Keep 13 year old Kinetico or buy new Fleck 5600?

[mateo]

Should I go with a 13 year old Kinetico Model 60 for $1,000 or a New Fleck 5600 for $500?

I have just purchased a home and the seller was planning on taking his Kinetico (Model 60) with him. For $1,000 he is willing to leave it with the house when he moves in a couple weeks. The Kinetico is 13 years old. My other option is to simply purchase a brand-new Fleck 5600 Econominder with 40000 grain capacity for just over $500 (plus dinner for a plumber friend to install it for me).

We have a household with 4 people. The house we purchased has city water with a hardness of 15.7 gpg.

Your opinions, suggestions, advice and recommendations are highly appreciated!

[pawaterguy]

the Kinetico is a vastly superior model. At 13 years of age $1000 is steep for anything....let alone a softener. I'd offer him the $500. I think he's planning on the haggling on the price. Do everything you can to snag it from him at a better price. In the world of softeners (and most everything else) you get what you pay for. Anyone can buy a $500 softener at a box store...but it's not going to give you the service and efficiency that Kinetico will. Also, on town water and 13 years...unless he has a dechlor taking the chlorine out the resin could be on its way out by now depending on his use and chlorine dose levels. Tell him to at least take off the price to rebed the thing.