What to Check Before Buying a Used LC-MS/MS
Mass spectrometers reward diligence more than any other second-hand purchase. Support status, vacuum-system history and licensing decide whether a low purchase price stays low.
Verify the instrument identity and configuration
- Manufacturer, model, serial, analyser type and mass range
- Source types included, and probe and inlet options
- Front-end LC or UHPLC: is it matched, supported and included?
- Options and upgrades fitted, and firmware version
- Controlling computer, dongles, licence files and installation media
Demand evidence that it performs
- A dated tune and calibration report carrying this serial number
- A sensitivity check on a known compound at a stated concentration
- Mass accuracy, resolution and peak-shape data
- Background and contamination assessment
- See it under vacuum and running, in person or on video
- Review the instrument error and event logs
Inspect the expensive subsystems
- Turbo and rough pump hours, service history and bearing status
- Source and ion-optics condition, and when they were last cleaned
- Detector condition and remaining life, plus replacement cost if it fails
- Whether it has been vented for a long period, and what has happened since
- Gas, exhaust, cooling and chiller requirements, and what is included
Confirm software, licences and data
- Acquisition, processing and quantitation products, versions and licence status
- Written confirmation that licences transfer to you
- Instrument control drivers for the LC modules actually supplied
- Supported operating system, and regulated-environment features if needed
- Whether existing methods and data may transfer to you
Confirm service supportability before discussing price
- Manufacturer support status, or named third-party engineers
- Availability of source parts, consumables and spares
- A quoted service contract, not just an assurance that one exists
- Who de-installs, moves, installs, pumps down and verifies it
- Engineer lead time if it fails during your first project
Check your own site is ready
- Floor loading, footprint and the access route in
- Power, cooling, exhaust and gas supply confirmed by a competent person
- Ambient temperature and humidity stability
- Vibration and electrical-noise environment
- Solvent and waste handling arrangements
History, clearance and terms
- Sample matrices run: biological, radiological or controlled substances
- Signed decontamination or release declaration
- Reason for sale, stated plainly
- As-is, tested or refurbished — defined precisely in writing
- Warranty length, coverage, exclusions and who honours it
- On-site acceptance criteria, with payment tied to them where negotiable
Total cost to get it working
- De-installation, crating, freight, insurance, customs
- Rigging or specialist handling
- Installation, pump-down and performance verification
- Immediate consumables: pump oil, seals, source parts, columns, gases
- Software licence or upgrade
- Qualification, method transfer or revalidation
- Contingency — a detector, turbo pump or source failure is not a small cost
Why we do not publish a price
Real transaction values depend on configuration, condition, accessories, software licensing, service supportability, location, removal cost and timing. Any single published figure would be wrong for most units. What follows is what actually moves the number, and what to supply so a valuation can be given against your specific instrument.
How Laboratory Vortex fits in
Laboratory Vortex is an independent laboratory sourcing, marketplace and intelligence platform. We are not an equipment dealer, we do not take possession of equipment, and we do not publish what you submit. You describe the requirement or the asset once; we review it and use it to identify appropriate sourcing or disposition routes.