[volt-nuts] 3458A - Old vs. New

[J. L. Trantham]

I have spent some time looking around at the various issues associated with
shopping for a 3458A and was wondering what the preference would be, old vs.
new.

The used ones on theBay that are more than ten years old and have options
ask anywhere from $6,500 to $7,500.  Without options, asking is from about
$5,000 to $6,000.  Perhaps with calibration and data, or not.

However, Agilent lists a new 3458A without options or calibration data at
$8,673.

That being the case, if the roughly $2,000 difference was not prohibitive,
what to choose?  Old vs. New?  A good 'vintage' or 'fresh'?

Thanks in advance.

Joe