If you can get a new one for $323.00 + shipping, but the very same set-up used for $50.00 less, go with the used one.
I'd go for the new one if it was only $50 more. There are enough little pieces, parts, and springs that can go missing or get damaged when the press is kicking around somewhere without a box.
Sure, Dillon will fix it up, but is it worth $50 to:
- Mount it to your bench
- Screw around with it for more than a few hours
- Get pissed off
- Make a few phone calls
- Unmount it from your bench
- Scrounge up a box large enough to ship a press
- Pack it and tape it up
- Lug it to the P.O. or UPS/FedX during business hours
- Wait a few weeks to get your press back
Shit. I'd
pay someone $100 to keep me from going through all that.
You didn't mention the number of different calibers you intend to load but caliber conversions are much more expensive for the 550 vs. the L-N-L.
You don't strike me as being a particularly patient man, so I'll figure that you'd be buying Dillon's Deluxe Quick Change Assembly along with a caliber conversion kit and dies for each caliber. You'll probably want Dillon dies as well. The seating and crimping dies come apart for cleaning simply by removing a clip - you do not have to remove and disassemble the toolhead. If you load lead bullets and use (for example) Lee dies, you'll have to pull the whole toolhead out at least every couple of hundred rounds to clean out lube build-up. When using a 550, the Dillon dies are worth the extra expense; I just ordered a set of .38/.357 dies for my 550.
So, for each caliber you're looking at:
- Dies @ $57.95
- Caliber conversion kit @ $39.95 - $49.95
- Quick Change Assy. @ $84.95 (add $24.95 for either a magnum or X-small powder bar).
That's a grand total of about $183 for a "cheap" conversion or $218 for an "exotic" caliber. You can sometimes find (usually used) parts cheaper on eBay, but not much cheaper.
Contrast that with Hornady where you're looking at less than $30 for a shellplate, $14 worth of L-N-L bushings, and a Lee 4-die set for under $30.
Right now, I load 12 handgun calibers - 11 (.30 Carbine, .32 ACP, .32 H&R Mag, .380, .38 S&W, 10mm, .44 Special, .45 ACP. 460 S&W Magnum, .50 AE, .500 S&W Mag) on my L-N-L and one (.38/.357) on my 550.
The reason I load most on the L-N-L is that I like to load on an auto-indexing press. The 550 is a great machine, but if I get a new caliber tomorrow, I'm going to spend 1/3 as much to load it faster and safer on the L-N-L.
I was actually thinking about selling my 550 to finance a Dillon RF 100 automatic primer filler.