What to Ask Yourself Before You Buy a Drone

Most people look at the price and the photos. Then they buy. A year later the batteries are tired, a motor is expensive to replace, and the thing they wanted it for is not what it does well.

Anything that flies has a life. Reliability, how long it will last, what it costs to keep going, and whether you can still get parts. Those are the questions. The price is only one of them.

This is the list to run through before the money moves. It works for a used camera drone, a spray machine, or something you plan to hang a tool on. The bigger the number, the more of these you should answer.

What do you actually want it to do

Write the job down. Station work, roof checks, filming, spraying, carrying a small load, or just flying for the sake of it. Then ask if this aircraft is the one that does that job, or if you are hoping it will.

How long do you want it for. One season. Two years. Five. A machine you will sell in a year can be older and more worn. A machine you want for three years needs batteries you can still buy, and parts that have not been discontinued.

Are you trying to make money with it, or have fun. Both are fine. They are not the same purchase. A tool that has to earn its keep needs spares you can get this month, not a model that looks good and then sits because a gimbal is on backorder.

Age, use, and what has already happened

How old is it. Hours or flight count if they have them. Crashes, hard landings, water. What has been replaced.

Cosmetic damage is not just looks. A cracked arm, a chipped blade, a scuffed gimbal housing, or a battery bay that has been forced tells you how it has been treated. Blades that are chipped or nicked should be replaced before you fly it. Ask if new ones are included.

Batteries

Batteries are where most used drones disappoint. Ask how long they last now, not when it was new. Ask the cycle count if the seller knows it.

You can load-test them before you buy. A pack that looks fine can still sag under load. Ask the seller to charge them and hover, or fly a short circuit, while you time it and watch the percentage drop. If they have a charger or cell checker that shows internal resistance or cell balance, ask for that screen. High resistance or cells that are far apart means the pack is ageing. Swollen packs are finished.

A proper check — charging, cell balance, and a simple load test — is covered in How to Test, Charge and Load-Test Drone Batteries.

Spares and parts

Can you still buy the arms, the motors, the gimbal, the batteries, the props. If the answer is “maybe” or “from overseas in six weeks,” price that in.

How expensive are the parts that fail. A $40 prop is nothing. A $400 gimbal or a motor that only comes from one seller changes the deal. If you plan to use it hard, ask what the common failures are on that model. Someone who has owned one will know.

Attachments and the job

Does it have the mounts you need. Camera, sling, hook, spray tank, light, speaker. Are those points standard, or did someone drill them. A clean factory mount is better than a modified one unless you can see the work was done properly.

If you need it to carry something, ask what it has carried and what the limit is. Do not assume.

What comes with it

List it. Remote, batteries, charger, case, props, filters, extra cables, the original box. Missing pieces are money. A drone without a charger or with one tired battery is not the price on the ad.

Outdated or still current

Is this model still supported. Are there newer versions that do the same job for less, or with better batteries. You do not have to buy new. You do have to know if you are buying something that is about to be hard to repair.

A simple way to hold it while you check

If the number is large enough that you want time to look at the runout, the batteries, and the parts prices, a small refundable deposit does the same job it does on an aircraft. It shows you are serious. It does not finish the sale. The deposit form on the Resources page can be used as a start. Change the description of the item. Keep the refund rules.

Check sheet for the expensive ones

For anything over a few thousand, or anything you plan to earn with, run this before you agree:

• Job it must do, and for how many years
• Age, hours or flights, crashes
• Blade condition
• Battery life now, and whether you can test them
• Spares still available, and the price of the expensive ones
• Attachment points for what you need
• What is in the box
• Whether a newer model has replaced it
• Cosmetic damage that points to hard use

The aircraft pre-purchase checklist and the market value worksheet on the site ask the same kinds of questions. Use them as a prompt. You do not need a hangar. You need the answers.

Parts and notes from builds, including the VTOL test rig on the bench, sit on VTOL.X. If you are selling or looking, post it.

Downloads: Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist · Market Value Worksheet · Resources