Certified Reconditioned Vitamix

Vitamix is a household name in blender providers, and their prices reflect that. The quality of Vitamix blenders is hardly matched, and they customer service is often praised. However, for many the entry price can be a barrier that can be hard to cross, especially if this will be your first high end blender. Vitamix offers a variety Certified Reconditioned machines that are offered at a much lower price point. Is the reduced price a good value? Are these machines just going to fail on you after a few months? We’ll go over that with information from Vitamix, as well as our own experience below.

What does Certified Reconditioned mean?

The Certified Reconditioned (CR) process is done through Vitamix in which they inspect, repair, and repackage used Vitamix motor bases for resale. Off the bat, these machines are probably imperceptible as refurbished models minus a small scratch here or there. We’ll go through some of the information Vitamix offers on this process, what you get with a CR Vitamix, and our experience with a CR model so you can see if this is the path you would like to take to enter into the Vitamix consumer base.

What is the Certified Reconditioned process?

Each motor base + blade will go through a three step process which includes an initial inspection, and two quality control inspections. The initial inspection looks at the motor base, control panel, and blade to make sure there are no significant cosmetic damages, signs of wear, rust, and all functions are working correctly. You can read more about that here. If it is needed, the engineers will replace any parts that are not functioning as new.

Vitamix describes that any significant scratches, unusual motor sounds, or a date stamp of over 5 years, will automatically mark a motor base for recycling. Once the motor base + blade pass the initial inspection, it will go through two quality control inspections, before it is shipped.

What does a Certified Reconditioned Vitamix include?

A CR Vitamix will include the full normal package you get when you buy a Vitamix. You will get the motor base + blade that have gone through the reconditioning process, which have been inspected, repaired, and sanitized. You will also receive a new container shell, two part lid, tamper, and a recipe cookbook.

The interesting thing that Vitamix says, is that if they are low in stock for the blender you order, they may just send a brand new machine to you. This is part of the great customer service they offer, which you will have unlimited access to if you buy a CR Vitamix.

Are there any downsides to a Certified Reconditioned Vitamix?

While the package has a lot of pros, there are some inherent cons about this. You are buying a refurbished product, so there will be unavoidable wear on the parts. Vitamix does replace any parts that need replaced, but the overall lifespan will be shorter than a new model. Still, with Vitamix blenders the lifespan will be years and years even with a CR machine.

The warranty on CR Vitamix blenders is shorter than new models. You will get a 3-year warranty on any Explorian models and a 5-year warranty on any other model. This is compared to the 7-10 years of warranty on new models. To counteract this, they offer a 30 risk-free trial for these CR machines.

These are good things to consider, but in the end the value on Certified Reconditioned Vitamix blenders is great. You still get the great quality of Vitamix with their great customer service for a cheaper price. If you’d like to invest in a great blender, this is a perfect entry option.

Our experience with a Certified Reconditioned Vitamix.

We purchased a certified reconditioned E310, the Explorian series about three years ago. When we received it, there were no signs that it was a used product. It was clean, and ran well. We’ve used this blender almost everyday since and it is still going strong. We make soups, sauces, nut butters, flours, and the list goes on, and we plan on keeping it around. This is the cheapest option for reconditioned models which can go from $329.99 down to $279.99 when it goes on sale on Amazon which happens pretty regularly.

Vitamix E310 Explorian Certified Reconditioned

279.99

Pros

• - Variable Speed
• - Simple Design
• - Powerful Motor (2.0 HP)
• - 48 Oz. Container
• - 5-Year Warranty

Cons

• - Not as many compatible containers
• - Loudest models

Even they’re newer models are available Certified Reconditioned. See below for they’re newer A2500 Ascent series blender. This comes with their new SELF-DETECT technology that is compatible with their new containers.

Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series Certified Reconditioned

$399.95

Pros

• - Variable Speed
• - Three smart program settings
• - Powerful motor (2.2 Hp)
• - Digital Timer
• - SELF-DETECT Container Compatibility
• - Bluetooth Connectivity
• - Low-Profile 64 Oz. Container
• - Quiet
• - 10 year warranty

Cons

• - Expensive

If you’d like to learn more about the Vitamix Line-up and what model fits you best, check out our Vitamix Comparison.