrees to send the replacement part under warranty (whew!). Well.. it is backordered etc... it finally arrived last week - and it is the whole cast bottom of the stove.
So - here I sit. The stove is in my garage with a tiny crack in the throat of the flue exit, broken back leg insert. And I have two large cast iron pieces that can be installed but look like would require essentially a full rebuild of the stove to get on there. I don't want the stove anymore in any case. I have neither the time nor skills to do a rebuild in any case.
So the question is this:
Do I find someone to do the rebuild (how much would that cost anyway?) then sell the stove as being in basically new shape then sell it? What would be the realistic potential selling price? I'd have to net this out obviously.
OR - Do I advertise it in current shape with the pieces that I have and go that route?
Which do you folks think is likely to be best way to maximize my return on this? I know I'm going to lose value no matter what. Such is life when you make a mistake... I should have been on this forums about 6 months before I bought the VC. However that is history.
Any other good options to suggest?
Thanks in advance!
When I removed the flue collar I noticed a hairline crack in the cast there in the throat of the flue exit. It is about an inch or so long. ARG! So.. of course now I knew I was going to have more trouble selling it. I contacted the dealer and after sending pictures etc, they were great about it. Although their recommendation was to just not worry about it unless the crack grew, they did go ahead and ship me the replacement part while I still had warranty so that "if and when the time came I'd be ready."It arrived a week or so later - big box with the whole back of the stove, a piece of gasket, and a tube of cement! Installation isn't included in the warranty and well, I did buy it online. At least I have the parts I figure so I'm ok, right? Well.. then it came time to move the stove a few weeks later and one of the legs literally fell off when we lifted the stove. What the heck? Close inspection shows that the leg is attached by a bolt that runs through the leg and into the cast bottom of the stove - and guess what? There is a nice big crack right there across that cast where the bolt is inserted so the threads basically don't touch both sides of the bolt. Seems this had to have been split during or prior to install (I had it installed by someone, not me) and likely it has just been sitting there on the leg - which it was quite stable, but... it again doesn't help sell the stove now does it? Another round with the dealer who is again VERY good to me I think and agrees to send the replacement part under warranty (whew!). Well.. it is backordered etc... it finally arrived last week - and it is the whole cast bottom of the stove.
So - here I sit. The stove is in my garage with a tiny crack in the throat of the flue exit, broken back leg insert. And I have two large cast iron pieces that can be installed but look like would require essentially a full rebuild of the stove to get on there. I don't want the stove anymore in any case. I have neither the time nor skills to do a rebuild in any case.
So the question is this:
Do I find someone to do the rebuild (how much would that cost anyway?) then sell the stove as being in basically new shape then sell it? What would be the realistic potential selling price? I'd have to net this out obviously.
OR - Do I advertise it in current shape with the pieces that I have and go that route?
Which do you folks think is likely to be best way to maximize my return on this? I know I'm going to lose value no matter what. Such is life when you make a mistake... I should have been on this forums about 6 months before I bought the VC. However that is history.
Any other good options to suggest?
Thanks in advance!
