Checklist for buying a used Eurocave (or any wine fridge)

I might be inspecting a secondhand local Eurocave in the next few days.

Is there anything I’m omitting/forgetting on this checklist?

Model #
Serial #
Stated capacity
Dimensions

Is seller owner/user
How long owned / age of unit
Purchased from
Reason for sale
Lock & Key / Manual
photos if any

Operable and plugged in
Shelves, sliding/fixed, if any
other options
Test temperature top/bottom
Location of unit (basement, garage etc.)
Compressor vibrations
Stains on Floor
Condition of Seal
Annual filter replacement
Repair history if any

Thanks

Price !

Has it ever needed repair / parts replaced?

Hey I’m getting one too. My buddy is part owner and chef at a restaurant, they ve been using it but no longer need, 200 bucks. Maybe I’ll see if I can talk him down to 190

I bought one other used one and just made sure the previous owner had it running so I could check temp. Then just look for the obvious and try to get a feel for the owner. Stereotyping here but I think most people that own a Eurocave are not generally out to screw you but buyer beware.

Sometimes the sellers aren’t actually the owners, like an estate sale type of situation. I can’t tell for sure, but description is so spartan on the one I’m looking at that it seems like that. I’m trying to pin down details before wasting mutual time on it…

Ask the seller about his or her collection and favorite varietals, regions, producers, and vintages. Ask what bottle shapes fit the unit ideally, or not. Ask what other storage units the owner has had. A user-seller would likely be very specific and OCD-geeky.

Off-the-shelf answers should pique wariness.

To close the loop on this. I did inspect it - there were a couple of deep 1/8" gouges on one side, likely from being moved - and one of the bottom levelers was broken off. But it had lots of optional sliding shelves, and worked properly. Overall, it seemed to be in fine condition. So I ended up buying a 2013 production Model 266 for $900.

For anyone considering used Eurocaves/wine fridges

I think most people should plan on taking two adults to move these, along with a strong dolly cart. The rinky dinky folding ones won’t handle a larger one. If you have a furniture strap, all the better. Remember to keep it standing for a few days after moving so coolants can settle.

Ideally, a knowledgeable seller is more helpful so that you understand what you are getting. But you are less likely to get a deal, and simply less likely (IMO) to find clue laden sellers on platforms like CL or FB markets. A ‘wine guy’ selling their own fridge is likely to be able to sell it within his own trusted network first. So I would not get hyper about interrogating advert posters. My seller knew nothing about the EC, and their inability to describe it (or get on the phone about it) probably limited interest in it. (The ad was literally “Eurocave $price” no picture, no model, no description)

Confirm all your payment terms and conditions before heading out. Think carefully if things seem sketchy / weird to you. Take a buddy.

I believe the most important thing is to simply see it operable when you arrive. Take your own temperature gauge. If someone says the unit is in a place where it can not get electric power, ask them to use an extension cord, or in extremis, take your own. Personally I would not be interested in that kind of situation - if someone is unwilling to prove/show an electrical appliance for sale can power up and hold temp - I don’t think it makes sense. I had to really push my seller to set it up ahead of time and set the temp to the 50’s, so I could see the fluctuations, if any. But again, they didn’t understand the point of the appliance, and just kept saying how ‘nice’ it was. I think they thought it was furniture/racks and didn’t grasp the import of cooling.

So far, I’m happy, having leveled it and started migrating some items into it. The footprint seems fair given the capacity, and the size was manageable for getting around our single story, and mostly flat house, with older doorways.

I have not tested whether the rated capacity is realistic or not. I was never really able to get 57 btls into my older undercounter GE.

Thanks to those who chimed on this thread, as well as posters in other threads from where the checklist was cribbed/cobbled from.

After a while, it starts to dawn on you that your Craigslist outings are allowing the Craigslist posters to earn a profit on junk removal [rather than having to pay someone to remove the junk for them].

Also, for the nice [but heavy] stuff, you come to realize that the heavy lifting involved in moving it is precisely the value-add in the proposition.

A while back I realized that the same principle holds for planting specimen trees around an expensive residential or commercial property - anyone can plant some seeds [or some cuttings] and wait four or five years for some nice big trees to sprout up and grow from them - but once it’s grown, moving the tree & its root ball [and having a huge empty hole in the ground ready to receive the root ball] accounts for just about 100% of the value of the economic transaction.

Glad to hear this worked out. The extra shelving is a major plus. When I bought one off CL several years ago, it was only a 100 bottle cabinet, but had 6 or 8 rolling shelves, ended up using these in my other eurocave.

Find out dimensions of racks.

Everything will fit Bordeaux bottles, but only some will hold Pinot, Champagne, CDP’s, etc.

Having bought a few used units the most important thing IMO is whether it’s been in continuous use recently. Many units will function great for years and years and then turned off and put in storage for a few months, you turn it back on and the compressor craps out after a short while.

Hey guys so i’m interested in your opinion! So I found a eurocave vieillitheque 283v2. The person selling it is actually a wine store because they need bigger space or so they said… This unit is 4 years old. So i’m just wondering how do i figure out if this is a good purchase?? Since i don’t know how much life is left in the compressor? And from my research is kind of expensive to service or servicing is not really available?? They price they sell it at is 1350$

Please let me know so I can make an informed purchase

Hey guys so i’m interested in your opinion! So I found a eurocave vieillitheque 283v2. The person selling it is actually a wine store because they need bigger space or so they said… This unit is 4 years old. So i’m just wondering how do i figure out if this is a good purchase?? Since i don’t know how much life is left in the compressor? And from my research is kind of expensive to service or servicing is not really available?? They price they sell it at is 1350$

Please let me know so I can make an informed purchase