Know exactly
what you are selling.
Build one controlled machine file so every buyer, dealer, broker and auctioneer evaluates the same asset and included property.
A complete machine file improves every sale path.
The seller should not depend on a buyer or intermediary to define the asset. Exact identity, options, accessories, service evidence and condition create the baseline for valuation, marketing and agreement terms.
Facts to establish
- Manufacturer, model, year or build date, serial number and control
- Installed options, accessories, automation and licensed software
- Operating hours and counters with context
- Maintenance, repair, spindle, control, crash and modification history
- Current operating condition, alarms, leaks, damage and known exceptions
- Tooling, workholding, manuals, backups and loose items included
Documents and deliverables
- Identity sheet with serial and plate photographs
- Configuration and included-property schedule
- Current operating video and condition photographs
- Service, repair and maintenance records
- Parameter, program and data-handling plan
- Known-exception disclosure reviewed for the transaction
Ask before the decision becomes expensive.
A useful answer identifies a person, document, number, date, scope or acceptance test. Replace assumptions with evidence.
What belongs to this sale?
Separate the machine, attached accessories, loose tooling, fixtures, software, manuals and facility-owned equipment.
What can be demonstrated?
Record current power-on, axis, spindle, tool change, probe, coolant and process capability where safe and appropriate.
What is known but not resolved?
Document alarms, leaks, wear, missing items and modifications rather than letting a third party invent the story.
What data must be removed or retained?
Plan customer, program, network and credential handling without destroying evidence needed for safe operation or transfer.
Pause when the scope is vague.
- Listing photos that do not show the serial-numbered machine
- Options described from a catalog rather than verified installation
- Counters presented without date or context
- Loose property included only by implication
- Known problems disclosed verbally but absent from the deal file
What a controlled file contains.
- Serial-specific identity package
- Included and excluded property
- Condition and demonstration evidence
- Service and repair history
- Data, credentials and backup transfer plan
Use the source that controls the question.
These links provide a starting point. The exact machine, agreement, site, jurisdiction and qualified professionals control the final decision.
Connect this question to the whole machine.
Machine ownership is a chain. Use the next relevant guide instead of treating any one checkpoint as the complete answer.
Establish value context
Use the controlled machine file to support market analysis.
Open the guide →MARKETINGBuild a defensible listing
Give every channel the same accurate source material.
Open the guide →HANDOVERPreserve the transfer record
Carry the inventory and condition file through pickup.
Open the guide →Direct answers, with the boundary intact.
Machine Blue Book organizes research. It does not replace engineering, legal, tax, insurance, safety, appraisal or trade advice.
Why prepare a machine file before asking for offers?
It reduces information asymmetry, makes offers more comparable and limits reliance on an intermediary's description.
Should I disclose every known issue?
Use transaction-specific legal advice, but do not misrepresent the asset. A controlled known-condition record supports accurate negotiation.
Are operating hours enough to describe condition?
No. Counters vary and need context; condition, maintenance, process history, measurements and demonstration also matter.
Can customer programs remain on the machine?
Address confidential and personal data, credentials, licenses and operational backups through a controlled transfer plan.
Selling a CNC Machine
Carry this evidence into the rest of the decision—from machine identity through handover and final economics.